how can i get clients to prepay for a course

by Eve O'Keefe 9 min read

To properly condition clients to prepay, be consistent about when and how you mail the notices every year. I recommend stating in bold print what the offer is and the date the discount ends. Fleeting discounted rates add urgency to your prepay letters and ultimately create a consistent call to action.

Full Answer

How do I get my clients to prepay?

To properly condition clients to prepay, be consistent about when and how you mail the notices every year. I recommend stating in bold print what the offer is and the date the discount ends. Fleeting discounted rates add urgency to your prepay letters and ultimately create a consistent call to action.

How do you account for prepayments?

How to account for prepayments. A prepayment is made when a selling company receives payment from a buyer before the seller has shipped goods or provided services to the buyer. Prepayment can happen under three circumstances: We will address the accounting for prepayments from the perspectives of both the buyer and the seller. Buyer perspective.

What is the fee for accepting customer prepayment?

What’s in this article? With customer prepayment, you can easily manage your cash flow by requiring that customers prepay for fixed priced services when they book online. The fee for accepting prepayments is 2.9% + $0.30 and any payments accepted this way will be transferred according to your transfer schedule.

How can I increase the volume of prepayments for my clients?

Time and hassle: A final technique that can be helpful to increase the volume of prepayments is letting your clients know the amount of time and hassle they’ll alleviate for themselves by prepaying. You make one payment for the year and then you have the peace of mind by having all of your lawn care needs fulfilled.

How do you convince a client to pay upfront?

How to get your clients to pay you upfrontEstablish & maintain a professional presence.Charge a Set Fee Per Project.Work out a Payment System.Make them an offer they can't refuse.It starts with asking.

How do you ask a customer for prepayment?

How to ask for payment from clientsProfessional - go straight to the point, don't waste time, and be firm when discussing overdue payments.Polite - remain calm, do not yell or accuse your client.Persistent - continue reminding your client in a calm manner, and don't be pushy or aggressive.

How can I get my client to pay?

How to get clients to pay their bills and invoicesEstablish payment expectations early. ... Determine the right person to send your invoice. ... Create a contract. ... Send reminders about upcoming invoices. ... Send invoices on time. ... Follow up with clients. ... Offer incentives for quick payment. ... Streamline your payment process.More items...•

How do I request payment upfront?

State clearly how much you want to receive in an upfront payment, how much work that covers (in percent or hours) and when you expect the deposit to be paid. Let the client know that the deposit is a way to secure the both of you.

How do you politely ask for fees?

Calling your client to ask for paymentIntroduce yourself and explain why you're calling.Be clear, concise, polite, and short.Don't use slang words and expressions.Don't make direct accusations about the client not paying you.Maintain an impersonal and polite tone that gives your client the benefit of the doubt.More items...•

How do I ask for a 50% deposit?

Be polite. One of the most valuable characteristics of entrepreneurs and especially necessary when asking for an upfront payment is politeness. Let the customer know how much you appreciate the opportunity to do business with them. Be firm but respectful in stating your payment requirements.

How do I bill my client for the first time?

How to Bill a ClientCreate a (Verbal or Paper) Contract. Before you even begin working with a client, it's important to have a mutual agreement in place. ... Use a Template for Your Invoices. ... Simplify the Payment Process. ... Don't Hesitate to Send Out Invoices. ... Don't Be Too Shy to Follow Up. ... Being a Professional in Billing Clients.

How do you ask someone for advance?

Your request should include the specific reason why you need the advance, exactly how much you need and how you intend to pay it back. You should also explain your plan for making this a one-time request. Be prepared for your employer to deny your request or to ask that you make some changes to your terms.

What is an online course academy?

Online Courses Academy is a complete step-by-step implementation program for planning, creating, and launching an online course… and includes EVERYTHING you need to build your membership site.

What would happen if 25% of people with payment plans defaulted on payments after 6 months?

If 25% of people with payment plans defaulted on payments after 6 months that would result in a $30,000 write-off making total revenue $410,000 versus $200,000, a net gain of $210,000. In this scenario, the benefit far exceeds the risk. You can get a lot more granular here with the risk assessment but I think this is a good starting point.

Is payment plan a pain?

