Just as uneaten macarons represent a waste of effort and ingredients, unpaid invoices are a waste of time and energy. Both represent value that has been created but not realized. By streamlining your invoicing process, you reduce this “waste” and truly reap the rewards of your hard work.

Sending an invoice to your customer is the easy part; the hard part is getting the invoice paid and the money into your bank account.

I recently had a client who was facing a backlog of unpaid invoices from their own customers. Everything was in order: order confirmations, delivery notes, and the corresponding invoices. Their CRM was up to date, and a separate spreadsheet—used in addition to their accounting software—was meticulously maintained. One thing stood out clearly from their spreadsheet: the list of overdue sales invoices kept getting longer. The delay in paying those invoices was also getting worse… fast.

This is always a cause for concern, especially when it doesn't match the client's usual behavior, and even more so in the current political climate.

To avoid any potential disaster, they contacted me and simply asked me to reduce this list of overdue bills—they didn’t mean to just delete the entries! Money in the bank = peace of mind. Fewer headaches, worries, and sleepless nights.

1. Check that the documents are present and accurate, in order to better understand the product or service. 
2. Call the person responsible for paying purchase invoices.
3. Follow up the call with an email confirming what was discussed over the phone (ccing my client for their reference).
4. If no payment is received, a second phone call and a second email are sent one week later (as noted in the calendar).
5. Finally, if payment still hasn’t been made, it’s usually enough to speak with the manager or owner of the business. 

In reality, only about 3% of unpaid invoices are ultimately referred to collection agencies. Furthermore, only a very small fraction of that 3% ends up being handled by a bailiff.

The good news is that you’ll most likely get paid; the only question is when!

If this process takes too much time, give me a call and I’ll take care of it for you, so you can start reducing your list of unpaid bills today.

My name is Sarah Rose, and as a Bilingual Virtual Assistant, I support entrepreneurs by offering a complete range of administrative solutions and virtual services designed to optimize their operations and increase their productivity.