You've made the first step, you decided to automate your payment collection. 🎉

Now it's time to get your automation set up.

With these best practices, you'll get paid faster, on time, and earn more reviews in the process.

Let's face it, it's always a best practice to say thank you. Not just when you are collecting invoices.

But, a nice thank you when you're collecting your customer's money goes a long way.

The message after you have collected payment is ripe with the opportunity to boost your public image.

Ideally, every customer that is paying you is a satisfied customer. This means it's the perfect time to ask for a review of your services.

In your thank you message, ask politely at the end to kindly leave a review if they were satisfied with their service.

We've seen this lead to a 37% increase in the amount of Google Reviews.

Here's where automation can fall short: the personal touch.

But it doesn't have to.

There's a famous quote that says, "A person’s name is to that person, the sweetest, most important sound in any language.”

Even if you aren't sending out each message, starting your message off with someone's first name is always a good idea.

This is a pretty simple equation.

The easier it is to pay, the more people will pay. That means fewer overdue payments and more on-time ones.

If you remind someone to pay, but don't give them a way to do so your customer will feel lost and won't end up paying.

Always give your customers a way to take action by including link to pay in the reminder.

In MessageDesk, the payments automation will automatically include a link to pay the invoice with the tag {{ InvoicePayLink }}.

The payment collection process is usually considered the end of the transaction, but you don't want it to be the end of the relationship.

Somewhere down the road, they may need your services again. You want to be the first person they think of.

This means you need to stay top of mind even when you aren't actively doing business with them.

A perfect way to stay top of mind with former and potential customers is through a weekly/monthly text list.