the magic of getting paid on time · if you’ve been mailing out paper invoices or manually...

THE MAGIC OF GETTING PAID ON TIMEA Complete Step-By-Step Guide to Getting Your MSP Paid First, Not Last

E - B O O K

2 www.connectbooster.com

What Ticks Us Off About The State Of The Industry // HOW MANAGED SERVICE PROVIDERS GET NO RESPECT

For starters, your customers depend on you to provide:

…and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Without the support of the vital components that managed service companies provide, the organizations that rely on them would collapse.

» Help desk / end user support » I.T. consulting and planning» Tablet and mobile end user support» Software compliance and end user updates» Monitoring and maintaining backups

You deserve more respect from your customers, after all, you provide critical I.T. infrastructure for their business.


You Deserve Respect //UNFORTUNATELY, TOO MANY MSP CLIENTS TAKE THEIR I.T. SERVICES FOR GRANTED

These I.T. pieces are critical to most businesses operations. If lost, due to an unpaid invoice, your customers would be speed dialing you, with credit card in hand.

» Imagine if your client’s entire server went down?

» Or, they suffered a complete failure of all desktop or laptop users?

» Or, your client’s email server went down, causing all end users to be locked out of their email accounts?

BUT WHY?

Unfortunately, the current state of the industry is that MSPs are typically paid last…and that is not okay.


You work hard for your clients, you deserve to get paid on time.


Banks and utility companies don’t mess around when it comes to unpaid bills.

Imagine if your MSP’s customers didn’t pay their cell phone or electricity bill for 60 or 90 days or more?

They’d get their service cut off…probably with little, if any, notice.

So, why don’t I.T. customers pay their MSPs on time?

The answer is shockingly simple.

Because managed service providers let them.

In order for I.T. companies and MSPs to get paid on time, every time, there must be a paradigm shift.

Your managed service customers need to consider your invoice as the first to be paid, because you provide the most critical service.

The pain has to be SO great that the MSP is willing to completely scrap NET-based terms and only accept payment up front, on a monthly basis.

Only then will being paid last by your MSP customers become a thing of the past.

AND NEITHER SHOULD YOU.


Stressing about getting paid at end of the month is something you shouldn’t have to do.


WHAT ARE ALL THOSE LATE PAYMENTS COSTING YOU?

The biggest sign that your customers don’t respect you is that they don’t worry about paying their bills on time. It’s more than just a minor inconvenience. Overdue payments can actually hurt you.

If you have a monthly rolling A/R balance of $4,000, you know you are probably going to get paid for it eventually. You might not even consider it to be a big deal that your client is taking 30-45 days to pay.

But the fact is that if it continues throughout the year, you are actually giving out micro-loans to your clients to the tune of $50,000!

We think that is simply unacceptable. And you should too… that is if you are in business to actually make money and grow.

On the other hand, if you are providing IT services simply out of the goodness of your heart, then by all means, continue with what you are doing.

If not, you’ve probably figured out by now that something needs to change.

And it’s not just about money. Dealing with overdue payments is costing you something just as valuable…time.

Have you thought about how much time you’re spending each month chasing down late payments by phone or email?

Would you rather be putting that time to better use by using it to focus on your core business?

AND BY THE WAY


If you’ve been mailing out paper invoices or manually entering ACH payments, tracking those unpaid invoices is probably a constant source of frustration.

Figuring out who owes what, calculating late payment fees, tracking status of payments…it’s all an endless headache that you (and your accounting team) don’t need.

If this sounds like you, it may help to know you’re not alone. There are many, many other MSPs like you out there.

Network Depot, for example – a managed service provider and information technology company serving the Washington, D.C. area – used to spend an average of 2 to 3 days per month processing manual payments. This was in addition to time spent unraveling credit card exceptions.

In order to take back control of their time (and money) Network Depot decided to update their manual system and start setting up automated payments. The company now says it spends less than an hour per month processing payments.

This is the kind of change we want to see happen for every I.T. MSP out there.

“Our process was a very manual one,” explained founding partner, Chris Amori. “We would have to process each credit card transaction, then go into QuickBooks to process each transaction as well. This was a HUGE pain for us, and a labor-intensive process.”

You should be spending time doing what you do best … // NOT COLLECTING OR PROCESSING PAYMENTS


You should be spending time doing what you do best …Not collecting or processing payments.


ARE YOU AN IT SERVICE PROVIDER…OR A COLLECTION AGENCY?

Aren’t you sick of emailing or calling up delinquent customers asking for overdue payments?

Not only is it a waste of time, but it also creates an uncomfortable situation for you and your clients. And spending time on the phone (or tracking emails) takes up valuable time and resources that could be better spent elsewhere.

Keeping track of invoices is a hassle for your customers, too. And, sometimes things really do get lost in the shuffle.

Automating payments also helps to eliminate the dreaded “I didn’t get your invoice”, excuse because you won’t be mailing out your invoices.

Not only does setting up automated payments help improve your customer relationships, it also puts money where it belongs…in your bank account.

Think about it. While the money you have in rolling accounts receivable (AR) may look good on paper, it isn’t helping you pay your bills…or grow your business. And the longer you wait to get paid, the more it is holding your business back.

The hard truth is, if you can’t get paid, you won’t have the funds to provide the high quality service your customers expect. If your bad debts pile up for too long, you may even have to let some of your better (and more expensive) team members go. Worst-case scenario is that you could wind up declaring bankruptcy and possibly close your doors for good.

