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Use SMS Invoice Reminders to Reduce Late Payments
Every business needs to invoice customers and clients for payment of services rendered and goods received. It is also true that many businesses will, at some time or another, experience cash flow issues as a result of late or non-payment of accounts and invoices by consumers. In many cases, non-payment is simply an inadvertent oversight. People frequently forget to pay, and many will require a gentle reminder to do so on time.
Your cash flow and overall operating costs can be improved enormously by using SMS payment reminders. With a few tactical, timely 'nudges', funds owing and even loan repayments are more likely to be paid in a timely manner thanks to reminders sent out via text message.
Why Use SMS for Payment Reminders?
No one likes calling and chasing for payments; even worse when it's an extra late payment that has penalty fees. An SMS payment reminder, or text message 'nudge', is proven to increase payments. Stop with email reminders that get ignored or telephone calls that no one wants to make and embrace text messages for payment collection.
SMS Is Proven Effective
SMS open rates are as high as 98%, compared to just 20% of all emails. And, on average, it takes 90 seconds for someone to open a text and 90 minutes to open an email. That is reason alone to use SMS for payment reminders. To further this, the Australian Government and a major local bank trialled SMS and email reminders on credit card customers and found email reminders had no effect but text messages increased credit card repayments by about 28 per cent.
SMS Is Automated
Chasing payment from clients can be time-consuming, especially if you're making calls because your emails are being ignored. Yet within a few clicks, you can create an automated SMS campaign which will send gentle payment reminders that you know will be read. You can do this within the ClickSend dashboard or by integrating with your accounting software via Zapier or directly using the ClickSend SMS REST API.
The most common ways our billing and collections clients use SMS are to:
- Advise due dates for payments
- Set a reminder to pay when date is pending
- Advise when payments are overdue
- Offer incentives such as discounts for early payments
- Inform of non-payment and resulting penalties
Consumers are more likely to respond well to payment-due reminders when they are personalised, framed politely, and timed mindfully. Research studies into this phenomenon have concluded that an SMS reminder ideally sent a day before payment is due, results in a significant increase in the probability that an account will be paid on time, and that even late payments will be received sooner. Using a personalised message is also seen in a favourable light by the recipient as opposed to a cookie-cutter approach.
SMS Payment Reminder Best Practices
Use an SMS Billing System for your business to improve cash flow and enhance customer satisfaction. Don’t forget to include in each reminder message:
- Your client’s name
- The amount owing
- Payment due date
- Any other payment terms
Also, be mindful of the time you send your message, especially to debtors in other timezones. No one appreciates being asked for money on weekends or in the middle of the night.
Let’s Get Started
Less payment follow up calls? Yes please. Talk about a no-brainer; get started with your trial now and wish you had started earlier!