How to Get Paid: Part 1

Aviva Ounap
Jul 27
15 min read

Updated: Aug 4

A Simple Guide to Collecting Money From Customers

How a business can ask for the money it is owed, get it, and stay out of trouble.

Why This Matters

Most businesses that fail don't fail because they lose money on their sales. They fail because they run out of cash.

Here's the difference. A business can look like it's making money. Every sale earns a profit. But if customers don't actually pay their bills, the money isn't in the bank. You can't use profit on paper to pay your workers, your rent, or your suppliers. You can only use real cash.

When you send a bill (an invoice) and give a customer 30 days to pay, you are really giving them a loan. You did the work. You handed over the product. But you haven't been paid yet. Until they pay, you are letting them borrow your money for free. Do that with enough customers, and you can go broke even while your books say you're doing great.

So this guide is about one thing: getting paid. Not begging. Not feeling awkward. Just treating "getting paid" like a normal, planned part of running a business.

The most important idea in this whole guide is simple: Asking to be paid for work you did is not rude. It is not pushy. It is normal. You earned it. Customers who pay late often count on you feeling too embarrassed to ask. Once you stop feeling embarrassed, you've already won half the fight.

One thing worth knowing before we start: you don't have to do any of this by hand. AlpacaBOSS handles the money side for you — sending invoices, taking payments, setting up auto-pay, and keeping track of who still owes what.

Throughout this guide, you'll see exactly where AlpacaBOSS does the work for you, so getting paid becomes automatic instead of a chore. Whether you run a shop, sell online, deliver, or send a team out on jobs — one location or many — AlpacaBOSS keeps your customers, invoices, and payments all in one place.

Part 1: The Best Way to Collect Is to Never Have to Chase

The easiest money to collect is money that comes in on time by itself. A lot of that depends on what you do before the work even starts.

Check out customers before you trust them

When you let a customer pay later, you're trusting them with your money. Banks check people before they lend. You should too, especially for big jobs or brand-new customers.

Run a credit check on new business customers. Companies like Experian, Creditsafe, or Dun & Bradstreet can tell you if a business has a history of paying its bills.
Ask for references from other companies the customer already buys from. Then actually call those companies and ask, "Do they pay you on time?"
Ask around. People in your industry usually know who the slow payers are.
Set a limit. Decide the most you're willing to let one customer owe you at any time, and stick to it.

Get money up front

The strongest thing you can do is collect money before or during the work, not only after it's done.

Ask for a deposit. Get 25% to 50% up front, especially for big or custom jobs. If a customer won't pay a deposit, that's a warning sign. Better to find out now than after you've done all the work.
Bill in stages. For a big project, split it into parts. Get paid at each part. That way you're never owed more than one stage's worth of work.
Use monthly plans. For ongoing services, charge at the start of each month, not the end.
For products, get paid before you hand things over whenever you can.

AlpacaBOSS makes the "money up front" part easy. Charge a deposit, split a big order or job into stage payments, or put a customer on a plan that bills their card automatically. Because payments are built right in, you can collect at the counter, over the phone, or online — before any real costs land on you.

Put everything in writing

Handshake deals are where money problems start. Before you begin any work, get a written agreement that both sides sign. It should say:

Exactly what you will do or deliver
The price, and what's included
When payment is due, and how they should pay
What happens if they pay late (fees, interest, or stopping work)
What happens if there's a disagreement

If a customer stalls later, this written agreement is the first thing you point to. Without it, you have almost nothing to stand on.

Choose your payment terms on purpose

"Pay within 30 days" is just a habit. It's not a rule you have to follow. Think about:

Shorter time to pay. "Please pay within 14 days" or "pay when you get this bill" is perfectly fair. The sooner money is due, the sooner it comes in.
A clear date. "Please pay by March 15" works better than "pay within 30 days." A real date is harder to argue with or forget.
Clear rules from the start. If you tell them the late fees up front, then charging those fees later isn't a surprise or an insult. It's just the deal you both agreed to.

Part 2: Send Bills That Are Easy to Pay

A lot of late payment is the business's own fault. The bill went out late, or to the wrong person, or was missing something. Fix these problems and a big part of your trouble disappears.

Send the bill right away. The clock only starts when you send the invoice. If you wait three weeks to send it, you just delayed your own money for three weeks. Send it the moment the work is done.

Send it to the right person. Many bills sit unpaid just because they went to your usual contact instead of the person who actually pays the bills. At the start, ask: "Who should I send bills to? Do you need a special number or code on them?" Big companies often "can't" pay you because a required code is missing.