While the increase in sales is great, payment plans can also be a huge pain so the decision should be made strategically.

Should you increase the price of your course?

You should always increase the price of your course for the payment plan option. The increase in price helps to offset the loss associated with the time value of money as well as the risk associated with the payment plans. The higher the risk the higher the price for the payment plan option.

Can you offer payment plans with Infusionsoft?

Finally, only offer payment plans if you have the right systems in place that will minimize the administrative work such as Infusionsoft, a cloud-based CRM, e-Commerce, and Marketing Automation system.

Why do professionals avoid discussing payment?

So, many professionals avoid openly discussing payment out of fear of being perceived as rude or embarrassing themselves by asking about something they believe a client finds goes without saying.

How to achieve full transparency and accountability with clients?

Your best option to achieve full transparency and accountability with your clients, as well as build a better, more trustworthy relationship with them, is to use the timer tracker Clockify. With it, you’ll be able to:

Why do you need to send an invoice email before the payment date?

By sending an invoice email before the payment date, you ensure the client has enough time to gather and organize payment documentation. Also, you’ll position yourself as a professional who regularly tracks invoices – and sends reminder emails if the client doesn’t pay on time.

What to do if client doesn't reply to email?

Unless the client answers your emails, perhaps there’s a problem with the email address you are sending to, or a similar problem you’re unaware of – in case of no response after a full month of emailing, turn to calling or texting the client.

What to do when you don't get a reply?

In such cases when you don’t get a reply (and start to lose patience), it’s time to forgo emailing – and call the client directly. Most of the time, a simple, direct talk with the client is enough to set a lot of records straight.

Why is it important to have a professional invoice?

A professional-looking invoice will increase the chances of you getting paid – and there are plenty of invoicing tools you can try for this purpose.

Why should you ask for an advance?

Asking for an advance is another element you should include in your contract, but it merits extra emphasis – because it helps you separate the serious clients from the ones likely to bail on paying.

How often do you charge a credit card?

That means you always have Their Money; you charged them Twice, in other words. Typically, you Charge them First for the card; then you track the spending which reduces your liability to them, and as it approaches 0, you Refill the card and charge them for the Refill.

How to make one bank account per card number?

That means the initial purchase is Banking menu > Write Check from Operating Checking; put "debit" as the Check #. List on the Expenses tab the "other bank account (s)" for tracking this as Prepaid Card (s), Splits for $100 each to three card bank type accounts. No Names here. This is basically a Transfer: Value no longer in Checking still is on hand as Prepaid Cards. It's still Your Asset.

Is the purchase of prepaid cards an asset?

We reviewed that the Purchase of the cards is Your Asset. Not By Name. Now, we make and use the Spending items, which are all linked to that same Other Current Liability. Your Spending entries against each of the cards is Banking menu > Write Check, from the one Prepaid Cards Bank. Each entry is done using the Spending Item (s) on the Items tab, and Job Track it here as billable to that client name. Let's spend $50 on Client 1, $75 on Client 2, and $25 on Client 3.

Can employees get a refill card?

Employees wouldn't get a refill or a new prepaid card unless all monies/receipts reconcile.

How is a prepayment recorded?

Buyer perspective. From the perspective of the buyer, a prepayment is recorded as a debit to the prepaid expenses account and a credit to the cash account. When the prepaid item is eventually consumed, a relevant expense account is debited and the prepaid expenses account is credited. Buyers can overuse the prepaid expenses account, which results in the tracking of a large number of small prepaid items. To avoid the expense of tracking too many items, prepayment accounting should only be used if a prepayment exceeds a certain minimum threshold amount; all other expenditures should be charged to expense, even if they have not yet been consumed.

What is prepayment in 2021?

/ Steven Bragg. A prepayment is made when a selling company receives payment from a buyer before the seller has shipped goods or provided services to the buyer. Prepayment can happen under three circumstances: A buyer wants preferred treatment for an order. The seller refuses to extend credit to a buyer.

What happens when a prepaid customer order is shipped?

When the prepaid customer order is eventually shipped, the prepayment account is debited and the relevant revenue account is credited. There tend to be few prepayments, so these items are relatively easily tracked. In short, a prepayment is recorded as an asset by a buyer, and as a liability by a seller.

