How to Get Paid on Time

Collect your money and keep business moving I read a case study in this month’s Inc. Magazine about two partners who operate a hip-hop news Web site.

The site is well traveled, but the partners are somewhat unfocused with a few tasks, including making sure advertisers pay on time.

I admit that this has happened to me on occasion, but now that I use a payment tracker within QuickBooks, that’s no longer a problem.

One of the worse situations in business is going after customers for payment, and if you work by yourself, the problem is magnified. It takes you away from revenue-generating projects. It causes stress, and I believe it also wreaks havoc with your complexion.

That’s one of the reasons I wrote Debt Collection Solutions You Can Afford. Running after monies owed disrupts your day and throws your cash flow into chaos. Do you have time to handle that while trying to focus on growth opportunities?

One solution I’ve found to be helpful with collections is to require a credit card on file as a backup, so if I do not receive payment on time I charge the advertiser’s credit card. To date, I’ve had no problems with this.

Whatever process you put in place, make sure you follow through and collect your money. Then you can quickly get back into the flow of daily progress.

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