Follow the money: How to collect delinquent payments when you’re a busy entrepreneur

Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

By Anita Ginsburg

When you’re a busy solo entrepreneur, you have enough to do without worrying about tracking down clients and customers who owe you money that you haven’t been able to collect. Of course, letting delinquent payments pile up is bad for your bottom line. Fortunately, there are some ways that you can collect your money without having to take a lot of time out of your busy day. Here are some ways for you to follow the money and collect delinquent payments when you’re a busy solo entrepreneur.

Send them an email

One of the nice things about sending an email is that you can do it any time of the day. When emailing those that owe you money, write professionally and politely so that they may be more willing to work with you. If the debt is large, you may want to consider offering some sort of payment arrangement that will allow them to pay off their debt over time. Showing that you’re willing to work with them helps increase the chances of you getting your money without having to pursue more serious action.

Call them

Some people respond better to a personal call, and emails can often get lost. When sending an email doesn’t work or isn’t an option, you may find that you can collect some of the delinquent payments that your clients owe you just by picking up the phone and making a quick call. They may have simply forgotten a deadline or thought that they had already paid their bill. Fortunately, it will probably only take you a minute or two to call them and collect the delinquent payment. If there are further issues that necessitate more than a quick call, you may want to arrange an appointment at a more convenient time.

If you have been struggling to get them to pay for a long time, you may want to consider offering them some kind of discount if they pay the balance in full immediately. While you’ll lose a little overall, it’s a good way to cover your own costs quickly.

Ask your bookkeeper to take care of it

Many solo entrepreneurs contract with freelance bookkeepers that handle some of their money-related tasks. If you work with one of these professionals, then you can have them contact the individuals or companies that owe you money. Most bookkeepers are used to performing this type of task for other clients that they have worked for.

Get the help of commercial collections services

A lot of busy solo entrepreneurs wind up hiring commercial collections services, like those from Leib Solutions, to help them collect the debt. While it does cost a little bit of money, it allows you an easy way to get the money that’s owed to you without having to chase it down yourself. Getting most of your money is much better than getting none of it.

Most of your customers and clients will pay their bills on time every time. However, sometimes issues come up that leave you without the money you’re owed. Just because you’re a busy solo entrepreneur, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t collect the money that is owed to you. There are numerous steps you can take to collect on delinquent payments without forcing you to neglect all of the other tasks that you have to do for your business.

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Anita Ginsburg is a freelance writer from Denver, CO. She studied at Colorado State University and now enjoys writing about health, business, and family. A mother of two wonderful children, she loves traveling with her family whenever she isn’t writing. You can find her on Twitter @anitaginsburg.

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