Cash flow is the backbone of small businesses. Having a strong accounts receivable policy can help ensure businesses manage their finances better. From when you should send the bill to when you need to collect, it can be tricky to recoup the money you need in time for you to have it ready to reinvest into your business — or to use it.
There are a few common signs of businesses with a weak accounts receivable policy, like failing to follow up with customers when they fail to pay on time, overlooking the accuracy of bills or invoices, and even misallocating cash payments.
Thankfully, growth in digital payments and advancements in technologies has bolstered new ways of accepting payments. Here are a few ways you can optimize your accounts receivable according to the best accountant for eCommerce businesses:
1. Automate Your Billing with Invoicing Tools
Invoicing tools can help businesses automatically send out invoices from a central hub with pre-entered customer information.
This feature can increase your business’s efficiency as it relies on a computer’s memory instead of the individual’s mind to send out invoices and collect payments.
Businesses also benefit from the option to create estimates and send out reminders to ensure timely bill payments. Importantly, this feature gives you more control over your accounts receivable and more time to focus on growing your business.
2. Enable Mobile Payments
Mobile payments are essential to the growth of the payments industry.
Apps like Google Pay and Apple Pay allow users to pay for their purchases without taking out their credit cards.
These apps also help businesses accept payments. Companies can use the technology to accept payments from customers who pay with a tap or scan a QR code.
Besides this, this app allows businesses to provide a direct payment option to customers, so they don’t have to worry about entering their information.
3. Send Invoices Through Messages
Taking payments doesn’t have to be a hassle anymore.
In addition to invoicing tools, you can also send invoices from messaging apps.
This is a more modern way of collecting payments as it is a convenient option for a business to make quick payments with a tap on a mobile device.
Businesses can also use messaging apps as a backup system if they lose a payment slip or make a typo on a payment slip.
4. Use a Payment Gateway
A payment gateway allows businesses to accept payments online. It acts as an intermediary between online shoppers and e-commerce businesses to process payments.
Businesses can set up payment gateways with their bank accounts, which means they can receive bank transfers, credit card payments, and even PayPal payments.
The default setting for this feature allows users to pay for products online. It also allows businesses to customize the online checkout experience with information like shipping addresses and billing addresses.
To accept payments, businesses can set the minimum order size, the payment method, and the amount of time they’d like to keep the money in their account before transferring it to their bank accounts.
5. Use a Third-Party Payment Processor
Third-party payment processors are another option for businesses to accept payments.
This option is less expensive than setting up a payment gateway because it doesn’t require additional fees.
Third-party payment processors act as an intermediary between sellers and buyers. Just like payment gateways, these processors act as an intermediary between buyers and sellers.
The benefits of using third-party payment processors are the same as the benefits of using payment gateways.
And, for those who don’t have a bank account to set up a payment gateway, third-party payment processors are a viable option to consider.
Conclusion
Your business’s accounts receivable management can be streamlined using any of these methods. In fact, minor upgrades can have a lasting effect on your business’s accounts receivable. Of course, these are not the only things you can do. You’d be reducing the risk of worrying about your accounts receivable when you get the services of a seasoned accountant for eCommerce business.
The ECommerce Accountant offers the best accountant services online to eCommerce businesses of all sizes. Contact us today to know how we can help you!