How to Charge your Clients
I’ve noticed that entrepreneurs spend a lot of time doing the fun stuff – Canva, branding shoots, website design. This often means the back end stuff becomes an afterthought.
But that’s what actually gets you the money!
Back end stuff like how your clients can physically pay you. You don’t want this to be an afterthought! It’s your bread and butter!
And – disclaimer – in this post I won’t be covering how much you should charge them. I am simply talking about the logistics of completing the transactions.
Keep It Simple!
Accounting is already such a complex matter, that there’s nothing to gain from making it even more complicated. When it comes to charging your clients, you want to have a simple system.
Your clients need a simple method to pay you for your products or services. But you don’t want to overwhelm them with too many methods. The more payment options you offer, the higher the chances of mistakes being made.
And when it comes to business, mistakes can be catastrophic! I’m talking completely missed payments, overpayments which damage your reputation, or unreported payments that make Uncle Sam come a-knockin’!
You have plenty of options for allowing clients to pay you, but your main concern is which one works best for your business.
You can use ACH payments, you can use Online Merchants (such as Stripe), or you can ask for a wire transfer.
ACH allows clients to pay you using their bank account information, or by check. Online Merchants take card payments, usually with around a 3% fee, and wire transfers are normally fee-free.
But here’s the thing: I don’t want you overcomplicating your system just to save a buck.
You need it to be easy for your clients to pay you, and you don’t want to be using so many options that you’re chasing your tail at the end of the month trying to track all those payments. If you’ve got 10 possible payment methods to track every month, that’s not efficient. It’s not worth your time.
You need a set system for clients to pay you
I’ve worked with a lot of entrepreneurs who make decisions based on fear. They worry that if they don’t offer a lot of payment options, the clients won’t want to work with them.
Or they’re trying to save a few cents here and there. They’re constantly swapping their online merchants from Venmo to Paypal to Stripe, just to save a percentage point on fees.
My advice here? Don’t Stress About The Fees!
When I sell my Profit Perfect Finance Mastery course, students checkout straight through Kajabi. Yes, I pay a fee, but I know that Kajabi offers strength and security for me and my students.
If you’re swapping your payment options just to save a couple bucks, think about how much money you’re losing in the time that manual process is taking you…
Some of you are bringing in huge amounts of revenue, so I understand that 3% on fees isn’t just a couple of bucks. But the more you earn, the more taxes you pay and that’s just part of running a successful business, right?
Why grumble about fees when they’re also just a part of entrepreneurship?
It’s time to sit down and assess your payment options
How are your clients currently paying you? If you have payment options all over the place, I want you to take a step back and identify which ones are working the best.
Which of your online merchants do you like using the best? Which do most of your clients seem to use? That’s the one you should stick with. (And I’m not saying you can only have one system; some people just might not genuinely be able to use that system so it’s good to have a backup. Just not too many!)
You don’t want to overwhelm your clients with too many options, and you also want them to understand what it means to do business with you. If someone doesn’t want to hire you simply because of the way you take payments… they’re not going to be a great fit anyway.
Taking time to sit down, look at all your payment options and simplify them is going to be the most efficient step you can take going forward. Stop making decisions based on fear, or the desire to cut corners and save a buck. Keep it simple!
If you’re interested in my personal opinions and suggestions on which online merchants are available, you can check out my video training on YouTube. And, as ever, if you have any questions about any of my trainings, reach out to me on Instagram; I’d love to chat!
