24TH SEPTEMBER, 2020

How Can Businesses Get Paid Faster?

Getting paid needn’t be hard work

Businesses rely on their invoices being paid quickly, especially smaller businesses and start-ups. It’s the only way they can cover their expenses, paying their own suppliers on time and keeping up a steady cash flow. Of course, with COVID-19 economic chaos looming large being paid on time has never been more important.

But how can you (politely and professionally) get your invoices paid quicker? Try our tips.

1. Ask for a deposit

You’re not a bank, so don’t take on all the risk. Before you begin a piece of work for a client, particularly a large project, make sure you take a non-refundable down payment that at the very least covers your costs (like materials). At least then you’ve already got some of the money in your pocket if the balance is late to arrive.

Many businesses ask for anything from 10 to 50% up front, but this of course depends on the business itself, the work involved and the industry it’s in. It’s certainly not an unreasonable request, especially in the current climate.

2. Make sure they’re happy with everything

Around a week or so before the invoice should be paid, get in touch with the person you worked for to politely check in. Send them an email or a message and ask them if everything is ok with the work you carried out, and if there’s anything else they need. Not only will this jog their memory, it’s also good customer service.

3. Offer a range of flexible payment methods

Different customers will have different preferences when it comes to payment methods. For this reason it’s worth offering a range of ways to make paying your invoices easier.

Cash-free invoicing is the simplest, fastest and safest option. Bank transfers, bank deposits, credit or debit card payments are the most popular types. Of course, cash or cheque payments should be possible too for those who wish to pay using more traditional methods.

4. Offer an incentive for early payment

As you’ll probably know yourself, when a bill arrives it’s easy to just leave it on the side for a week or two. Payment’s not due for ages after all - except for you then forget and hurriedly end up paying it on the very last day.

For businesses, this can really hurt cash flow. But a good way round it is to offer an incentive which will get people paying up quickly. A small discount is a popular method, or some kind of free service for early payers.

5. Switch to automated invoicing systems

Back in the day, invoices were printed out and send in the post. But nowadays there are far better automated options, where invoices are less likely to go missing in transit. These new online systems will create the invoice, before sending it off to the customer electronically ready for online payment.

Some types of invoicing software also come with extra features, like automatically reminding customers if they risk paying late. It saves you chasing them up, so freeing up your time for other things. Incidentally, at Myriad Associates we recommend Xero as integrates perfectly with the Tax Cloud portal, should you later come to make an R&D Tax Credits claim.

6. Keep chasing

Some businesses (and people) just aren’t great at paying up until the eleventh hour and require a fair amount of chasing. The fact is, many businesses have multiple invoices to pay at any one time, and it’s easy to get forgotten if you keep quiet.

It’s tempting not to chase for fear of rocking the boat or being a pest. But polite, firm but fair reminders - every day if need be - may well do the trick.

Has your company carried out any innovative R&D projects in the last two years?

Then you could be due R&D Tax Credits backed Revenue.

Plus, the scheme is open to any company in Ireland regardless of size, sector or profitability. So whatever R&D work you’ve done, if it makes a new development in science or technology then a claim could well be on the cards.

R&D Tax Credits scheme: A quick run down

For almost 20 years, the Irish government has been keen to encourage business innovation and growth. Growing businesses are more likely to survive and thrive, and this has a positive impact on the wider economy.

For this reason, R&D Tax Credits are offered as a tax incentive to any Irish companies making a scientific or technological advancement in their field. This may be because they’ve created a brand new product, process or service, or because they’ve appreciably improved an existing one. R&D Tax Credits can even be claimed if the project ultimately failed; as long as risks were taken, and expenses incurred, then R&D Tax Credits will likely be awarded.

What are claims worth?

This is the best bit - R&D Tax Credits are incredibly generous. Companies can claim up to 25% of its R&D expenditure as a Corporation Tax credit, or (for loss-making companies) as a cash credit. This 25% credit is given over and above the 12.5% Corporation Tax deduction at the standard rate. So 37.5% of R&D expenses can be claimed back in total (we told you it’s generous!)

The benefit is available for R&D projects across a huge variety of sectors – so make sure you don’t miss out on what can easily amount to many thousands of euros.

Find out more on our R&D Tax Credits page.

Submit your R&D Tax Credits claim via the Tax Cloud portal

Has your company undertaken any innovative research and development projects lately? Is it based in the Republic of Ireland? Then R&D Tax Credits may can help cover a range of R&D expenditure. See our R&D Tax Credits page to find out how.

Tax Cloud allows you to make a fully guided and supported R&D Tax Credits claim that’s tailored to your business. It’s a hassle-free, simple way to see what you could claim, and of course the R&D experts at Myriad Associates (creators of the Tax Cloud) are ready to help every step of the way.

Sign up to the Tax Cloud portal for businesses for free and start your claim today. You could well end up thousands of euros better off.

Barrie Dowsett, ACMA, GCMA
Author Barrie Dowsett, ACMA, GCMA CEO, Tax Cloud
Start your Tax Cloud claim now Discover if you qualify and ensure your R&D tax claim is maximised. Get started
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Meet some of the team behind Tax Cloud

Barrie Dowsett Barrie Dowsett ACMA CGMA Chief Executive Officer
Jillian Chambers Jillian Chambers Technical Analyst/Writer
Lauren Olson Lauren Olson Technical Analyst Manager
Rabia Mohammad Rabia Mohammad Corporate Tax Associate