You’re constantly waiting on payments. Calling and emailing customers about past-due invoices. Trying to predict cash flow when you don’t know when the money will arrive.
It’s frustrating, and it can leave you wondering why your customers never seem to pay on time.
But before sending another reminder, consider this: how easy are you making it for them to pay?
A customer may intend to pay on time, but when they struggle to find an invoice, confirm their balance, or remember exactly how they’re supposed to pay it can cause a major delay. Each extra step, or frustration point, provides an opportunity for your customer to shift to another task with intentions on coming back to paying you later. This slows down AR and increases the work your team needs to do to receive that payment and close the invoice.
What Typically Delays Customer Payments?
While it’s easy to always blame customers for late payments, it’s good practice to consider what is actually in your control when it comes to customers paying on time. If your process is causing delays, there are updates you can make to ensure customers are paying on time more frequently.
Common obstacles include:
- Inability to Find an Invoice. Customers have to search their inbox or contact your team for another copy.
- Confusing Balances Due. Customers can’t easily confirm what they owe, which invoices are open, or whether a credit has been applied.
- Inconvenient Payment Options. Paying requires a phone call, a separate website, or manually entering invoice and account information. Sometimes requiring multiple steps, authentication, or clicks.
- Restricted Payment Options. Customers can’t use their preferred method, such as credit card or ACH.
- Delayed Invoices and Reminders. Invoices arrive late, or reminders don’t include a convenient way to pay.
These friction points can lead to customers deprioritizing paying their invoice with you until they have more time, leading your team to go into chase mode to get payment.
Outdated Account Information Creates More Questions
Imagine receiving a reminder for an invoice you’ve already paid. Or opening a payment portal and seeing a balance that doesn’t reflect a recent credit.
Would you pay immediately or would you have to contact someone to confirm the amount?
When invoices are sent that don’t accurately show the full balance due or credits applied, confusion can mount with your customers. Additionally, those organizations that offer a customer portal can face the same challenge if the data isn’t synchronized in real-time. When portals only update once per day, information on payments, credits, or invoice changes is regularly inaccurate.
That uncertainty can delay payment and create unnecessary calls and emails. Your team has to investigate the discrepancy, explain the correct balance, and help the customer move forward.
What Helps Customers Pay Faster?
Real-Time Account Information
When customers can view their account information with confidence, they don’t have to double check their records or contact you for verification. Being able to see current invoices, payments, credits, and full account history provides the information they need to make payments on open invoices.
Making Payments Easier
The best way to get paid faster is to ensure that making a payment is easy for your customers. By providing a variety of ways to make payment, each customer can easily select their preference, make the payment, and close their invoice.
Click to pay links embedded in invoices and emails help customers pay the moment they view or open the email or invoice. Autopay allows customers to schedule recurring payments so they always pay on time. A real-time customer portal gives your customers a single location to always return to in order to view their account information, make payments, and see historical details.
Click-to-Pay Links: Turn an Invoice into an Opportunity to Pay
A payment link gives customers a direct path from an invoice or reminder to payment.
Instead of calling your office or searching for payment instructions, they can open the link and pay online. Including links in invoice emails and follow-up messages makes each communication more useful: customers can act immediately.
For your AR team, that can mean fewer phone calls to collect payment details and less back-and-forth over how to pay.
AutoPay: Reduce the Need to Remember
For customers with recurring invoices, AutoPay can remove the repeated task of manually submitting a payment.
With customer authorization and the appropriate setup, payments can be processed automatically according to the agreed schedule. Customers have one less task to manage, and your team has fewer routine payments to chase.
AutoPay can also make incoming payments more predictable, although successful processing still depends on valid payment information and available funds.
A Real-Time Customer Portal: Give Customers Answers and a Way to Act
A customer portal brings account information and payment options together.
Customers can review open invoices, confirm outstanding balances, see payments and credits, and submit payment without waiting for your team to respond.
When that portal reflects current information in Business Central, customers can make decisions using the same account information your team relies on. That visibility is especially helpful when they’re paying multiple invoices or checking how a recent payment affected their balance.
An Easier Payment Experience Means Less Follow-Up
Every question your customer can answer independently is one less email for your team. Every payment they can complete online is one less phone call to coordinate.
Removing payment friction can help you:
- Shorten the time between receiving an invoice and submitting payment.
- Reduce routine questions about invoices and balances.
- Spend less time collecting payment information.
- Give customers a more convenient experience.
- Improve cash flow visibility as payments arrive more consistently.
Your team can then focus more attention on exceptions, disputes, and accounts that need a conversation.
Before You Send Another Reminder, Review the Experience
An easier payment process won’t solve every overdue invoice. But it can help you avoid delays caused by missing information, unnecessary steps, and inconvenient payment methods.
Start with three questions: Can customers easily see what they owe? Can they trust that the balance is current? Can they pay when they’re ready?
If any answer is no, your process may be contributing to the problem.
iPayments helps businesses simplify payments and accounts receivable in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central with Click-to-Pay links, AutoPay, and a real-time Customer Portal. Contact iSolutions to see how a simpler payment experience can help your customers pay sooner and give your team less to chase.