Even the best customers can get into financial problems from time to time and not pay their bills. If you do not want to damage your business relationship because the customer is important to you, be friendly and understanding. Server Allbusiness.com described a few ways how to get your money back in the best and politest way.
1) Personal approach
If the usual communication between the customer and your business department is based on sending invoices, try to make the communication more personal. If your customer payment is late, send, for example, an e-mail. The customer will probably realize his or her fault. The e-mail must be polite and express understanding. Explain why timely payments are important to your company. The e-mails should not express that it is only about your profit.
2) Go higher in the company hierarchy
If this tactic does not work, try to move higher in the company. Write an e-mail to your customer 's boss and ask how you can help solve the problem. Stay polite and understanding. Express a wish to continue with your mutual business relationship. Before you go to debt-recovery, try to connect via a phone call.
3) Engage a third party
Engage a third party with the problem, e.g. your accounting department. Create a formal email that gives the impression of being an enforcement agency. This person can present more authority to your customer. The subtle pressure of a third party often encourages customer payments.
4) Provide good advice
Every company can get into financial problems from time to time and you understand that. Try offering your past due account some friendly advice, like a recommendation of loan company you had a good experience with.
5) Final solution
If the customer is a good business partner, you may let the debt go, or invoice factor it out and hope that it will not happen it the future. However, if the customer is not important enough to you and owes a large amount of money, you can consider more formal way of getting your money back.
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