5 ways FreeAgent can help you get paid pronto

Even when you’re skillfully juggling all of your responsibilities as a business owner, keeping your cashflow healthy relies on your customers paying you - and more importantly paying you on time. 

It sounds simple, but when we dived into the data, a staggering 43% of invoices sent over a year by FreeAgent customers were paid late. But we come bearing good news - FreeAgent has lots of powerful (and easy-to-use) functionality to help you overcome roadblocks in your invoicing and payment process.

Make it easy for your customers to pay in a jiffy 

One way to get paid promptly is by making it as quick and convenient as possible for your customers to pay you. Tyl by NatWest, Stripe, PayPal all connect with FreeAgent and enable you to include a payment link to your invoices. FreeAgent can then send the link in an invoice email or you can share it with your customer yourself. Then in just a few clicks, your customers can pay you quickly and securely - precious time saved all round! 

Use Direct Debits for pester-free payments

If you have repeat customers who you regularly invoice, you can streamline the payment process by setting up recurring invoices in FreeAgent. But that’s not all. Through our slick integration with GoCardless, your customers can easily set up a Direct Debit mandate, allowing you to regularly collect payments without having to pester them. 

Check out this short and sweet webinar to learn more about the different ways you can get paid, and how to decide which is the right fit for your business. Our in-house experts regularly host webinars, so be sure to keep an eye on what's upcoming or catch up on past recordings.  

Issue ace invoices that chase themselves

Ever had a customer who is great at communicating their questions and requests, but the email with your invoice always seems to disappear into the ether? Even with ironclad payment terms, some folks still fall into the ‘late payers’ category. Save yourself the trouble of chasing customers with automatic payment reminder emails. FreeAgent has staying power - we’ll keep nudging until they pay. If you’re looking for more guidance and tips for creating effective invoices, here are some bite-sized guides to help you.

Keep chronic late payers out of your blind spot 

While there may be justified reasons for an invoice being paid late, you will undoubtedly have a few pesky repeat offenders in your customer base - from chronic late payers to those who go AWOL. Luckily FreeAgent’s Radar functionality shares valuable business insights, including identifying the customers who pay the slowest. Knowing who the late payers are can give you the opportunity to update your payment terms and the insight to prepare for how they might temporarily impact your cashflow. 

Stay connected when you’re on the move  

Multi-tasking is a forte when you’re self-employed. The FreeAgent mobile app was designed to keep up with you, no matter where the working day takes you. Create and send an invoice in between meetings, check on the status of your outstanding invoices on your commute, or snap a photo of an expense receipt as soon as you pay it.

Keeping on top of tasks in real time can help you avoid having to catch up on your business bookkeeping. If you’re a sole trader, limited company director or unincorporated landlord, FreeAgent will even work away in the background to calculate your Self Assessment liability, so when the time comes to file, we can auto-populate much of your tax return for you.

There’s plenty more where those came from. Try a 30-day free trial to explore all the ways FreeAgent can support your business and keep your show on the road.