Make the bill clear and complete. Every invoice should have:

A bill number and the date
The exact date payment is due
A clear list of what you did or sold
The total amount owed, easy to spot
Every way they can pay, with the details ready to use
Any code or reference number the customer needs

Make paying easy. Every extra step gives them a reason to wait. Offer several ways to pay: bank transfer, card, or an online "Pay Now" button. The easier it is, the faster you get paid.

AlpacaBOSS lets your customers pay however they want — card, tap-to-pay, cash, bank transfer or ACH, an online link they open on their phone, gift cards, recurring auto-pay, and even Bitcoin and stablecoins. The more ways you can say yes to, the fewer reasons a customer has to put off paying. Take payment at the counter, online, or out on a job, and mark it paid on the spot — so the money's in before anyone walks away.

Set up automatic payments when you can. For customers who pay you every month, you can set them up so the payment comes out on its own each time (using a service like Stripe, GoCardless, or your bank). This is one of the best changes a monthly-service business can make. You stop chasing because the money just shows up.

This is where AlpacaBOSS really pays off. It sends a clear, professional invoice the moment the sale or job is done, with a "Pay Now" button built right in. Your customer can pay by card, tap, or online link in seconds, and you can keep a card on file so regular customers are charged automatically. AlpacaBOSS creates the invoice, takes the payment, and records it — so nothing slips through the cracks and you get paid faster.

Part 3: A Simple Plan for Chasing Late Payments

Don't make up your chasing method fresh each time. Build one plan and use it for every late bill. Doing the same thing every time is what makes it work. And if you can automate it, it's much easier to keep up.

Here's a plan that works:

A few days before it's due — a friendly heads-up. "Just a reminder that bill #1234 for $500 is due this Friday. Here's how to pay. Let me know if you need anything." This is helpful, not pushy. It catches honest mistakes early.

On the due date — a quick note. "Bill #1234 is due today. Here's the payment link."

1 to 7 days late — a polite first check-in. Assume they just forgot. Most people this early really did. "Hi, I wanted to check on bill #1234, which was due on [date]. Could you let me know when you'll be paying? If you already sent it, please ignore this."

About 14 days late — a firmer note. Be a little more direct. Remind them of the amount and the original due date. Then ask for an exact date: "This bill is now two weeks late. Can you tell me today what date you'll pay?" Asking for a specific date is powerful. It turns "soon" into a real promise.

About 30 days late — a serious note. Point to your agreement and your payment terms. Mention that late fees or interest now apply, if your terms allow it. You can bring up pausing any further work. This is a good time to pick up the phone instead of emailing.

About 45 to 60 days late — a final warning. Send a formal "final notice." Say clearly that if they don't pay by a certain date, you will hand the debt to a collection agency or take legal action. This is a real last warning, so only send it if you're truly ready to follow through.

After that — outside help. A collection agency, a mediator, or the courts. (More on this in Part 6.)

You can pick your own timing. But the idea stays the same: steady, planned, written down, and never dropped halfway.

You don't have to remember to send every one of these reminders yourself. AlpacaBOSS sends them for you, automatically, on the schedule you choose. It never forgets and never feels awkward, so the friendly heads-up, the polite check-in, and the firmer note all go out on time — every time — without a late bill slipping your mind.

Part 4: How to Ask So People Actually Pay

The way you ask makes a huge difference. The same message can sound helpful or rude depending on the words, the timing, and how you send it. Here's how to get it right.

Start kind, then get firmer over time. Your first message should give the customer an easy way to save face ("if you already paid, please ignore this"). Most early lateness really is a simple mistake. But your firmness must truly go up as time passes. If you stay gentle forever, customers learn that your deadlines don't matter.

Stick to facts, not feelings. "Bill #1234 for $4,500, due March 3, is now 21 days late" is clear and hard to argue with. "You still haven't paid me" just starts a fight. Facts push people to act. Emotion makes them defensive.

Always ask for an exact date. The most useful question in collecting money is some version of: "When will you pay this?" Get them to name a real date. Once they promise a date, you have something to hold them to. Your next message writes itself: "You said you'd pay by the 20th. I wanted to make sure that's still happening."

Use the phone for anything serious. Emails are easy to ignore. A polite phone call is not. A real talk also tells you the true reason they haven't paid — maybe they're waiting on their own customer, or they have a question about the bill, or money is tight this month. You can only fix a problem once you know what it is. After the call, send a short email that repeats what you both agreed. Get it in writing.

