Easier ways to get paid as a small business

Jun 5, 2018 | Business, Featured

Working with small businesses, and being one ourselves, at Gopher we appreciate the unique challenges facing small business owners as they look to make sure their cashflow remains consistent and that they have enough money in the bank. In fact, there are some pretty solid statistics to back this up, as according to research conducted by FreeAgent, only 51% of UK businesses were paid on time in 2015, which is simply shocking. As a small business owner this often means relying on others to pay on time, which quite frankly is easier said than done. However, technology has made getting paid rather more easy and so for your reading pleasure, we have compiled a list of the very best and latest ways to make sure you get paid.

  1. Microsoft Pay

Microsoft Pay has rather been taken over by Apple Pay for quite some time, but that is all set to change with their latest update. Because now they are integrating their digital wallet service with Outlook which means that you can send a company your invoice, and if they are using Outlook to read it, they can pay that bill directly. Meaning, hopefully, you should get paid far quicker.

  1. Amazon Payments

Another tech giant, Amazon, has proven that they are looking out for the small guy. Easily integrating their software onto your website, it allows your customer to pay for digital goods and services smoothly, simply and effectively. In fact, they can pay using the payment information stored in their Amazon accounts meaning there really should be no excuses.

  1. Stripe

A platform that is dedicated to “constantly improving,” this system uses some seriously beautiful code that has seen its popularity spread to around 25 countries. And we’re not surprised; with a stunning interface and a simple payment structure with no setup, monthly or hidden fees, payment only for what you use and real time fee reporting it is a fantastic addition to any business.

  1. GoCardless

This has to be one of our favourite options at Gopher because it genuinely works to support small businesses. Giving SMEs the option to set up direct debits with a fee of only 1% per transaction, which is capped at £2.00 it’s fantastically cheap. Not only that, but it integrates phenomenally well with Xero; our favourite cloud accounting software and one which is uniquely suited to the needs of the small business owner.

  1. Payment terms

Whilst we are, obviously, pretty big advocates of the advantages of technology, beyond these helpful tools there are a number of ways to make sure you do actually get paid. We always recommend taking some sort of a deposit upfront to make sure your client is, to a certain extent, invested in the project. More than that – also make sure to get a contract that is checked by a solicitor and signed by your client (we would recommend using the fantastic portal HelloSign).

These are just as important as the tools we have mentioned above.

If you have any more questions about making sure your IT infrastructure is smooth and efficient please do feel free to give us a call on 0330 332 1391 or drop us an email on hello@gopher.co.uk

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