4 ways to prevent your customers' defaults

One of the main headaches for businesses is dealing with customers who leave outstanding debts. This often requires postponing payments or, in extreme cases, resorting to legal action.

‍

What can I do to prevent defaults?

We know that non-payments can arise at any time and that the financial stability of your business is essential to you. From taclia, we give you the 4 steps you must follow to protect your finances and prevent non-payment from your customers.

‍

STEP 1: Identify your customer

Knowing the needs and circumstances of your clients is essential for providing good service, but also for making decisions as a company. It is important to reach a prior agreement on what the payment methods will be, in how many instalments they will be made, what the penalties will be in case of non-compliance, or how it will be assessed that the service has been successfully completed.

This prior negotiation is key to stipulating the conditions and avoiding misunderstandings. If from the beginning a client raises objections or does not commit to complying with what was agreed upon, you can take timely measures to avoid non-payment or directly reject the service.

With the taclia Clients tool, you can gather all the information about your clients in one place, categorize them, and track their services and payments. All in one software an easy to use.

‍

STEP 2: Ask for an advance payment

Once you have reached an agreement, it is essential to prepare a budget. This indicates how much the client will have to pay and it is necessary for them to sign it for it to be validated. A budget is your best protection against non-payment issues. Remember that if the cost of the service increases due to any unforeseen circumstances, it must always be updated in the budget and signed again by the client.

If it is common in your sector, you can negotiate for the client to pay an advance on the service price, which will be deducted from the final budget. This gesture on the part of the client also implies commitment and creates an environment of mutual trust.

With taclia, you can automatically create budgets with the help of templates and send them to your clients by email from the same application. In this article, we tell you the differences between budget, delivery note and invoice.

‍

STEP 3: Request payment directly from your customer

You have completed the service and it is time to send the invoice. Through taclia, you can quickly send the invoice directly to the client's email. You can take the opportunity to ask them to confirm that they have received the document correctly and thus efficiently track its status. If days go by and you see that the payment has not been completed yet, it's time to send a friendly reminder.

‍

How long should I wait to contact the customer?

First of all, you should avoid getting nervous. Delays due to neglect or minor oversights are quite common and do not necessarily mean that we are facing a deliberate case of non-payment.

If 48 hours have passed since you sent the invoice and you have not received payment nor any confirmation from the client, you should contact them immediately without wasting any more time. You can subtly address this reminder by asking, for example, if they were satisfied with the service or if they encountered any issues when paying the invoice. If a due date was agreed upon, it is time to mention it.

If the email does not yield results, you can always resort to more direct means. For example, a phone call. Claiming money is never easy, but it doesn't have to be uncomfortable. Be straightforward but use a friendly and respectful tone.

‍

What do I say to a customer who doesn't pay?

Here we leave you one email template for claiming a payment:

Subject: Pending Payment Invoice No. <invoice number>

‍

Hello <customer's name>,

I am writing to you from <company name> because, unless there was an error on our part, we have not received payment for invoice <invoice number>. We kindly remind you that the payment due date is <due date> and the total amount is <invoice amount>.

We attach to this email a copy of the invoice, where you can review all the details of the service.

Remember that we are available for anything you may need.

Thank you very much for making the payment as soon as possible.

Best regards,

<your name>

<company name>

STEP 4: Digitize the control of your sales

Keeping track of all your invoices to the last cent can mean hours and hours of paperwork, emails, folders, and calls. Digitalizing your business with taclia will allow you to closely monitor the status of your services, clients, and payments. This will save you time, make you much more agile when collecting payments, and give you greater peace of mind, as you will have everything at hand and in one place.

Are you ready to try out one of our tools and leave paperwork behind? Try taclia for free.