My clients typically work on a NET 30 payment basis, meaning that I need to send them an invoice and fulfillment of payment occurs 30 days after invoice is sent. In my HB automation, after a consultation, I send a proposal where they can select services, sign a contract, and view invoice+pay. So with this approach, I setup the due date for payment to be 1 month after invoice is sent.
Why is it though, that if the customer inputs their bank info, it charges them on the spot INSTEAD of 1 month later? In that case, outside of separating payments, what’s the use for this feature for single payments?
Does anyone have advice on how my invoice/payment process should work for large clients that DON’T pay on the spot, but rather delay payments?
Best answer by Alyssa Nance
Hi @Dean Russell ,
The payment due date is used to let clients know when the last day a payment is due by, not necessarily when they will be charged. So the client has until that due date to pay, but they can still go in and pay sooner by entering their card info at any time.
So my suggestion for your particular workflow would be to let your clients know that they don’t need to pay until the due date. And if you want to allow them to pay sooner, you can let them know that they will be charged as soon as any payment info is entered. So you may need to change how you have your smart file set up if the payment page isn’t the last page in your file as the client won’t be able to proceed past that page without making a payment.
You could also send more of a proposal type file that lists out the services they are booking with a contract, but don’t include an invoice or payment page. You would then inform the client that you’ll send the official invoice (which would include the payment page) the day the payment is actually due.
Hopefully one of these suggestions could work for your process!
The payment due date is used to let clients know when the last day a payment is due by, not necessarily when they will be charged. So the client has until that due date to pay, but they can still go in and pay sooner by entering their card info at any time.
So my suggestion for your particular workflow would be to let your clients know that they don’t need to pay until the due date. And if you want to allow them to pay sooner, you can let them know that they will be charged as soon as any payment info is entered. So you may need to change how you have your smart file set up if the payment page isn’t the last page in your file as the client won’t be able to proceed past that page without making a payment.
You could also send more of a proposal type file that lists out the services they are booking with a contract, but don’t include an invoice or payment page. You would then inform the client that you’ll send the official invoice (which would include the payment page) the day the payment is actually due.
Hopefully one of these suggestions could work for your process!
A
Anonymous
June 17, 2024
Thank Alyssa,
I appreciate your solutions, unfortunately with large corporate clients, they typically will only want to see an invoice, send that to accounts payable, and then direct deposit into your account (their way or the highway sometimes 😓). So I guess the main thing will be to wait and see when Honeybook will allow users to just put an invoice in a proposal without the pay page being connected to it (which seems ridiculously strict). While I have you here though, can you take a look at my work around process and tell me if this seems suitable?
For New Clients
1. Inquiry Stage
Auto-Responder Email: Immediate confirmation of receipt.
2. Brochure and Consultation Invitation
Email: Provide a brochure that includes a process outline, services overview and a calendar to schedule a consultation.
3. Consultation Meeting
Discuss: General goals and services.
Task: Prepare a proposal based on the consultation.
4. Proposal Stage
Email: Proposal Smart File with contract
5. Contract and Invoice
Once the contract is signed, create a task: Create an invoice in QBO.
Email: Send the invoice.
For Repeat Clients
1. Direct Inquiry
Personal Response: Acknowledge the inquiry and send a consultation calendar link.
2. Consultation Meeting
Discuss: General goals and services.
Task: Prepare a proposal based on the consultation.
3. Proposal Stage
Email: Proposal Smart File with contract
4. Contract and Invoice
Once the contract is signed, create a task: Create an invoice in QBO.
@Dean Russell I totally understand that- I’ve dealt with more corporate type clients before, so I feel you.
And I think your workflow is great! I think using QBO to invoice is totally fine, if it’s giving you the capabilities you need and if you’re already paying for it- might as well use it to its fullest potential. HB will still be powerful for you for everything else! I have a client who actually ended up using QBO to invoice for her retainer clients since HB couldn’t do exactly what she was needing for her invoicing flow, and it’s working fine for her
