When it comes down to the crunch, what is it you want from your customers? I would say the most likely response will be something along the lines of:
- continuous patronage
- payment
Obviously you don’t want continuous patronage if your customers won’t pay, but otherwise, long-term loyal customers are worth their weight in gold. So why not make things easy for them to stay?
Today’s post is all about payment. Yes, it is the responsibility of your customers to make sure they pay you, but let’s help you make it simple for them
eWay
PayThis integrates with Xero and allows your customers to pay their bills online. Payments are made when customers enter their credit card details on a secure portal on your website. eWay have now also added a Social Payment option, whereby credit card details need only be entered once, linked to a Facebook login or mobile number, and customers can easily make payments.
Xero add-on: https://www.xero.com/nz/add-ons/138-eway/
POLi
Another add-on for Xero to facilitate online payments for your customers. The difference with POLi is that it creates an avenue to pay via internet banking (without the need for your customers to get your bank details and double/triple check that they are correct). The beauty of this, much like PayThis, is that it automatically populates payment data with Xero and keeps your account as up to date as possible. Bonus: they have no base rate charge and instead of a percentage they charge a flat fee per transaction.
Xero add-on: http://www.polipay.co.nz/Xero+Customers.html
QuickBooks Payments
As can be established, this is Intuit’s online payment option for QuickBooks. This works in much the same way PayThis – you can send invoices directly to your customers with a “Pay Now” link. However, QB Payments accept credit cards and bank transfers, giving your customers options within the one application.
QuickBooks: http://quickbooks.intuit.com/payments/
PayPal
Most people have heard of PayPal, it’s a trusted system that does the job. It protects buyers against dodgy merchants who don’t send goods – if you’re doing post pay invoicing however, this method of payment may not be so relevant to you (which doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider it).
QuickBooks add-on: https://appcenter.intuit.com/syncwpaypal?locale=en-US
Xero add-on: https://www.xero.com/nz/add-ons/381-paypal/
And of course, you can’t forget the basics of direct deposit, cheque and cash.
At the end of the day you need to be realistic about your options. Choose one (at most two) online payment options that you believe will work best for you and your business (and of course your customers).
