Between scheduling jobs, routing technicians, inventory management, and all the other daily tasks required to run a field service business, the day can quickly disappear. This makes time management all the more crucial, as less time spent on daily, routine tasks frees up more time to give customers better service.
One such routine task? Invoicing customers and contacting them for payment. Invoicing can quickly get out of hand as your business grows and does more work on a daily basis. Factor in the time it takes to contact each customer to collect payment, and this becomes an all-consuming task to stay on top of.
Invoicing Issues
If your business requires payment before any work can begin, your process will slow to a standstill until you can take payment. Of course, even this is a far less frightening prospect for a company in the field service industry than completing the work and not receiving the proper payment for the services rendered. Unfortunately, you'll always run into some individuals who refuse to pay their invoice no matter how many times you contact them. These unresponsive customers can result in a big loss of revenue if you don't take further steps to retrieve those funds.
Even in these miserable situations, you've got some options. The usual first step, and the simplest solution, is to reach out to the customer via phone to discuss the payment. Many people won’t respond to a phone call from a number they don't recognize, so you'll often have to settle for leaving a message here.
When calling the customer doesn’t work, proceed to emailing them a copy of their invoice. Not everyone stays on top of their inbox, so like calling, there's no guarantee this will yield results. For this reason, many companies will circle back to calling the customer after sending an email soliciting payment.
Collections Agencies
When a customer remains unresponsive, it can feel as though none of these standard approaches will ever make any headway, no matter how many times you try them. After exhausting all other options, companies can try to outsource their payment collections to another company. A collections agency can assist in retrieving payments from customers with long outstanding balances. Delegating the work to another company will free up time for employees to provide better services to other customers as well.
The main concern with a collection agency, of course, is the cost. Rates vary based on the agency’s policies, but a company working with a collection agency can usually only expect to recover around 20% of that outstanding balance from a customer. From that 20%, the collection agency will also take a cut for the services they provided, resulting in closer to 18% of the total outstanding balance returned to the field service company that completed the work. Receiving only 18% of the payment for work performed is a drastic cut into the revenue for any company, and something to avoid whenever possible.
Using Mobile Invoice Software to Collect Payments
The best way to avoid this situation is to approach billing customers in an entirely different way. Waiting for payment before completing any work can become a big hassle for those involved, but it can save a staggering amount of time and money in the long run. With the mobile invoice software Smart Service, waiting for payments will become a thing of the past.
Smart Service allows technicians to create invoices while on-site with a customer. Not only that, but a technician can also receive payments for invoices in just a few minutes through the application. With technicians on-site providing a more complete service for their customers, those in the office can focus less on payments and more on providing better service. Now, instead of waiting days or weeks after delivering a quote for payment to come in, techs can process card or check payments and start working right away!
