It can be challenging to strike a balance with a client who hasn't paid on time. You may be tempted to take it personally, question your own worth or be tempted to blow it off. If you and your client have an agreement that you will complete work and they will pay, you are absolutely right to remind them to pay. Your chances at a successful recovery depend on how you handle the situation.

It's okay to remind your clients that they owe you money. Here are some tips and sample payment reminder notices to help.

September and October seem to be a swift slide right into the holiday season. If you're a busy small business owner, you may not have realized that the end of the year is coming up quickly. Instead of spending late December in the rush of the season, start planning ahead to get your financial statements and taxes organized now. 

Here are Small Business Best Practices: End-of-Year Financials

Tracking and collecting receivables is vital to your business' cash flow. Without a steady cash flow, your business may not have enough working capital for important expenditures. Set up an organized accounts receivable department with dedicated responsibilities to ensure a positive cash flow and success for your business.

Here are three best practices to set up your accounts receivable department for success.

Within your accounting department, there are responsibilities that can help or hamper your business' bottom line. Today we'll examine a relationship that is closely tied and could be the answer to negative cash flow. While your sales team greatly affects operations, it's the collections of those accounts that really determines the success of your business. When your accounts receivable team is not able to collect and are consistently writing off bad debt, it may be time to turn to your credit manager for answers.

A credit manager's job can affect collections and it's important to understand how.

The catch-22 of running a creative, digital marketing or ad agency is that it takes money to make money. While it would seem that bringing on more clients would increase cash flow, the challenge is having enough employees available to handle the client work. And if a client quits your agency, will you be laying off those employees? These are only a few of the thoughts that plague the mind of an agency owner when they're trying to get to sleep at night. Cash is king and must be available to keep the lights on, the employees happy and your clients on board for the long haul.

Tackle these four things to solve the cash flow problem of marketing and ad agencies. 

One of the best ways to get your invoices paid on time is to offer many ways for your clients to pay.  Innovative payment technology is available and can help reduce staff, time or other resources needed to track down payments.  Inspired by the B2C market, corporate payment technologies are leaning toward self-service, but also looking for ways to reduce the chances of payment fraud. Your accounts receivable department will thank you for making their jobs easier, including reducing the time spent waiting for checks to arrive.  

Here are current B2B payment trends and what to expect in the future.

A 2017 study reveals that 41% of small businesses surveyed reported cash flow challenges within the past year. Over half of those same businesses said the impact of the cash flow challenges was consequential to their business. Unfortunately, this news isn't that surprising. Freelancers and small business owners frequently struggle with poor cash flow or management. The good news is that these challenges are quite common and can be remedied through a closer look at company financials.

Here are some common cash flow challenges faced by small businesses and suggestions on fixing them.

Whether you're starting your business and need a solid plan or your company is thriving, there are many benefits to hiring an accounting professional. Your small business may not be ready to hire an accountant or accounting department full-time, however, relying on an experienced hourly-based accountant can save time, money and headaches.

If your company is faced with any of the following, it may be time to invest in hiring an accounting professional. 

The best way to collect on accounts receivable is to have an actionable plan. Consistency is the only way to know what to expect, when payments are late, and what your options are for getting paid on time.

Read more to learn best practices for dealing with your commercial accounts receivable clients and invoice collections.

Once you've agreed to a contract and payment terms, the assumption is that you can send an invoice and the client will pay. Disappointment sets in when the payment due date comes and there's no payment from your client. This can be especially frustrating to your sales team, if it's a new client who seems to have reneged on the deal. You don't have to lose hope.

You can still prompt your clients to pay in a friendly way.