Cash flow is the lifeblood of any business, and nowhere is this more understood than in Perth’s bustling commercial scene. With the deep knowledge of Westcourt as a business tax accountant in Perth, you have an arsenal of cloud accounting software programs to manage debtors effectively.
An SME would not use every Xero cloud accounting software add-on listed here. Many programs identified will do multiple tasks. And we have mentioned a few of them that can help to give you a sample of things to consider.
If you are in a short-term credit crunch because your debtors are not paying promptly you could also consider making a payment arrangement with the Tax Office.
- Have Clear Contracts
In the business world, a well-crafted contract is crucial for establishing a clear and compelling relationship with clients. A thorough contract outlines the scope of the partnership, deliverables, and, notably, payment terms. Should a client default or delay payment, a robust contract becomes your legal safety net.
LightYear Docs makes contract creation easy, and it integrates with Xero. The software offers an intuitive interface, allowing you to quickly produce legally binding contracts. Its industry-specific templates help ensure that crucial elements are included, reducing the chance of misunderstandings and payment delays.
At Westcourt, as Perth tax accountants of choice, we use LightYearDocs extensively for a vast array of tax compliance documentation.
- Be Clear on Your Terms of Trade
Being explicit about your terms of trade is more than good business acumen — it creates a harmonious business relationship. Ambiguities can not only lead to misunderstandings but can also result in delays and disputes, particularly regarding payments. Terms should clearly define payment expectations, the scope of work, deadlines, and penalties for late payments. This clarity protects both parties and sets the groundwork for a mutually beneficial relationship.
Statey is a cloud accounting solution designed to make defining your terms of trade both simple and effective. It offers customizable templates that allow you to generate terms and conditions that are both easy to comprehend and legally robust.
- Invoice promptly
In today’s competitive business environment, invoicing on time isn’t just good practice; it’s crucial for maintaining a healthy cash flow. Postponing invoices can lead to a chain reaction of financial setbacks. Clients are more likely to delay payments if they receive an invoice late, creating a vicious cycle that ultimately affects your bottom line. Timeliness in invoicing becomes a cornerstone of fiscal responsibility and effective business management.
However, managing a business involves many tasks, and invoicing can sometimes fall by the wayside. This is where Ignition steps in to streamline your accounts receivable operations. This cloud-based software offers an intuitive dashboard that integrates with your existing accounting tools, making it easier to track billable hours expenses and generate invoices automatically.
By incorporating Ignition into your Xero financial ecosystem, you not only standardize your invoicing process but also create a more efficient, automated pathway to get paid, fortifying your statement of cash flows and enhancing overall business performance.
- Ask New Customers to Pay Upfront
Building new customer relationships is an exhilarating part of running a business and comes with financial risks. Offering credit terms to new clients without knowing their payment habits can jeopardize your cash flow. So, asking for upfront payments becomes a wise strategic move.
Requesting upfront payments sets a precedent for financial responsibility and commitment. It filters out non-serious buyers and assures that you are working with clients who respect your terms and understand the value of your product or service.
Here’s where Sync’s specialized payment solutions come into play. Designed to offer businesses financial flexibility, Sync enables you to set up automated billing schedules, handle one-off upfront payments, and even manage milestone-based payments for longer projects. The platform is compatible with various business models, whether you offer products, services, or subscriptions.
- Strictly Enforce Credit Terms
In business, good intentions and verbal agreements can go only so far. Establishing credit terms is a proactive step toward ensuring timely payments, but what happens when those well-defined terms are ignored? Leniency might seem like a way to foster goodwill, but it can inadvertently encourage a culture of late payments, affecting your cash flow and placing you in financial jeopardy.
Chaser provides an excellent toolkit to keep this balance between flexibility and rigor. Its automation features take the hassle out of manual follow-ups by sending polite yet persistent reminders for overdue invoices. Its tracking capabilities record all interactions, adding a layer of accountability and transparency to the process. Chaser even offers a way to escalate matters internally or involve third-party mediation, ensuring you have a structured plan for those stubborn non-payments.
