How to get your invoices paid quicker

Three people asked me exactly the same question this week.

How do I get my invoices paid quicker?

And every single time, my answer surprised them.

Because most directors, when they think about getting paid faster, think about chasing. Better systems. Stronger terms. More follow-up calls.

All of those things matter. But none of them is the answer I gave.

I have a client I have been doing business with for fifteen years. Recently I said to him, “We have been working together for fifteen years now. I really value that.”

He looked at me and said, “That is because you have always made me feel like your best client. I feel valued and wanted.”

Fifteen years. Still here. Still working together.

That is what appreciation does.

The single most overlooked habit for getting invoices paid faster is this.

Thank your clients when they pay you.

Not a receipt. Not an automated confirmation. An actual thank you.

Because here is what the research tells us. Thanking a client when they pay reinforces the behaviour. The client who receives a genuine thank you for paying promptly pays promptly again next time. And the time after that. Because nobody ever thanks them for it. And you just did.

And here is the one that should really make you think.

The number one reason clients leave a supplier is not price. It is not a better offer from a competitor.

It is that they do not feel appreciated.

If you are not sure what to say, here is something you can use today:

“I just wanted to say thank you for always paying our invoices promptly. In today’s climate it genuinely makes a difference, and it tells me a lot about how you run your business. I really do appreciate it.”

That is it. Thirty seconds.

So here is what I implore you to do right now, before you have that coffee.

Tell whoever looks after your invoicing to send a thank you as standard, every single time a payment is received. Not once. Every time. Make it part of the process from today.

Because the directors who get paid fastest are not always the ones with the best contracts or the toughest credit terms.

They are the ones whose clients actually want to pay them.

Thank them. Let them feel appreciated. Because they are.

I am Mark Smillie. Have a great weekend.

And if business finance ever comes up, you know where I am.