JP Morgan Chase surveyed over 600,000 small businesses and discovered that the average number of days a small business could pay out of its cash reserve is about one month. One month!
That’s why getting paid from clients quicker is crucial. Failing because of cashflow challenges means you can still do everything right: increase sales, increase profit, and minimize expenses, but if you have a problem collecting cash, it’s game over. And it happens faster than we think!
In promo, often a project can go from an order to an invoice –without receiving final payment– in the span of six weeks. Sometimes, we even make prepayments to vendors, strapping our business for much needed cash. And some client industries are notorious for paying on 45-60 day terms. Juggling all these time frames requires a delicate balance of managing the flow of cash through your business.
What makes matters worse is that without a connected workflow (an integrated, simplified system) many of us have a very messy payables and receivables process requiring multiple data entries by multiple people (sales, accounting), resulting in more mistakes and longer lag times to cash!
So, how does a busy entrepreneur focus on growing their business and yet implement an easier auto-pilot solution to get paid quicker? We’ve got a few solves:
Stripe Integration allows you to:
Connect your Stripe account to commonsku to start accepting credit card payments online. Easier for your customer. Faster for you.
Include a credit card payment option on all of your invoices!
Directly accept credit card payments on commonsku shops for a nominal transaction fee.
The best solution? ACH. What’s ACH? If you’ve ever paid your utility bill straight from your bank account, that’s ACH. Except, this time, you’re the one getting paid fast and it’s a no hassle solve for you and your client, plus no pesky credit card fees! And if you’ve ever had to chase a client for payment, then you know what a godsend ACH can be!
Clover Connect allows you to
Receive next day funding. Even better, Friday, Saturday and sometimes Sunday batches are available every Monday.
Manage processed payments and view full transaction lifecycle reports in MerchantCenter, your online and mobile-friendly account for all things Clover Connect.
Protect sensitive financial data by utilizing Clover’s Point-to-Point Encryption (P2PE) with a patented tokenization process and PCI-certified vault storage
Agressively manage interchange rates to ensure you receive the lowest possible rate for every transaction
If 82% of promo businesses fail because of cashflow, it’s a priority to watch cash like a hawk. In boom times, we get lax with receivables because projects are coming in fast, but the downstream effect of a relaxed attitude toward collections is dangerous.
Boom times make for fast-moving waters, which makes cashflow difficult to navigate and lean times puts pressure on your payables requirements, inhibiting your ability to grow.
For those running a promo business, keep receivables tight by developing a process to review outstanding accounts regularly, but most importantly, head off all those problems by integrating fast-payment options now.
It’s an easy step you can take to prevent the #1 reason most businesses fail.
And it’s a hyper-boost of optimism and peace of mind to know you’re getting paid quicker.
Want to learn more? Schedule a quick demo with our team today!