Customers of your business may prefer to pay a particular way and it should be one of your business goals to accommodate the preferences of your customers so that you can grow your company and increase your bottom line. As you begin to revitalise your company in this New Year you may want to consider some varied payment options that suit your clients better and meet their needs more effectively. Let's take a look at some of the payment options that you can include in your new financial plan.
- Cash is alive and well in the corporate world. Over recent years many business owners have falsely believed that clients no longer preferred to pay with cash. Cash is still one of the most popular forms of payment especially in the retail sector; as a business owner, accepting cash prevents you from having to pay credit card fees, dealing with fraud or unauthorised usage, or bouncing cheques that require time and effort to remedy. The money will be available immediately for you to use to pay any small business loan, as a payment to your own vendors, or to use in your business operations such as payroll.
- Cheques are somewhat more complicated than cash but should not be ignored in your business dealings. If you agree to accept a cheque from one of your clients, you must not take one that is unnumbered or one that includes cash back beyond the payment that is made. You should look to see that the cheque has contact information from your client and if it's one of your regular customers consider their payment history with your business. Always have a policy in place to collect funds from a client whose cheque bounces and does not cover the amount of the goods and services that they purchased from you.
- Credit cards tend to be the preferred method of payment for some clients; they appreciate the ease with which they can buy your products if you accept credit cards. You may have to pay the credit card company a processing fee, so take this into account as you price your inventory to clients who pay with this method. You'll want to make sure that you know the client or that they have a valid identification document, that the card is signed, and that the account numbers are all legitimate.
- With the mobility of today's client, you may also want to add online payments to your payment options. This will enhance the purchase experience of your customers, help them to perhaps buy more inventory since they can shop at leisure at home or in their own workplace, and can assure you of immediate payment for your goods and services. This is definitely an option that you should consider especially if you have an online store front.
Keeping up with the rapidly changing client profile can help to make your company more of a success and can assure you of getting your share of the market. You must examine your payment methods so that your company can be competitive and enjoy an ever-expanding bottom line.
