Are you still spending too much time administering payments?

In our article about implementing Ezidebit automated payments software into your small business, we highlighted how important it is for busy small business owners like you to get implementation done quickly so you can get back to business-as-usual and start earning a return on your Ezidebit investment immediately.Are you still spending too much time administering payments: Ezidebit

If this is you – we can help. For 17 years, we’ve been helping countless clients from a range of industries to achieve a positive return on their Ezidebit investment. To help you do the same, here we reveal our experts’ top three recommendations to extracting the most value out of your Ezidebit automated payments software. Read on to discover:

How to ensure enough customers have made the switch
Why you need to communicate 1:1 with cash payers
How to communicate the benefits of automated payments to customers

If implementing your Ezidebit software was a smooth process for you, you’re probably already starting to see some improvements in your internal business efficiencies and a reduction in your operating costs. This is great news, as these improvements will soon have a flow-on effect to increasing your positive cash flow and ultimately increasing your profits. However, if more than a couple of months have gone by and you’re not really seeing a significant reduction in the amount of time you put into manual payments administration tasks (such as chasing late customer payments, tracking who has paid, counting cash and so on), you’re probably wondering why this is the case.

 

Ensure enough customers have switched onto direct debit

If you don’t have enough customers paying you by direct debit, you’re running the risk of actually increasing (rather than decreasing) the time you spend on manual payments administration tasks. Rather than simply offering direct debit as yet another payment option for your customers, you need to use your direct debit software as a way to decrease the existing pile of cash, credit card, cheque and EFTPOS payments that you’re already manually processing at the end of each week. There’s a tipping point at which the cost of your Ezidebit software will start to deliver a positive return on your investment – if you haven’t reached this tipping point yet, you need to move more customers off the old ways of paying you and onto your new Ezidebit direct debit system. Start by doing a simple calculation of the percent of your customers paying automatically versus those paying manually. If you have more than 20% paying manually, you need to encourage them to make the switch. It will help your business, and it will give you more time to service your customers.

 

Address any hidden fears

Before you implemented your Ezidebit automated payments software, you probably fielded a few questions from your staff and customers regarding the upcoming change. Think back to what sorts of questions you were asked during this time – did you find yourself being asked the same questions repeatedly? If so, this is your clue to uncovering any hidden fears or concerns that may be lurking in your customers’ minds. Try talking to our expert payments consultants about strategies to overcome these fears. Talk to your customers 1 on 1 about automated payments. Dispel the myth, and their concerns about being locked into a contract.

Communicate the benefits

We’ve found that resistance to change can be a sign that your customers don’t really understand the benefits that switching to direct debit will bring for them. The good news is, this problem can usually be overcome with information. The best benefits for your customers are:

• It’s safe: Ezidebit has the world’s highest standards of payment security – PCI DSS Level 1 (see our listing on Visa and Mastercard)
• It’s convenient: Your customers can choose their payment day and method (Bank Account or Credit Card)
• It’s controlled by your customer: Payments are signed off by your customer in advance, giving them control of their spending with you
• Make sure your customers know that paying you by direct debit will be quicker and more convenient for them and tell them you are looking forward to continuing to offer competitive prices as a result of keeping your administration overheads low.

Strategies for shifting more customers to direct debit

If you feel that you need to get proactive to encourage more of your customers to pay you by direct debit, you might consider:

• Creating an incentive or competition to encourage more automated payments (everyone loves to win an iPad!)
• Make automated payments an agenda item with every customer meeting you have in the next 30 days
• Create a simple flyer and leave it on your front desk, or even include it with your next invoice
• These simple strategies will help you get the most out of your Ezidebit payment solution, and help you save even more time.