Never say sorry for asking. Drop lines like "so sorry to bug you" or "I hate to keep asking." You did the work. You are owed the money. Asking for it is fair. Being polite is good. Apologizing makes you look weak.

When it fits, make it a shared problem. For a good customer going through a hard time, asking "How can we work this out?" often gets you paid faster than a threat, and it keeps the relationship. That leads to payment plans, which come up next.

Part 5: Real Tools to Get the Money In

Besides just asking, here are concrete tools you can use.

Rewards for paying early or on time

A discount for paying fast. Offer a small discount (like 2%) if they pay within 10 days. Just do the math first, because giving up 2% often adds up. But it can bring cash in sooner.
Treat good payers well. Reward reliable customers with better terms or priority service. This quietly encourages the behavior you want.

Penalties for paying late

Charge interest on late bills. In many places, the law lets you charge interest on business bills that are paid late. Your written terms can allow it too. Even if you don't always charge it, having the right to charge it gives you power.
Add a late fee, if you stated it clearly in your terms.
The real point of penalties isn't the extra cash. It's that they change the customer's choices. If paying you late costs more than paying their other bills late, they'll pay you first.

Payment plans for real hardship

When a customer truly can't pay it all at once, a payment plan beats a bill that never gets paid.

Put the plan in writing and get it signed.
Break it into set amounts on set dates.
If you can, take the first payment right away to lock in their commitment.
Set up automatic payments so you're not chasing each one.
You can add a rule: if they miss one payment, the whole amount is due at once.

A steady stream of smaller payments beats a big debt that just sits there.

AlpacaBOSS is built for exactly this. Set up a payment plan that charges the customer's card automatically on set dates, keep a card on file, and let AlpacaBOSS handle each payment. You're not chasing every installment by hand — the plan just runs on its own until the balance is paid.

Power you already have

Pause your service or hold back what you owe them. For ongoing work, "I'll gladly start again once your account is paid up" is fair and very effective. Don't keep giving more to someone who hasn't paid for what they already got.
Keep ownership until you're paid. For products, a contract line saying you still own the goods until you're paid can let you take them back if the customer doesn't pay.
Hold back future work, references, or renewals until they settle up.

Settlement offers

For an old or argued-over debt where you probably won't get it all, offer to take less if they pay now. "I'll drop the interest if you pay the main amount by Friday." Getting something now often beats getting the full amount never.

Part 6: When to Bring In Outside Help

If your own steps aren't working, you have more options. Move up step by step, and keep every message professional, because it might end up being used as proof later.

Collection agencies. For a fee, or a cut of what they collect, an agency takes over the chasing. Just getting a letter from an agency makes many people pay. Pick a good, licensed one. How they act reflects on you, and rough tactics can get you in trouble.

Mediation. A neutral outside person helps you and the customer reach a deal without going to court. It's cheaper, faster, and less damaging to the relationship than a lawsuit.

Small claims court. For smaller debts, small claims court is built to be used without a lawyer. It's fairly cheap and fairly quick. It's often the right choice for simple, clear debts.

Lawyers and legal letters. A lawyer's warning letter is often enough by itself. People who ignored you for months sometimes pay within days of getting a letter from a lawyer. A full lawsuit is a last resort. It's slow and costs money, and even winning doesn't mean you get paid. Before you sue, ask an honest question: does this customer even have any money to take? A win against a company with nothing is worthless.

One note: the exact legal rules, the interest rates you can charge, and how courts work all change from country to country and even area to area. Treat this section as a general map of your choices, not exact legal advice. For anything big, talk to a lawyer or a licensed adviser in your area.

Part 7: Handling Excuses and Disagreements

Not every unpaid bill is someone acting in bad faith. Learn to tell the difference.

"There's a problem with the bill or the work." Sometimes true, sometimes just a stall. Either way, fix it fast, because a "question" is often just an excuse to wait. Ask exactly what's wrong, fix it, and resend if needed. If they only argue about part of the bill, make them pay the part they don't argue about right now.

"We're waiting to get paid by our customer." Common, but it's not your problem. Your deal is with them, not their customer. Be understanding, but hold firm. Their cash problems don't erase what they owe you. A payment plan might be a fair middle ground.

"The person who handles this is out" or "it's stuck in our system." Often this is just real red tape. Find out exactly what's needed to unstick it — a code? a form? approval from a certain person? — and give it to them. Get the name of someone who can actually approve the payment.

Silence. This is the biggest warning sign. Switch to a stronger channel (a phone call, then a formal letter) and get firmer. If they keep ignoring you after several tries, it's time to bring in outside help.

