You’ve delivered that big new client project. Hooray! Yet before you can pronounce the project truly done, you need to get paid. And the client that had been corresponding with you with great urgency is now saying that the invoice needs to work its way through Accounting.
What’s more, the approver is on vacation and won’t be back next week. So, the check will be “in the mail.” So, while that will likely happen . . . for now, you need to wait.
Painful. And common, according to new national research highlighting the challenges many entrepreneurs know well when it comes to managing cash and getting paid for their work. The WePay SMB & Money Survey shows that 41 percent of U.S. small businesses surveyed reported having experienced cash-flow challenges, and 16 percent had experienced payment fraud — just in the past year.
What’s more, many entrepreneurs say they’ve dealt with multiple instances of customer payment fraud, with 8 percent of those affected reporting 10 or more instances, and more than half saying their first brush with payment fraud came within two years of starting their business.
More survey findings of note:
- 25 percent had experienced a chargeback (a fraudulent or disputed transaction that resulted in a financial institution requiring the business to make good on the loss) in the last year
- 33 percent said they usually get paid immediately (often for goods sold in-person), while the majority said they were left playing a delicate waiting and reminding game to get paid
- 10 percent had had to chase down a customer payment for 181 days or longer
What’s an entrepreneur to do when they’re passionate about what they do and yet don’t want to let payments challenges dull that passion or take a huge amount of time ongoing? Here are five…