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5 ways to get invoices paid without any awkward conversations

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The average waiting time in the UK for invoices of £1m or less to be paid is 71 days, according to UK Finance (formerly known as the Asset Based Finance Association). That’s substantially longer than the standard 30 or even 60-day terms most businesses rely upon to keep their cash flow healthy.


That’s right. As incredible as it sounds, businesses simply have no excuse. They simply don’t bother paying on time.

As any business owner or finance professional knows, this can lead to tricky and often awkward phone calls or emails when a payment is overdue. According to the same Sage research, for most businesses the biggest barrier to chasing payments is protecting the relationship with the customer or client.

Here are five ways to sail the choppy waters of invoice payments that should make those awkward conversations easier to navigate—or possibly remove the possibility of them ever arising in the first place.

1. Invoice immediately

If you take your time issuing an invoice then you send an implicit message to the customer or client that you don’t consider timely payment to be important either.

Sending a late invoice certainly won’t give you the strongest position should there be a requirement to contact the customer or client and chase the payment.

Issuing an invoice later rather than earlier can also create confusion for the customer or client, in that the time that’s elapsed might mean it’s not obvious what the invoice relates to. The person controlling the purse strings may have to investigate, which adds yet more potential for delay until the payment is issued.

How soon should you send an invoice? Well, how about immediately?

If you use a modern accounting solution complete with a mobile app, you can even do this in front of the client.



2. Offer many ways to pay



If you use modern accounting methods, your accounting software should let you include a “Pay Now” button in the email invoice that lets the recipient settle the invoice with just a few clicks.



Even business-to-business (B2B) companies, some of which still rely largely on cheques or BACS, are coming around to the idea of paying electronically via more contemporary methods. Always ensuring your invoices offer this option is surely a step in the right direction.



Read more about getting paid on time:

3. Know when invoices are read



As such, you have some ammunition during the awkward conversation if the invoice requires chasing. If the client or customer says they didn’t receive it—perhaps the most common excuse—you can explain not only that they did indeed receive it, but even tell them exactly when they did.

That you can demonstrate the length of time since they became aware of the invoice means they are subsequently under pressure to settle it sooner rather than later because both you and they are aware the clock started ticking at that point, rather than at some nebulous point since then.


You can see when your invoices are being read

4. Make invoices clear, accurate and attractive


The more professional the invoice looks, the more professional a response it’s likely to engender in the recipient—and this means the invoice is more likely to be paid on time.


Ensure you provide the information you have to on the invoice, but also ensure any information the customer or client requires is also included, such as:

  • The purchase order number
  • The name of the individual or department that placed the order
  • A concise description of what’s being invoiced for.

This will help avoid delays when they’re processing it.

However, don’t include too much information because you want the key information to be visible immediately.

Many accounting packages include a variety of invoice template designs that you can choose from. You might even choose to experiment with using each temporarily, to see which of them gets the best responses from businesses in terms of timely payments.

5. Set up regular payments



Even the smallest businesses can create direct debits for their customers or clients using their accounting software and a provider such as GoCardless, Stripe or PayPal.

The charges are comparable with other forms of electronic payments but the benefits go way beyond just receiving regular payments without having to chase them. Payments are automatically reconciled when received into your accounting software, so the background processing work requirement is also reduced.



Conclusion on getting invoices paid



The Art of Being Paid

Chasing invoice payments doesn’t have to be painful. Use this kit to answer a few questions about your customers so you understand their payment drivers, then read our advice on how to flex your style for each, calling techniques and much more.

Get your guide

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