Selling on account without chasing payments

Selling on account — delivering now, getting paid later — is how most wholesale business in the Caribbean works. Hotels, restaurants and shops expect it. But every invoice on credit is money you've lent, and chasing it eats hours every week.

The businesses that get paid on time don't chase harder. They set things up so paying is easy and late paying is noticed early.

1. Agree the terms before the first order

Write down, for every account customer:

• payment terms (for example, 30 days from the invoice),
• a credit limit — the most they can owe you at once,
• who pays and how to reach them.

Put the terms on every invoice. Disputes are shorter when nobody can say they didn't know.

2. Check the limit at the moment you sell

A credit limit only works if it's checked when the order is taken, not when the statement goes out. Aurient checks each customer's balance and limit as orders are entered, so a rep sees straight away that a customer is over.

3. Send clear invoices, fast

Invoice the day the goods go out. A clear invoice shows what was delivered, the customer's own prices, tax, the due date and how to pay. Invoices that arrive late get paid late.

4. Make paying easy

Every extra step between "I should pay that" and "paid" costs you days. Give customers:

• bank details on every invoice,
• a pay-online link, so they can pay by card on the spot,
• a portal where they can see their invoices and statement any time.

5. Send statements on a schedule

A monthly statement showing every open invoice, aged (current, 30, 60, 90+ days), is the single most effective collection tool. Many customers pay from the statement, not the invoice.

6. Notice early

Look at the aged balances every week. A customer who usually pays in 25 days and is now at 40 is telling you something. A friendly call at 40 days works far better than a hard one at 90.

7. Credit notes and returns, done properly

When goods come back or a price was wrong, issue a credit note rather than adjusting the next invoice by hand. Statements then match what the customer has, and the books stay right.

8. Driver cash

If drivers collect cash or cheques on delivery, record it at the stop and apply it to the invoices when the van comes back. Money collected but not applied looks like money owed.

Putting it together

Terms on every invoice, limits checked at the order, invoices out the same day, an easy way to pay, monthly statements and a weekly look at the aged balances. That routine takes far less time than chasing, and it keeps good customers good.

Aurient's wholesale plan does each of these steps, from the order to the statement. Try it free for 14 days.