How to Automate Your Money Boundaries in 2023
Getting the money you’ve worked for shouldn’t be so hard.
We want to be there for our clients, and be as flexible as possible, but it can be frustrating when a payment is five days late, and your client is assuring you they’re going to pay it…even though this isn’t the first time this has happened. One of the boundaries every business sets with their clients is what to expect when they work with you, and that definitely includes how and when you get paid. When you automate your money boundaries, you’re creating the clarity and consistency that’s needed to keep them strong.
Automation isn’t just about saving the time and energy you spend sending out notices and invoices. It’s creating a business where in any part of the process of working with you, your client will automatically know where the both of you stand.
Setting Your Money Boundaries
The first step is deciding what your rules are.How are your payments structured? Do you take a deposit before you start a project? When is the balance due? Do you offer refunds, and when? What happens if they miss a payment? Does work stop? Is there a penalty fee? How many missed payments does it take for their contract to be canceled? Be honest about what you want.
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Get The Boundaries In Your Contract
Your contract turns your boundaries into legally binding standard operating procedures: Penalties for missed payments. Refund restrictions. Causes for cancellation. If you’re feeling nervous about any particular one (how is “non-refundable deposit” going to go down?), take a deep breath, bold the print so it stands out, and move on. “It’s in your contract” is a powerful sentence. Set yourself up to use it.
Automate Your Invoices
Choose an online system that automates your invoices, ensuring that the last time you didn’t get paid will be the last time. When you use a CRM like Honeybook, you don’t have to remember to send them, or remember if you did. Honeybook will send a payment reminder to your clients and an invoice status alert to you. You can also schedule another email reminder if they miss a payment, outlining your penalties. “It’s in your email” is a strong back up to “It’s in your contract”, and it makes easier to say “No”, or even better, “I can’t.”
Honeybook can also set up recurring payments using their credit card or a repeating bank transfer. You can require that clients do this, too. They can change the payment method at any time, but only you can fully cancel the recurring payments.
Automating Requires A Mindset Shift
You have to be honest about how you really want to work with your clients. You have to be willing to build that into every piece of your business process. The boundaries you set are mutually beneficial to you and your clients. If they aren’t scrambling for rules or information, then you no don’t have to scramble to give it to them!
If you’re interested in strengthening the money boundaries in your business, sign up for a Honeybook VIP Day, my done for you set up service, or contact me to schedule a free consultation.
I’ll talk to you soon,
Elizabeth
Click here to sign up for my weekly newsletter and get more tips like these. You’ll also get my free guide, “Ten Easy Ways to Save Time By Automating Your Business.”
