Getting paid is part of being in business. When you’re already a boss, the specifics of which way you will be paid are just as key as the money itself. Imagine this: you go into a store or shop, and they refuse your payment because they don’t take it. Frustrating right? Your customers feel the same.
The Shift to Digital Payments
Payment insights from Xero report a change in consumer payment methods up and down the UK. In bigger numbers, people are saying yes to e-wallets, bank transfers, and more. This shift isn’t only out of consumer ease – it’s more than that.
Take going out for a meal and wanting to put the bill in half – not so many people carry cash on them now. What they do tend to have on them is their hand-held device. An e-wallet like Apple Pay or Google Pay could be the front-line answer to that. If your business doesn’t accept those payments, your customers may go to someone who does.
Why Payment Flexibility Matters
The Xero payments report proves that simply providing customers with multiple ways to pay has a significant impact on cash flow. Customers who can pay on their terms pay sooner, keeping the cash flow steady.
Take a cafe owner. If they can prevent an individual bad card from holding up the morning coffee line with an agreement that suits them, their customer — and the payment provider — and stripped of friction, they’re approach can hardly be described as anything but common sense. It certainly makes their premises more profitable.
How Xero Helps Businesses Adapt
It’s a pretty dazzling evolution to keep pace with, but it’s also one that’s becoming increasingly unmissable. And regardless of its relatively short history, it’s also mature and stable enough to offer genuine and robust opportunities for more of the continent’s businesses to be “lived on Xero.”
When it comes to getting paid, businesses that set up multiple payment methods through Xero have seen some fantastic results. The latest Xero Small Business Insights payments data report highlights businesses’ cash flow, which is boosted further by using Xero to provide more payment options for customers to pay invoices from bank transfers to credit cards to digital wallets.
Tips for Small Business Owners
- Provide Options: Don’t just offer one or two payment methods; consider supporting digital wallets, direct debits, and traditional card payments.
- Sign of the Times: Pay attention to the data. What works today may not work tomorrow. Be mindful of reports like the one shared from Xero.
- Keep it Simple: Use tools like Xero to manage invoicing and payment activities easily. Having multiple ways for your client to pay is great, but having a user-friendly way to manage all those payments is even better.
Moving Forward
Making sure your business has the right payment options in place is more than just a best practice. It’s a necessity, and the data provided by the Xero payments report shows that when you offer choices, you’ll get paid faster.
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