3 Ways Letting Your Customers Pay Online Could Save You Time

When you're in the business of supplying customers with a regular service, you need to get paid. In order to get paid, you send out a bill and wait for your customers to send payment. This takes time that you may not be able to afford. You have your own bills to pay in order to keep your doors open, and waiting for money to come in can be excruciating at times. Then there's taking the time to go to the bank and deposit the checks, something that takes away from your ability to get work done. Instead of waiting, speed up the process by offering customers the convenience of online payments.

Offer a Payment Page on Your Website

credit cards accepted

Image via Flickr by Philip Taylor PT

It's quick and easy to set up a payment page that attaches to your website. However, you do need a merchant account from a provider like BillPro that offers a payment gateway. The Payment Service Provider (PSP) can offer you payment solutions such as credit cards, direct debit, ACH/e-check and check processing. The more convenient the payment options are for your customers, the easier it is for them to purchase from your website.

Don't forget about payments from smartphones. It's not much extra work to get your payment page viewable on a smartphone browser. That way your customers can pay you on the go, which saves them time. Plus the gateway uses the same authentication security as a computer browser-based gateway to send the information, protecting everyone involved from theft.

Automate the Billing Process

Whether it's a one-time charge or a fixed amount every month, you need to remind your customers of their balance owed. It takes time to print out a physical bill, put it in an envelope, and get it into the mail. This also costs you money. While the cost may be small, it's still time out of your day to get it done. The cost is more if you need to pay someone to do it. Instead of letting paperwork take away from your valuable time, use an email billing program and enter the data into templates.

An email billing program requires the entry of an email address and any related customer information. When you have an online payment page, you have the option to insert a link to your payment page, reducing the amount of steps necessary to make a payment.

Why Accept Online Payments?

Writing a check and mailing it takes time on the part of the customer. It's also easy to forget. Using a combination of e-reminders and online payments simplifies payment for your customers. All they have to do is read the email, follow the link to the payment page, enter the relevant information, and the money is credited to your account in seconds. It couldn't get any simpler than that.

It's a given that not all of your customers will convert to using online payments. But if you give everyone the ability to settle his or her bill online, you'll get most of your money sooner. In turn, your business will run more smoothly and with much less stress.

 

Blogtrepreneur
 

Blogtrepreneur is a website where busy entrepreneurs learn to strategically use blogging as a way to exponentially grow our business and make more money.