Late payments are the number one cash flow problem for small businesses. Most delays are caused by invoices that are unclear, sent late or hard to pay. Fixing those things can cut your average payment time dramatically.
Make every invoice unmistakably clear
A client should understand what they owe, why they owe it and when it is due within seconds of opening your invoice.
- Use a unique, sequential invoice number.
- List each item or service with quantity, rate and total.
- Show tax, discounts and the final amount due.
- State the due date and accepted payment methods.
Pro Tip
Offering a short early-payment discount, such as 2% within 10 days, can move slow payers to the top of their list.
Send invoices the moment work is done
Every day you wait to invoice is a day added to your payment cycle. Create invoices from quotes, projects or tracked time and email them straight from InvoiceSmarty.
Automate the follow-up
Polite, automatic reminders before and after the due date recover most overdue payments without awkward conversations.
- Send a friendly reminder 3 days before the due date.
- Follow up on the due date.
- Escalate at 7, 14 and 30 days overdue.
"Since we started invoicing the same day we finish a job, our average time-to-payment dropped from 38 days to 14." - Small business owner
Ready to speed up your cash flow? Create your first professional invoice in InvoiceSmarty in under two minutes.
Deniz Yilmaz
Writer at InvoiceSmarty. Passionate about invoicing, cash flow, and helping businesses get paid faster with less admin.
