Small Business Q&A: How To Handle Customer Billing Snafus

Q: I just discovered that for the past six months I have been
billing a client half of what I should have been. Should I
just include the total of the past due balance on his next bill
or contact him first to let him know that it's coming? This
client has been difficult in the past, so I'd rather not deal
with him until I absolutely have to. My partner, on the other
hand, thinks we should call the client and let him know what's
going on before sending the bill. What do you think?
-- Louis K.

A: I think your partner is right. If you think this client has
been difficult to deal with in the past just wait until he opens
your bill with six months worth of arrears attached to it without
prior notice or a full explanation of the amount owed.

Sending such a bill is like dropping a bomb on the client's desk,
and I guarantee you the fallout from the resulting explosion would
end up landing squarely on your head.

So the question then becomes, how do you collect money that is
rightfully owed to you from a client who has a history of being
difficult? That's easy, Louis. You make your partner call him.

Seriously, whether the client owes you the money or not is a
moot point. Yes, you made an accounting mistake, but if the
client agreed to pay you a certain amount each month in exchange
for certain services rendered, and you have been under-billing
that client for delivering those certain services, the client
owes you the money, period.

I have found that in situations like this it is always best to
be proactive and face the problem (or what you perceive as a
potential problem) as quickly as possible. This will save you
hours of needless worry since most of the time the problem is
not as big a deal as you imagined it to be.

There can only be three outcomes in this situation.

(1) The client will understand and pay you without argument.

(2) He will argue the point, forcing you to offer a compromise
plan.

Or (3) He will flatly refuse to pay, forcing you to decide how
far you're willing to go to collect what is owed. You should
be prepared for either occurrence before getting face-to-face
with the client. Remember this: In a business negotiation,
he who is prepared the least gives up the most.

With that in mind, here's how I would handle the situation.

Arrange to meet the client in person. This is much better than
trying to explain the situation over the phone because most
people (including myself) tend to only give half of their
attention when on the phone. The other half is usually focused
on things going on around them while they're on the phone.

Once you're in front of the client, downplay the fact that an
error was made (since the error did not negatively affect the
service the client received). You might even poke fun at
yourself over the situation (if the client has a sense of
humor, that is). You should then politely ask if he would
prefer to have the unbilled balance included on his next
invoice or submitted as a separate invoice.

Then close your mouth, smile, and wait for him to respond.

You'll notice that you did not give him the option of not paying
the bill, nor did you give him a point of contention to argue
over. He should get the message that it goes without saying
that he owes the money and needs to pay the bill, but being the
wonderful person that you are, you are willing to let him decide
how you should be paid.

I'm willing to bet that the client will choose option A or B and
that will be the end of that. If this client has been difficult
to deal with in the past, he may argue that since the mistake
was yours, he shouldn't have to pay the bill. This is, of
course, a BS argument (and I don't mean Bachelor of Science),
but one that some clients might make just to get out of writing
you a check.

As mentioned earlier, you should have prepared for this possibility
before going in. If your business can survive without collecting
the unpaid balance and you really want to maintain a relationship
with this client, you should be prepared to offer a compromise
that lets the relationship continue.

Without appearing to be caving under the pressure (this is the
hard part) look the client dead in the eye and say, "Mr. Client,
since I value your business and the billing mistakes were indeed
mine, I'm willing to forego collection on the unpaid balance and
start billing the correct amount with your next invoice, which,
by the way, I happen to have right here…"

Granted, in this situation you are not going to collect on the
past balance, but you are establishing the rules of the game
for the future and you might even improve your relationship
with this client. The money you forfeit today could lead to
an increase in referrals, testimonials, and repeat business
tomorrow.

Here's to your success.

Tim Knox
tim@dropshipwholesale.net
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