Everyone knows SMEs are the backbone of the economy, despite facing some of the biggest challenges they will have to overcome in their histories. To simply continue to exist, SMEs have to generate sales, expand quickly but not rashly and actually deliver the products or services they offer, all with almost no extra money sitting in their bank accounts if they needed it.
That is why fast payments are so important to SMEs. Fast payments methods like QR codes, NFC scanners and other mobile-based payments ensure SMEs can continue to operate.
Because operating costs are tight
When operating costs are at their tightest, fast payments make the difference between staying open and shutting down. At its slowest, a payment process can take several weeks or even longer: SMEs have to send an invoice to the client and wait for the client to receive and process the invoice then write a cheque and send it back. Someone from the SME will have to then physically deposit the cheque into their bank account and wait for the cheque clear before the money can be used.
Many SMEs aren’t financially flexible enough to withstand that kind of delay. For them, a two weeks’ wait can mean not being able to pay salaries on time. In those cases, fast payments are important, as they need to pump the money back into the business’s costs as soon as possible, just to keep running.
Because chasing unpaid bills takes time
The longer the payment process, the more likely the client or customer will put it off, as it takes time away from their other tasks. Conversely, of course, the less time a task takes, the more likely a person is to do it. They know they can tick it off their to-do list easily and get on with their day. Fast payments take less time and effort to do than other forms of payment, so more clients will be more likely to pay more quickly.
This is very important for SMEs because when clients pay on time, they don’t have to be chased. When clients pay more and more quickly, the SME employees spend less and less time chasing up old bills. This gives them more and more time to generate new leads, do the admin and complete the work the company was hired to do.
Because the faster they get paid, the faster they can reinvest
Fast payments aren’t just faster and easier for clients and customers, and they aren’t just helpful in meeting operating costs. After all, most SMEs don’t want to generate just enough money to get by. They want to generate profit. Fast payments are faster and easier for the SMEs themselves, which makes the whole process of reinvesting and growing the company faster.
Essentially, the faster SMEs get money in their accounts, the faster they can pay off their costs. The faster they do that, the faster they can turn around the remaining money and put it back into making the company bigger, more efficient and generally all-around better.
Conclusion
Fast payments aren’t the only part of an SME’s success, but they do help in important ways. They help meet operating costs quickly. They make it easier for customers to pay, so customers are more likely to pay on time. They also speed up the reinvestment process. When money matters most, fast payments ensure it gets where it needs to be as soon as possible. With that in mind, are there any SMEs that can afford not to have fast payment options?
About Zapper.com: Zapper.com was founded in 2011 and is a mobile technology company specializing in QR codes. Zapper.com focus on the innovation of mobile payments and billing and solutions for businesses in the UK. They work to assist small and large business owners looking to simplify and ease payment methods.