A 3-Step Strategy to Collect Unpaid Invoices before EOFY

With the end of financial year around the corner, now is the time to replenish your bank account, so your business has the cash on hand to meet its tax and superannuation obligations. And with the $20,000 instant asset write-off extended until 30 June 2018, eligible businesses that purchase assets before the end of June can claim a deduction through the  2017/18 tax return.

Your uncollected invoices are an immediate source of cash. While your invoices may have been collecting dust to date, there’s good news: a few simple things, done now, can generate quick cash flow returns.

1. Bulk email your overdue debtors with an effective reminder

Use your CRM software to send a payment reminder to every overdue debtor. Ideally, you will be customising every reminder with the total amount overdue, length overdue and penalties due as per your contracts.

If it’s too time-consuming to manually customise reminders, send a general reminder politely stating that your customer’s invoice/s are overdue and you would appreciate prompt payment soon. You’ll be surprised by the flurry of payments that come in, especially if you haven’t sent payment reminders before. Your customers may be further incentivised by understanding that there are benefits to completing their payment before the end of the financial year.  Here’s a generalised template you can customise for your own business:

Dear <<Customer name>>,

As the end of the financial year draws near,  <<Your company name>> would like to thank you for your business. We hope it’s been a great year of growth and learning for you.

This time of year necessitates a close look at our books and our review has flagged your outstanding accounts. We appreciate this may be an oversight and hope you will be able to complete payment by 4 pm on <<insert date>>.

As you are probably attending to your tax accounting also, please be reminded that by not completing payment, you might miss out on deductions and input tax credits you could be entitled to claim this financial year.

I hope you appreciate our need to be diligent with payments, particularly at this time of year.

Our bank details are as follows:

<<Bank name>>

<<Account name>>

<<BSB>>

<<Account number>>

Of course, if you are anticipating any problems with paying, <<Name of accounts person in your office>> will be happy to take your call on <<phone number>> today.

Thank you in advance for your prompt attention to this.

Kind regards,

<<Your name>>

<<Your position>>
<<Your phone number>>

2. Start accepting credit card payments online

Accepting credit cards online instantly opens up your business to new payments as customers take advantage of clearing their debt to you with the line of credit from their bank. Once you have an online checkout, you can then easily link it to your invoices and reminders with a clickable ‘Pay Now’ button. The click-and-pay functionality makes life easier for your time-poor customers and makes your business a breeze to transact with. (For help with setting up online payments today, contact your Kilimanjaro account manager.

3. Pick up the phone

If your email reminder doesn’t budge your stubborn payers, set aside 30 minutes each day to call your overdue debtors. First, run the data so you target your largest and longest overdue debtors. Recovering the cash from these debtors will make a huge difference to your cash position. While it can be hard to know what to say on a collection call, use your key skills in listening, empathy and negotiation to get a good result for both you and your customers.

For help with collection call conversations, download ezyCollect’s call scripts from the sidebar.

Wouldn’t it be nice to start the new financial year with a clean slate of debtors?

ezyCollect’s automation software easily integrates with MYOB Exo for A-to-Z credit management. A comprehensive dashboard gives you immediate accounts receivable insights. Get an entire accounts receivable workflow that tracks every invoice to payment. Automate payment reminders by email and SMS, customise every reminder to suit each debtor, collect money online with Pay Now buttons. Free trial and money-back guarantee.

Visit ezyCollect

ezyCollect 5 things you should be doing right now to reduce outstanding accounts receivable eBook

Downlead now

Streamline your EOFY process.

The EOFY should be seen as a trigger for business and strategic decisions. Have a look at the 10 simple things you can do in your business to ensure that the next year is your best year yet.

Ensure you have everything you need to prepare for the EOFY, including specialised Training Courses, helpful content and our valuable checklists!

Free Webinar | How to improve cashflow and Accounts Receivable efficiency

Managing cashflow should be a top priority for any thriving business. Cashflow relies on getting paid on time and in full. Spending valuable time chasing overdue payments, fretting over client reliability, and posting and reconciling payments hinders potential growth.

Watch our webinar recording to discover how integrating innovative accounts receivable solutions can relieve your cashflow headache.

If you have any more enquiries, please email us at sales@kilimanjaro-consulting.com, or give us a call at 1300 857 464 (AU) or 0800 436 774 (NZ).