I’ve got a growing pile of unpaid invoices and it’s starting to stress me out. Been thinking about diving into my business data to see if I can spot any patterns or red flags. Maybe there’s a way to nip these issues in the bud before they become full-blown problems.
Anyone else crunch their numbers to tackle late payments? Curious if it actually helps or if I’m just procrastinating on making those awkward collection calls.
I’ve been in your shoes, and analyzing data definitely helped me get a handle on things.
Here’s what worked for me:
I made a simple spreadsheet to track payment times for each client. It was eye-opening. Some folks I thought were great customers were actually always late.
I started color-coding invoices - green for paid, yellow for getting close to due, red for overdue. Made it easy to see at a glance who needed a nudge.
One thing that really helped was tracking which day of the month clients usually paid. I started sending invoices a week before that day, and it improved my cash flow a lot.
But yeah, don’t get stuck in analysis paralysis. Use the data to spot trends, then take action. I still had to make those awkward calls, but at least I knew which ones were most important.
And don’t forget to reward the good payers. A quick thank you note goes a long way.
Yeah, data can help sometimes. I usually just wing it with invoices. If they’re late, I send a reminder. If that doesn’t work, I make a call. Simple stuff, really.