Showcase Your Professionalism by Improving Your Invoicing Process

RCS Influencers Ashley and Seth Pietsch say that you should be looking at your invoicing process from a marketing perspective. 

When it comes to staying on top of collections, our team views it as a two-phase process – where the first phase happens before the invoice even reaches the client. It starts by explaining the billing terms at the time we are presenting a proposal and sending an invoice immediately following the binding of a policy. 

Most people don’t view the invoicing process from a marketing perspective, but it’s really an opportunity to showcase your team’s professionalism. Imagine receiving an invoice from Company A. It’s professional looking, includes a clear description and payment terms, a phone number or email address for any billing questions, a clear remittance address and any required purchase order numbers, etc.  

Then imagine receiving an invoice from Company B. It’s handwritten, with no clear remittance address or description of what you’re being charged for. You have questions about what the invoice is for, but there’s no phone number or email address listed on the invoice. After a quick Google search, you locate a phone number for Company B – only to find out that the invoice was for a purchase you made six months ago. Company A has better odds of receiving prompt payment, while Company B’s invoice will very likely result in a delay. When comparing the two companies, which will you trust with more business? 

At Integrity, we believe in putting our best foot forward with every interaction we have with our clients. In the rare case that we do run into an issue with collections, we have a protocol in place to guide us through the process. We recommend having a “Collections Plan” that suits your business so that, if situations arrive, you already have a process in place to mitigate them. 

Seth Pietsch is the president and Ashley Pietsch is vice president of Integrity Insurance & Bonding Inc. See Seth’s full bio here and Ashley’s full bio here.