COVID-19 has created a lot of concerns and uncertainties for concrete businesses. From office cleanliness, to supply chain disruption, to business continuity, business leaders are scrambling to keep their organizations operational and profitable while protecting themselves, their employees, and their clients.
Compared to B2C payments, B2B payments are very much still in the “dark ages”—64% of B2B organizations continue to use paper checks and invoices. But, in the age of COVID-19, many businesses are beginning to see the benefits of going digital. Here are 3 steps to quickly move your receivables online.
1. Unleash the virtual terminal
Your organization accepts credit cards, but it’s not your preferred form of payment. It’s time to change that. If you’re still relying on paper checks and invoices, cash flow will suffer. So, it’s time to unleash the virtual terminal. A virtual terminal and payment gateway with the following features can help digitize your receivables.
- Simultaneous logins. Your users aren’t operating out of the same office anymore, so what happens when multiple employees need to accept payments at the same time? Simultaneous login capabilities mean your users can handle their job functions independently, from any device with an internet connection.
- Tiered access. With all or some of your employees off-site, making sure they have access to the information they need, and NOT the information they don’t need, is imperative. With a virtual terminal, access to payment processing, transaction reporting, and customer details can be restricted on a user-by-user basis.
- Click-to-pay invoicing. If your employees aren’t in your office, and your clients’ employees aren’t in their offices, it’s just not practical to send paper invoices, cut checks, get signatures, etc. And that’s not even taking into consideration the potential security problems raised by having such sensitive information available in employees’ homes. Click-to-pay invoicing allows specified users to generate and send digital invoices that reduce paperwork and allow clients to make payments effortlessly and securely.
- Text to pay functionality. This feature offers ultimate flexibility and convenience to your clients. You create an invoice within your virtual terminal and send it directly to your client’s mobile device. Then, all they have to do is click a link and enter their payment details to complete the transaction. This makes for a truly seamless payment experience, even if a customer is stuck at home without access to their work computer or email.
2. Educate your employees
Now that you know what a virtual terminal is truly capable of, it’s time to make sure your employees know how to use one. To encourage employee buy-in, explain how this tool can help them with their day-to-day responsibilities (reducing paperwork, improving ease-of-use, etc.) and how it will allow your business to remain operational during the COVID-19 pandemic.
3. Communicate with your customers
Once you and your employees are comfortable with your virtual terminal, it’s time to share the good news with your customers.
Make sure they know that you’re still available to support them, and that you’re offering new and improved online invoicing and payment options to streamline their experience and ease their own accounts payable processes. This lets them know you’re committed to getting through this difficult time, together.
Final thoughts
Paper checks and invoices just don’t offer the flexibility businesses need to withstand COVID-19. Payment innovation is necessary to continue your operations right now, but also to future-proof them. For additional tips and solutions to help your business through this difficult time, please visit BASYS Processing’s COVID-19 Business Resources page.
Shannon Walcott is a Senior Sales Executive at BASYS Processing. She has partnered with businesses in the concrete industry on their credit card processing since 2012, and her expertise has allowed her to consistently reduce clients’ processing expenses. If you need to transition your receivables online due to COVID-19, please reach out to Shannon directly at (913) 214-5021 or swalcott@basyspro.com.
