The keys you need to know to collect the cash you've earned

Anything can happen when you are a business owner. And the last thing you want to do is leave money on the table. If people don’t pay you, you have to collect the cash. Having processes in place will help but you need these 4 keys to collect the cash you’ve worked for.

About Dee Bowden

Dr. Dee Bowden is the creator of Collect the Cash. She works with small businesses that want to solve their cash flow problems. Dee is on a mission to keep small businesses profitable. Her revenue recovery strategies have been featured in Forbes, Yahoo Finance, VIP Global, Black Enterprise, and Thrive Global. Dee is also the author of Collect the Cash: The Sale is not Complete Until the Money is in the Bank. As a Christian, Dee took stock in the verse James 4:2, “you have not because you ask not” and her career took off from there.

The 4 Keys to Collect the Cash in Your Business

Problem-Solving
Customer Service
Relationship Building
Gratitude – thanking the people who help you solve the problem to collect the money

Problem-solving can help you get results more quickly. People and businesses change systems and invoices can be lost. If you aren’t getting paid, problem solve.

When God Provides in the Midst of Disappointment and Chaos

Life-changing events can jar you, but God often uses these experiences to teach you something and bring you to a new place in your journey. For Dee, the loss of her job led her to create a business, write a book, be sensitive to entrepreneurs new to the journey, and be able to help them set up their businesses.

Dee likes to say, the sale is not complete until the money is in the bank. It is important to bring clients into your business, but it is equally important to collect payment.

Setting Up Processes to Collect the Cash in Your Business

Think of the sales process for a smartphone. When you go into the phone store the representative is going to ask how you are. Then they take your driver’s license to verify your identity. Then the representative tells you that you are eligible for an upgrade. The next thing you know you are signing a contract for a new phone. Order fulfillment is the next step. Sale, contract, order fulfillment. Next is accounts payable. You can choose how and when you want to pay and they bill you accordingly. Then there are accounts receivable, this is the receipt of your payment to them.

It is necessary to keep track of invoices, the number of customers you have, and the money you have coming in and when.

System or Program to Use for Invoicing and Accounts Receivable

Quickbooks is an option.

Dee likes Excel.

Ask your accountant if they have a bookkeeper to help you set up this tracking system.

Robyn emphasized that setting up this process from contract to invoicing as automation saves time and helps decrease mistakes. But, there still needs to be a check and balance system.

Gratitude in Entrepreneurship

When you were a kid, there were two things your parent told you, to say please and thank you. God tells us to be grateful.

Being grateful and saying thank you shows appreciation. Gratitude is recognizing the people that have helped you get to where you are, you can’t do anything on your own.

Gratitude is the secret sauce, the thing most people don’t expect. The more gratitude you express, the more that flows through you.

As a business owner, you will run into problems. If God gave you an idea, he expects you to act on it. He also knows that you will have problems but he is there for you. And most importantly, have fun in your business.

Dee also recommended that everyone hire a coach.

Money Mindset

Robyn mentioned the interview with Judy Weber and the discussion around the money mindset. It is okay for us to make money as Christian women. If you look at the examples in the Bible, most of the great leaders were wealthy, they had money. The important thing to remember is that the love of money can distract us from doing good and living the life Jesus has called us to live. Think of the Proverbs 31 woman. She was an entrepreneur, very savvy, and made money.

So if you are concerned with charging clients and collecting the cash, remember, it is okay for you to make money.

Recommendations for Accepting Payments

Ideally, you want to be paid in full at the time of contract implementation. However, you can set up payments on a monthly basis. If you can’t get all payments upfront, get a deposit, and set up a process for invoicing on a recurring date each month. And if a payment is missed, don’t panic, contact the client as soon as possible. Dee said everything cannot be solved in 144 characters so sometimes you have to get on the phone.