Using Chaser, you enforce your credit terms professionally, ensuring you get paid on time while maintaining a positive business relationship.
- Make It Easy for Your Customers to Pay
In the modern business landscape, convenience is more than just a value-add; it’s necessary. In an era where consumers are used to one-click purchases and instant gratification, a cumbersome payment process can be a significant barrier to completing a transaction. A seamless, easy-to-navigate payment system can make all the difference between a finalized sale and a lost customer.
This is where Apxium comes into play, acting as a catalyst in your payment collection process. Offering a plethora of payment options such as credit cards, debit cards, and even bank transfers, Apxium ensures that your customers are never at a loss when settling their bills. By offering various options, you’re meeting your customers where they are, making it more likely for them to finalize their payment swiftly.
- Engage Debt Collectors When Necessary
When you’ve exhausted all traditional avenues for collecting payment and debts remain outstanding, the decision to engage debt collectors becomes not just an option but a necessity. Engaging a debt collection service is a sensitive process that requires a delicate balance between protecting your financial interests and maintaining client relationships. Therefore, this action should be a last resort but can effectively recover overdue payments and safeguard your business’s financial stability.
Enter EzyCollect, a platform designed to streamline and automate this intricate process. EzyCollect takes the guesswork out of debt collection by offering an end-to-end service. Starting with gentle, automated reminders to late-paying clients, the system gradually escalates to more severe actions if the debt remains unpaid. These steps can be customized to fit your business’s needs and customer relationships. If legal action becomes necessary, EzyCollect even offers features that help you prepare for this, all within a single platform.
- Apply Late Payment Penalties
Late payments are more than just an inconvenience; they’re a disruption that can adversely affect your business’s cash flow and financial planning. In this context, applying late payment penalties becomes more than punitive; it acts as a deterrent, encouraging clients to adhere to payment deadlines. Implementing such penalties can also serve to compensate you for the added administrative efforts and potential opportunity costs involved in managing overdue accounts.
Paid Nice offers a robust solution for enforcing late payment penalties. The software automates the often complicated and time-consuming process of calculating these fees. Based on the conditions and terms you set—such as percentage rates or flat fees—Paid Nice automatically applies the appropriate penalty to overdue accounts.
- Periodic Reconciliation
Regular financial oversight is critical to understanding your cash flow and identifying potential issues. Having a Perth tax accountant perform periodic reconciliations can be invaluable. This process verifies the accuracy of your financial records, ensuring that all payments, including those that are late, are correctly accounted for. Reconciliation helps pinpoint clients who are habitual late payers, allowing you to decide if their business is worth the credit risk. By identifying these red flags early, you’re better equipped to make informed decisions, whether modifying payment terms or discontinuing the business relationship altogether.
If you use a forecasting program like Futrli Predict you can also predict your future cashflow within your business operations as well as collect it more quickly.
- Do Credit Checks on Your Customers
Due diligence is an essential step in forming any new business relationship. While you may be eager to expand your customer base, diving into agreements without a thorough understanding of the other party’s creditworthiness can be a recipe for financial disaster. Credit checks serve as a form of insurance, helping you to assess the risk level associated with a new client before you invest time and resources and extend credit terms to them.
CreditorWatch is a tool that can significantly assist in this area and connects with Xero. It provides comprehensive credit reports, which include a wealth of information like payment history, credit score, and any red flags such as bankruptcies or previous defaults. Having this data at your fingertips helps you make more informed decisions, ultimately leading to more reliable customers who are less likely to default on payments.
Conclusion
Effective debtor management is critical for business success and unlocking working capital and cashflow. Leveraging cloud accounting software and enlisting the expertise of a Perth tax accountant empowers you to streamline collections and maintain robust cash flow, setting the foundation for long-term financial stability.
