By: Colin Wilson

15 July 2023

Outstanding invoices can kill a business’s cash flow. Unfortunately, bad debt is a way of life in business, and it can and does cause difficulties, especially for small business where cash flow is always front of mind. Fortunately, there are some actions that a business can take to help mitigate the frequency and impact of non-paying customers.

Fenix now asks customers to make a payment of at least 50% to lock in an appointment on a particular day at a particular time. The customer is also requested to ensure the balance is paid two days prior to the day of the job. Of course, jobs through our real estate sales agents and property managers are exempt from following this process.

In some cases, pre-payment doesn’t or can’t occur, in which case we ask the customer to make the payment on the day, immediately after the job. As Fenix doesn’t normally take cash payments, we offer the customer a variety of options, such as, credit card payment over the phone by calling admin, credit card payment using the “Stripe” payments facility available by clicking the “Pay Now” button on the emailed invoice. In addition, there is the option of a bank transfer with a screen shot for proof of payment. Finally, there is the option of making a Point-of-Sale (POS) Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) by swiping or inserting their smart card or swiping their mobile phone over our “Square” card reader to effect immediate payment.

Occasionally, with all the good intentions in the world, the above process breaks down and payment is not made before or on the day of the job. In such cases, Fenix adopts the following procedure, immediate invoicing, 3-day follow-up invoicing, 7-day reminder invoice and a person-to-person phone call to see if there’s something we can do to help (maybe the customer needs a payment plan and a short delay while their funds arrive), 14-day letter of demand with a warning, and a 30-day hand off to our friendly debt collection agency CollectMORE. This rarely happens and is not good for either party. Our admin department works very closely with customers to ensure this situation is avoided.

THE ABOVE PROCESS PROVIDES BOTH FENIX AND OUR CUSTOMERS WITH GREATEST LIKLIHOOD OF ACHIEVING A SATISFACTORY PAYMENT OUTCOME BEFORE THINGS BECOME UNPLEASANT.