What does it mean when a buyer wants preferred treatment?

A buyer wants preferred treatment for an order. The seller refuses to extend credit to a buyer. The buyer is on the cash basis of accounting and wants to record an expense early by paying early.

Is a prepayment an asset or liability?

In short, a prepayment is recorded as an asset by a buyer, and as a liability by a seller. These items are usually stated as current assets and current liabilities, respectively, in the balance sheet of each party, since they are generally resolved within one year.

Do you need years of experience to facilitate a conference?

You don't need years of experience to successfully facilitate, but you do need to share why your attendee would trust coming to your event. Additionally, if you price it too far out of the budget for a struggling college student and single mom, your event will have low attendance.

Can you break even on a webinar?

NOTE: If you are creating from scratch, you may break even on your first workshop, webinar or training. However, my assumption is that this you will knock it out of the ball park, and continue to use this workshop as a leveraged multiple income stream, and/or or a way of generating other interest in your business. For example, you will likely have attendees contacting you to work with you as a clinician and or coach when you facilitate an excellent presentation, workshop or webinar. If you have supportive books and materials, this is also likely to generate some sales in the passive income department as well.

How to bill clients?

Hourly billing. The simplest way to bill your clients is by the hour. At first, you may not have any idea how long a given project or engagement will take, so instead of risking a bad calculation (you think it’ll take 20 hours, but it actually takes 200), this approach may make sense. On the plus side, it’s clean and simple: they agree to (let’s say) $100/hour, and you worked 10 hours, so obviously the fee is $1000. It’s also what many people are familiar with, because their own lawyers and accountants charge that way.

How to make life simpler for clients?

If you have popular offerings, you can often make life simpler for both you and your clients by creating a standard rate sheet. For instance, one of us (Dorie) often conducts half-day strategy sessions with her clients for a flat fee. This is easier for the client because the pricing is transparent, and because the basic format is the same, there’s no concern about “scope creep” or other variables that would impact the time and effort the coach spends.

What are the key pricing strategies for coaches?

There are five key pricing strategies you can use: hourly billing, retainer agreements, productized services, value-based pricing, and pay for results. Hourly billing may...

What are the benefits of pricing predictability?

A clear benefit is pricing predictability: you know that you’re getting X amount of money each month, no matter what. The downside is that unless you’re careful, your client may feel they own you, and take advantage of the “all you can eat” pricing by monopolizing your time.

How many pricing strategies are there?

Through each of our experiences building successful coaching and consulting practices, we’ve discovered there are five key pricing strategies you can use. By deploying the right strategy at the right time, you can build a robust and lucrative practice.

What is value based pricing?

The concept is that prior to suggesting a price, you have a detailed conversation with the prospect to understand and agree upon the value the engagement, if successful, would have on the business.

What is prepaid insurance?

Prepaid insurance is insurance paid in advance and that has not yet expired on the date of the balance sheet. Balance Sheet The balance sheet is one of the three fundamental financial statements. These statements are key to both financial modeling and accounting. . Initial journal entry for prepaid insurance:

What is prepaid rent?

Prepaid rent is rent paid in advance of the rental period. The journal entries for prepaid rent are as follows: Initial journal entry for prepaid rent: 2. Prepaid insurance is insurance paid in advance and that has not yet expired on the date of the balance sheet.

Why are prepaid expenses recorded as assets?

Prepaid expenses are initially recorded as assets, because they have future economic benefits, and are expensed at the time when the benefits are realized (the matching principle).

When is prepaid rent adjusting journal entry done?

The adjusting journal entry is done each month, and at the end of the year, when the lease agreement has no future economic benefits , the prepaid rent balance would be 0.

Does prepaid expense affect financial statements?

Effect of Prepaid Expenses on Financial Statements. The initial journal entry for a prepaid expense does not affect a company’s financial statements. For example, refer to the first example of prepaid rent. The initial journal entry for prepaid rent is a debit to prepaid rent and a credit to cash.

Is prepaid rent an asset?

The initial journal entry for prepaid rent is a debit to prepaid rent and a credit to cash. These are both asset accounts and do not increase or decrease a company’s balance sheet. Recall that prepaid expenses are considered an asset because they provide future economic benefits to the company.

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