We think it’s about time for all I.T. MSPs to take back control by making the move to automated payment systems.


Are you an I T service provider…or a collection agency?


Begin by setting your expectations for payment up front. Have your sales team explain payment terms clearly during their conversations with new clients.

Of course, we are not advocating that you drop your customers without warning the next time they pay your invoice a few days late.

Simply set a clear expectation of on-time payment the next time you bring a new client on board. And make sure to follow through on your terms.

You may also want to let existing clients know that you are establishing new payment policies. Follow up with gentle, repeated warnings of what will happen if they do not pay on time.

Once you have made every effort to educate your customers, you may have to be tough with those who ignore your policies.

Don’t worry. If you provide great service, new and better clients will come to take their place.

It’s simple…You ask for it.

But how do I get respect?


Finally, help your customers to pay you on time is by making it easier for them to do so.

So, how can you build better relationships with your clients?

» Give them a clear, convenient – foolproof – method for paying your invoice on time.

» Deliver your invoices electronically – no more lost or misplaced paper bills.

» Make it automatic – so that your customer can pay you first, the moment their invoice is received especially for recurring charges to ongoing clients.

» Make it secure – your customers set their passwords for secure access to their account.

Simplify your billing process by providing a way for your customers to make automatic payments. When your customers can “set it, and forget it”, they are much more likely to always pay you on time.

It also takes away the opportunity for your clients to evaluate whether or not they will pay your invoice each month. And, it helps you avoid the all too common, “I didn’t get your invoice” excuse.

Ultimately, the easier you make it for your clients to pay (and the harder you make it for them to put it off) the more likely they will pay you on time… every time.

And that, my friends, is how we will change the sorry state of the I.T. industry, and start getting managed service providers like you the respect they deserve.


Solve your MSP’s billing hassels by automating your invoice collections process.


ABOUT CONNECTBOOSTER

» Get paid automatically for our recurring services

» Get paid anytime and allow customers to pay online

» Eliminate the “I didn’t see that invoice” excuse

» Reduce inbound inquiry’s about billing

» Eliminate taking payment information over the phone or email

» Automate the redundant pieces of keeping the books

» Be deeply integrated into ConnectWise and QuickBooks

ConnectBooster was created by ConnectWise users who wanted to develop advanced tools and efficiency enhancers that leverage the ConnectWise platform to boost productivity and profitability.

Like you, we invested in ConnectWise to keep track of our customers, document client history, grab lost revenue, automate redundant tasks, and to eliminate “dropping the ball”.

We then realized that we did not have the ability to automate our most important process – getting paid. So we went out in search of a solution that would allow us to:

After searching and searching without any luck we said, “Heck, we’ll just make it!” And that’s how ConnectBooster was born.


THE ANSWER TO YOUR MOST PRESSING QUESTION...

Unlike ConnectBooster, payment processing solutions like Intuit and PaySimple are not truly automated or integrated into software like ConnectWise or Autotask. What this means is that they cannot fully solve the efficiency problem most MSPs are struggling with.

While other payment processing software solutions may offer recurring payment options, they only work if the managed service contract amount stays the same.

The ConnectBooster payment automation software is fully integrated with ConnectWise, Autotask, and your accounting software.

ConnectBooster is the only solution that bridges the gap between your ConnectWise or Autotask software, your client’s checkbooks, and your QuickBooks or Microsoft Dynamics GP accounting software.

This allows your customers to view and pay invoices generated in ConnectWise, Autotask, or QuickBooks/Dynamics GP online, anytime.

And, all transactions run through ConnectBooster are automatically reconciled in QuickBooks/Dynamics GP – saving hours of time every month!

ConnectBooster is 100% automated and will save you time.

How? First, your IT customer inputs their ACH or credit card data into the ConnectBooster portal one time.

Each month thereafter, a recurring payment is collected. This recurring amount is driven from the managed service contract amount, even if the contract is a variable amount.

It is that simple. And, this is the integration our customers are raving about.

Will ConnectBooster integrate with ConnectWise and Autotask?


ConnectBooster was built upon the following core values:

AMBITION, EXCELLENCE, CREATIVITY, AND INTEGRITY

How are these values reflected in our business?

1) We are driven to add value to our customers.2) We are always striving for excellence.3) We never assume that the problem is fixed.4) We put ourselves in our customers shoes.5) We believe in being proactive, not reactive, to solving our customers problems.6) We don’t like to be average with our customers.7) We always work with a sense of urgency.8) We strive to keep our attrition level low- because we want to keep our customers for the long haul.9) We have a high sense of responsibility to our customers.10) We are reliable. We want our customers to feel that when they come to us, it is like having a conversation with an old friend.11) We get stuff done – and done on time.12) We are a trusted advisor to our customers. We take pride in our work, and take ownership of our shortcomings.13) We are not just another solutions company.14) We’re here with you, MSPs, swinging it out in the trenches.


READY TO MAKE A CHANGE?

If you’re ready to shift the paradigm and start getting respect from your MSP customers, you can start by signing up for a complimentary demo on how to solve your I.T. accounts receivables frustrations.

Then, feel free to sign up for a 6-part educational series, where we’ll email you information-packed articles full of practical advice that you can implement today in order to combat your payment processing issues.

http://www.connectbooster.com/products/connectbooster-for-connectwise/demo/

http://www.connectbooster.com/getpaid/

the magic of getting paid on time · if you’ve been mailing out paper invoices or manually...

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