Your Corporate Clients. How Do You Handle Them?
Business By sweetlayers Updated 14 Jul 2009 , 3:56pm by cas17
I have landed my first reoccurring corporate client for company birthdays once per month.
Is it OK to just email them an invoice to be paid every month like any other client or is it customary to do something else?
I'm a rookie needing advice.
I think an invoice paid every month is a great idea.
I would ask them exactly what they want to do. I have 5 corporate clients, 2 of them take an emailed monthly invoice and then pay me a couple of weeks later, another likes to collect the invoices on delivery and pays within a couple of days. one pays cash on delivery and the last one writes me a cheque when I deliver.
I always go with what they want to do, make it easy for the customer!
HTH
I give an invoice when they are delivered and a check is mailed with two weeks.
I work for a pretty big "corporation". Can I make a suggestion? Have someone sign off on your invoice upon satisfactory delivery. Just smile and say, hope you guys like it, can you sign this for me?
Also, get the same person or 2 people to take your invoices every month and make sure they pay them reliably. You might want to get the name or names of those who are going to be paying your invoices so you have someone to go to if things get paid late. My company is notorious for having a million people get the wrong invoices and things get paid late a lot. Hope this helps!
I take an invoice with the delivery then send a statement monthly listing open invoices. I make sure that the terms of sale are on the invoice so that when they reach accounting, they know when to submit payment.
Good Luck!
Depending on the situation, corporate clients are the only ones I permit to be on an Accts Receivable basis. Most small deliveries (lunches, cookies, cakes) are paid with a company credit card, but I have a few who prefer to send them thru their payable dept and I'm ok with that. When I do cakes for the Gov's office/celebrations, they actually issue payment directly into my checking account about 3 weeks later. Macy's pays me from their St. Louis office.
But these are small orders. I have one corporate client who orders small things, like cakes and cookies, that we invoice, but when they order catering for 200 of their employees, I'm paid in advance like any other catering client.
So most of the time, asking how they want to handle it will work. But I had one (apartment complex) who wanted to have a big parking lot picnic for their tenants but wanted to set up Net 60 payment terms. No can do, toots!
Net 60 is when company is responsible for paying the whole bill within 60 days. The standard terms for payment are net 30 if you are not offering a discount.
What are Net 60 payment terms?
It means payment is due 60 days after the invoice date, or in this case they wanted to pay me 2 months AFTER the picnic! 
Net30 means payment is due in 30 days.
2%10/Net 30 means if you pay in 10 days, you can deduct 2% off of the bill; otherwise the full amount is due in 30 days.
(When I did the accounts payable for the casket company, that 2%/10 saved us over $10,000 a month. It adds up!)
Net 60 is when company is responsible for paying the whole bill within 60 days. The standard terms for payment are net 30 if you are not offering a discount.
Thanks. These people are easy, they are going to pay upfront before the delivery like everyone else. So I got lucky. However, it's nice to know what I will have to deal with with other companies. Thanks a bunch to all!
Thanks. These people are easy, they are going to pay upfront before the delivery like everyone else. So I got lucky. However, it's nice to know what I will have to deal with with other companies. Thanks a bunch to all!
Also, one more question. Do you have an actual contract that they sign? Or do you just trust that they will order once per month?
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