6 ways to get your invoices paid before Christmas

As the holiday season approaches, many of your customers may be procrastinating payment. Most of them are closing early for the holidays and may intend to pay in the New Year, while others just don't want to pay up soon. This could lead to a frantic period when you try to collect on all those outstanding invoices at the end of December. But this year, you have a chance to get them paid before Christmas! Here are some well-used ways to get your invoices paid before Christmas.

1. Know who is on holiday and when

During this time, customers or contacts are often on annual leave and it’s important to know who and when. Now is the time to reach out and ask your customers if they’ll be taking a break and when they’ll be back. You’ll need to know who is on holiday and who can be your contact while you’re usual one is away. Some of your clients won't have a specific time off but instead work from home so they may be more accessible than others during the holidays.

2. Have a friendly reminder message

Just like most people, you probably want to be with your family during the holidays too. Manage this by sending an email or calling your customers to remind them that your business will be closed over Christmas. This is a perfect excuse to square off any deals or payments before either of you aren’t available until next year. Make your message friendly and not sound like an ultimatum. You’re helping your customers by getting their payments up to date so that they don't have debt piling up during Christmas ready for payment in the new year.

3. Get everything in writing before a transaction is completed

In an ideal world, building a relationship on trust is the best way to get business from people you don't know very well. However, this isn't practical when money transactions are involved. It can create unnecessary problems if you expect to get paid but the client disagrees with your terms. Ensure everything is in writing before any work is done, so there are no misunderstandings when the time comes for payment.

4. Be prepared to offer discounts

Depending on the type of service you offer, discounting your products or services during the holidays might be an excellent way to attract new business and make sure you keep what you already have. For instance, offer incentives for customers who pay before Christmas like a prize draw or a great offer in January.

5. Don't assume you will be paid on time just because a customer promised

It might be your customers’ intention to pay you back, but things change, and there is no guarantee they will be able to follow through with the agreement if unexpected problems arise. You don't want to lose your cash flow should your payments arrive late or your customers enter insolvency. Asking for early payment or obtaining Debtor Protection allows you to avoid any financial difficulties during the holiday season.

6. Ask the professionals for help

An invoice finance provider like us can do all this hard work for you and guarantee cash in your company’s bank account in days. Our invoice factoring can take away all the hassle of verifying invoices, chasing debtors and securing payments to your business. We can put money into your account within 24 hours of invoice approval and then our dedicated Credit Control team can stay in touch with your customers and make sure payments are received. Or if you want to keep a closer relationship with your customers, invoice discounting can give you the cashflow you need before the end of the year while you work out more suitable deals for your customers.

The holiday season is the time of year where suppliers are often their busiest. Your customers will be trying to juggle work, family, traveling and other activities making them much more difficult to contact. Most companies tend to send their employees home or even close down entirely giving you less people to contact when you need to get in touch. Act now before your customers’ payments get pushed down the priority list or get in touch with us and we can do the hard work for you.

At Optimum Finance, we utilise innovative technology to offer a range of flexible funding solutions, which grow alongside your business. Get an instant quote for the amount of funding you could access by entering your annual turnover into our finance calculator. Products include invoice discounting and factoring that can boost your cashflow and give you access to a dedicated credit control team.

Email or call us to speak to our experienced team of experts and find out how invoice finance could help your business. We pride ourselves on getting things done quickly and providing access to cash within 24 hours of approval. We are passionate about finding solutions and delivering to clients’ needs.