vendredi 6 septembre 2013

Roles Played By Billing Consultants

By Lila Berger


Billing consultants enables you to effectively undertake billing process. This is largely dependent on the agreement made by your client. It may be inform of a written contract or any other form of agreement denoting billing and payment process.

For example, a contract may be set up to pay an individual as he or she completes a given milestone. Such as completing one quarter of a project or submitting a draft report of a specific recommendation. Then you invoice your client upon the completion of each milestone.

However, in conditions whereby the work is done frequently and billing the clients for the number of days or hours worked including the cost such as travel, photocopying among others. The collection of the charges and billing them to your clients are made at the end of the billing period agreed-upon with the service seeker. This is done at monthly or according to the agreed upon calendar.

The following can be done to promote effectiveness of your billing process. Front load your billing. While you can chose to invoice your client after reaching milestones, it is important to load your fee into the front of the project rather than doing so at the end.

This can be done by requesting for advanced payments or making the initial payments higher than the later. Upfront payments enable you to obtain financial head start and thereby minimizing the common risks such as, client delaying the payments or making the payments at the end of the project. Such money may be used to cater for the cost of the project.

Billing clients more often is important. This will ensure more often payments thereby improving your cash flow. Standard consultants prefers monthly payments however, daily or hourly payments increases individuals cash flow.

Invoice your client immediately. On completion of each milestone or at the end of your billing cycle. It important to send to your client the invoice, this will ensure sooner payments by the clients. This makes you better off financially.

Use email whenever possible. In the past invoices were snail mailed to the client, this used to take up to weeks to arrive. However, currently many clients welcome invoices sent via emails. This cuts delivery time from days to seconds as well as the cost. Significantly it is important to make email part of your business thereby encouraging the clients to do the same.

To motivate the clients to promptly make the payments, you should consider offering a discount for those who makes prompt payments. The cost incurred in offering discounts is not costly as compared to the benefits brought by prompt payments. The discount should offer to the clients who make prompt payments such as within 10 or 20 days.

Monitor client payment closely. It is important for the billing consultants to monitor the status of their invoices to make sure that the clients pay their bills on time. Making phone calls in necessary to ensure that payments are made on time as well as initiating collection procedures.




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