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7 Ways to Speed Up Your Agency’s Receivables - ePayPolicy

The article "7 Ways to Speed Up Your Agency’s Receivables" from ePayPolicy emphasizes the importance of accelerating payment collections amid challenges like chronic late payers and COVID-19 by recommending seven strategies including adopting digital payments, offering multiple payment options (debit, credit, ACH), simplifying the payment process with clear links and "pay now" buttons, and providing instant customer support to ensure timely and convenient client payments.

We’ve all had them: chronic late payers. Clients who violate your payment terms can wreak havoc with your agency’s cash flow.

Add to that the reality of COVID-19. It’s anything but business as usual. This makes it more important than ever to rev up your payment collection and make sure you get paid timely.

You may know businesses that protect themselves against accounts receivable losses with A/R insurance or trade credit insurance. You may even be one of the specialty brokers that sell it. We hope you will never need such coverage.

Yet you should not need to shield yourself from late- and non-paying policyholders. The key is to speed up the payment process and minimize the chance of non-payment. Here are 7 tips to help speed up your agency’s receivables:

1. Go Digital

Consumers (including businesses) have long since embraced digital payments. They live in a 24/7 digital world and expect to pay instantaneously for purchases. The keyword here is “instantaneously.”

2. Offer Payment Options

Trends in payment choice are clear: debit cards, credit cards, and ACH (direct payment) are on the rise. The move away from checks (and cash) was already accelerating before “touchless” payments became a public safety essential. Choice means clients are not tied to any one payment method. They can earn points on their Visa card this month or use their AmEx or a debit card next month.

3. Make it Easy to Pay

You don’t need to layer an e-commerce platform onto your website to make online payments easy for your policyholders. Be upfront about it. Don’t make people search for your payment page. A link from your invoice template and a “pay now” button on your website will do the trick. Once clients are aware you offer Credit Card/ACH payment, they’ll quickly convert into delighted digital payers.

4. Deliver Help on Demand

Even tech-savvy clients sometimes have questions or need help making their payment. They expect instant support. Be prepared to answer their questions, whether through chat, email, or phone, and have resources available to help them solve problems on their own.

5. Enable Automatic Payments

Many policies require multiple payments—monthly, quarterly, or semiannually. This creates multiple opportunities for clients to put off making payments. Offering recurring payments is a “set it and forget it” convenience for them. Equally important, it makes your receivables timely and predictable.

6. Automate the Dunning Process

Free your staff from sending out hundreds of invoice reminders and late payment notices each month. Switching to automated emails ensures these notices go out on schedule. Automated invoice reminders make it even easier by creating scheduled emails for your team.

7. Integrate with your AMS

If you’re already using a management system, you know the power of automating business functions across your agency. While there are many industry-agnostic payment processors out there, you’ll be better served with one designed specifically for independent insurance agents/brokers and that integrates with your management system.

The Bottom Line

Time really is money. Your time, and your client’s time, is valuable. When it comes to paying insurance premiums, you both have a “need for speed.” If your goal is to turbocharge your receivables, you need to minimize slow-pay opportunities. The best way to do that is with client-pleasing digital payments.

ePayPolicy is here to help. Feel free to explore our website. When you’re ready, get started.