The accounts receivable management national leader, Receivable Performance Management, is an organization that has huge experience in dealing with receivable problems in modern businesses. Statistics show that some of the biggest collections problems that face businesses today relate to invoicing. Unfortunately, a lack of business experience can easily lead to the following invoice mistakes, as highlighted by the experience of Receivables Performance Management.
Not Sending The Invoice Fast Enough
Businesses should not wait for clients to ask for invoices. Everyone is busy and there is always the possibility that the request is not even going to be made. If you have to send an invoice, it is your responsibility to be sent on time. The problem when the invoices are sent too late is that not much time remains for the client to pay. The payment deadlines are going to be missed and collections can turn into really bad outcomes.
Lack Of Due Date In Invoice
Various business owners make the huge mistake of sending the invoice as an “open” payment request. If payment terms are vague, the client is going to have way too much liberty. When you look at reviews for many businesses on the internet you quickly notice the fact that numerous complains appear due to the vague terms put into invoices. Receivables Performance Management recommends avoiding confusion by specifying an exact payment date. As an example, if the invoice was issued on the first of the month and it should be paid in one week, the due date listed in the invoice should be the eight of the particular month in question.
Not Sending Invoices To Correct Receivers
In business, it is quite common to have invoices land in the hands of people that have nothing to do with financial decisions. This is because many just send the invoices to the people they have listed as contacts. When the wrong person receives the invoice it is a certainty that there will be some sort of delays that you would need to deal with. In many situations, the receiver just neglects the invoice but in most cases, a delay of a few days appears until the error is corrected.
Lack Of Service Itemizing
There are clients that do not need itemized and detailed service breakdowns. However, most do. In most cases everything is about the procedure as the client needs some help with recording, tracking or reporting expenses. The best thing businesses can do is to always provide itemized breakdowns, no matter what the client needs or desires. This makes it 100% sure that everything can be handled in time.
Lack Of Follow Up
Last but not least, Receivables Performance Management says that following up should be a regular practice for companies as it can avoid numerous possible delays. Many things can go wrong when invoices are sent, especially when an online communication channel is used. The client might actually not have received an email with the invoice. Following up helps you to know that everything is in order and that the invoice is actually in the hands of the person that should take care of it.