Through all of this, keep good records. Save every bill, every reminder, every call, and every promise they made and broke. This record is both your power and your proof if things go to court.

Part 8: Set Up a System and Track Your Numbers

Single tricks help. But the businesses that don't get crushed by unpaid bills are the ones that turn collecting money into a system, not a last-minute panic.

Let software do the routine work. Accounting and billing programs (like Xero, QuickBooks, FreshBooks, or Sage) can send bills instantly, send reminders on a schedule, and flag late accounts. The software isn't shy. It sends the "you're 15 days late" reminder every single time, so you don't have to feel awkward about it.

AlpacaBOSS takes this even further. Instead of juggling separate apps for sales, invoicing, and payments, AlpacaBOSS puts them all in one place. It sends bills instantly, takes payments at the counter, online, or on-site, and keeps a live aging report so you can see at a glance who owes you and how late they are. It also tracks the numbers that matter — like how long it takes you to get paid — so you can catch a cash-flow problem early instead of finding out too late. One connected system beats five disconnected ones.

Give one person the job. Someone must be in charge of collecting money and have the time to do it. In a small business, that might be the owner. As you grow, it becomes a full job. If collecting money is "everyone's job," it ends up being nobody's job.

Watch your list of who owes you. An "aging report" sorts everything you're owed by how late it is (0–30 days, 31–60, 61–90, and over 90). Check it often. The older a debt gets, the less likely you'll ever collect it, especially after 90 days. This report shows you where to act before a debt becomes hopeless.

Track how long it takes to get paid. This number is often called DSO, which is the average number of days it takes to collect after a sale. If that number keeps going up, it's an early warning that a cash problem is coming, long before it turns into a crisis.

Know when to give up on a debt. Some debts just aren't worth chasing. The time and cost to chase them is more than you'd get back. Set a rule for when to stop, write the debt off, stop giving that customer more credit, and put your energy into customers who do pay. Spending six months chasing a hopeless $200 is often a worse choice than letting it go.

Part 9: Stay Friendly and Still Get Paid

A common fear is that chasing money will ruin the relationship. Usually it's the opposite. Customers respect businesses that are organized and clear about getting paid. They quietly take advantage of the ones that aren't. Being businesslike about money doesn't make you cold. It makes people take you seriously.

A few simple rules keep both the money and the relationship safe:

Separate the person from the debt. You can be warm to the person and firm about the bill at the same time. "I really enjoy working with you, and I do need this bill paid by Friday" is not a contradiction.
Being consistent feels fair. When you chase everyone the same way on the same schedule, no one feels picked on. When you chase people randomly and emotionally, it feels personal.
The relationship to worry about is with the customer who won't pay. A customer who values your work will pay for it. A customer who keeps refusing to pay isn't worth protecting at the cost of your own business. Sometimes letting a bad customer go is the healthiest choice you can make.

The Big Picture

Staying in business isn't about one clever trick. It's about building a habit: check customers first, get it in writing, send bills fast, chase late payers the same way every time, be ready to escalate, and watch your numbers.

It all comes back to one idea: You are not begging when you ask to be paid. You did the work and made a deal. Collecting on that deal is a normal, professional part of running a business, just as real as the work itself. Businesses that believe this and build a system around it keep their cash flowing and stay alive. Businesses that treat getting paid as an embarrassing afterthought are the ones that look great on paper and end up broke in the bank.

None of this has to be hard. AlpacaBOSS handles the parts of getting paid that eat your time — invoicing, payments, reminders, auto-pay, and tracking who owes what — all in one place, so you can spend less time chasing money and more time running your business. If you're ready to get paid faster, book a demo and see AlpacaBOSS in action.

Quick Checklist

Check new customers before you trust them with credit.
Get deposits and stage payments so you're never owed too much at once.
Put your terms in writing, and keep the payment window short.
Send bills right away, correctly, to the right person.
Make paying easy — several options and one-click links.
Chase late payers the same way every time — let software help.
Always get a promise of an exact payment date.
Use the phone for anything serious, then confirm in writing.
Never say sorry for asking to be paid.
Offer payment plans for real hardship — in writing, first payment now.
Use your power: pause service, charge interest, hold back future work.
Bring in help when needed — agency, mediation, small claims, lawyer.
Fix disputes fast, and get paid for the part no one argues about.
Track your numbers, and let go of debts that aren't worth chasing.
Stay professional the whole way — it protects your money and your relationships.