Tried and true payment methods
The two most common methods for small businesses to receive payments are cash and direct online payments. Each comes with its own advantages and challenges, depending on how your business operates.
Cash payments
Despite the shift toward digital payment systems, many small business owners still prefer to accept cash payments.
With cash payments, you receive money on the spot. This can be particularly useful if your business has pressing financial needs, such as purchasing inventory or paying employees. Unlike card or online payments, cash doesn’t come with transaction fees, making it a cost-effective way to be paid.
However, aside from the obvious fact that fewer people carry cash these days, handling cash exposes your business to theft or loss, especially if large sums are involved.
Cash payments also require manual tracking, which can be tedious and prone to human error. Balancing cash received against invoices takes time and is far less efficient than digital payment solutions.
Direct online payments
Direct online payments, such as bank transfers, are a popular payment option for service-based small businesses. This method involves sending customers invoices, which they pay through their bank’s internet banking.
Direct online payments are often free for both you and your customers, as most banks don’t charge fees for transfers. It's a straightforward method of receiving payments for invoices without any additional costs.
When customers include the invoice number with their payment, it becomes easy to identify and reconcile which payments match which invoices.
Unfortunately, delays are common. Customers may need time to gather the money for a larger sum, or simply forget that they’ve received your invoice, lost in a sea of emails. These delays can force you into a vicious cycle of chasing payments, which can affect cashflow and distract you from your business.
From an admin perspective, if a customer doesn’t include the correct invoice number or other identifying information, it can make reconciling payments a headache. This issue is especially common when dealing with several clients or large volumes of invoices.
Lots of small business owners still generate, send, and track invoices manually, a process that can be hugely time-consuming.
Why offer more payment methods?
Every small business owner understands the stress that comes with waiting for payments. While clearly communicated payment terms can help, expanding the number of payment options you accept can go a long way in reducing delays.
Greater flexibility
Anything you can do to make life easier for your customer will speed up the payment process. Customers appreciate being able to choose their preferred way to pay.
Whether they instinctively go for their credit card or digital wallet, or prefer set and forget options like direct debit, giving customers more choice helps reduce late payments.
With these methods in place, payments are processed quickly, helping you receive your funds faster and improving your business’s efficiency.
Greater risk protection
By encouraging your customers to pay digitally, you reduce the risk of holding large amounts of cash. Digital transactions are secure, easier to track, and eliminate the need for manually handling and reconciling physical cash.
Accept more payment methods with Business+ Invoices
Business+ is Great Southern Bank’s 100% digital business banking platform, available online or in-app.
Within Business+, you can access Business+ Invoices. It’s a fast, easy and free1 way to send professional-looking invoices to your customers, while offering them a range of payment options.
Here’s how Business+ Invoices works...
Generate invoices directly from your business banking
Once you’ve signed up to Business+, apply for Business+ Invoices so you can send your customer a payment request. By completing a few simple details, Business+ Invoices automatically generates an invoice which is emailed directly to your customer.
More than just invoices
When your customer receives your invoice, they have a variety of payment options available to pay the invoice directly. A bank transfer using the details in your invoice is just one online payment option they can choose from. They can also pay via PAYID, card, Apple Pay or Google Pay (using Stripe, our partner payments provider).
No more chasing payments
With Business+ Invoices, you can set up automatic payment reminders to your customers. This is a favourite feature for small business owners as it removes the arduous but necessary job of chasing overdue payments.
Track your invoices
Business+ Invoices has a handy payment dashboard so you can see what payments have come in, and what’s on the horizon. This is perfect for cashflow management and business planning.
Give yourself the best chance of avoiding costly payment delays by removing barriers for your customers. Offer them a range of popular payment methods and you can take the pain out of getting paid.
Remember to check out our Business Hub. You’ll find heaps of free resources and plenty of helpful information to keep your business humming.
