Food is essential for any type of event, regardless if it’s big or small. You are often hired for birthday parties, anniversaries, wedding receptions, business holiday events, etc. After all, what’s an event without your service? However, some customers might take your business for granted. You may struggle with collecting unpaid bills. Who can blame you? There are other areas that need your attention. In order to simplify the tasks in the finance department, we have listed a couple collection practices to help you recover that unpaid debt.

Clear Communication

When your business gets hired for catering, ensure that you’re clear about the costs and the payment dates. Don’t glaze over the prices or give too much flexibility on payments. If you are clear about the costs of your service, there is no room for excuses. 

To enhance communication, you can send an email or text that reminds your clients of the due dates. Allow little room for error, and you will notice that the bills will be paid on time.

Build a Relationship 

One of the best ways to build your brand and enhance your customers’ experience is with a great relationship. Not only do clients keep on rehiring you for future events, but they also have more respect towards you. It’s a lot harder to forget about making payments or postponing them when you have a strong relationship with a business. Your clients want to maintain that connection, so they will do their best to keep up and give you what you earned.

Building a relationship with your clients can be simple. You can start by sending tailored emails or texts. If you have social media accounts, regularly interact and respond to customer’s inquiries there too. After you have served a client, you can send out a survey about their experience or maybe even call them to ask if they were satisfied with the service.

Variety of Payment Methods

There is no need to receive payments by check or cash only nowadays. Technology has opened a wide array of methods for clients to pay you on time. Mobile apps have simplified the way we receive and keep track of payments. Apps such as Venmo, Zelle, and PayPal allow you to request and receive money in seconds. Your clients will have no excuses for inconveniences, such as commuting to pay their bills. Even though you can provide a number of ways for them to pay you, be strict about the payment date. The less flexibility you allow, the more likely your bills will be paid on time.

Hire a Debt Collection Agency

The most reliable and convenient collection practice is outsourcing a debt collection agency like Southwest Recovery Services. We have been collecting debt for catering businesses and other SMB companies for many years all over the country. Our agents are professionally trained and follow all the rules and regulations for ethical collection practices. And our team uses every available strategy to collect, such as:

• Oral and Written Communication
• Customer Service Quality Standards
• Effective Negotiation
• Skip Tracing Techniques
• Credit Reporting
• Legal Action

Get in Touch with Southwest Recovery Services

If you are a catering business that is struggling with getting your clients to pay on time or recovering debt, try these collection practices. Or even better, give Southwest Recovery Services a call. We operate on a contingency basis, which means we don’t get paid until you do. Our agents will treat your clients with respect and uphold your reputation. Let’s recover the money that your catering business rightfully earned.