Making sure customers fulfill their part of business contracts

When entering into an agreement with a client or customer, a Massachusetts business owner expects to be compensated for the goods or services provided. Payment is a big part of business contracts. When those payments don’t come, it interferes with the company’s bottom line and ability to thrive.

What can a business owner do to help ensure that he or she receives payment? A simple way to ensure at least a partial payment would be to require some sort of deposit upfront. Most people would consider 50 percent of the total cost to be fair under these circumstances. It might also be a good idea not to allow new customers credit until they prove that payment will be made in a timely manner.

Customers and clients need to understand the terms regarding payment upfront. Those terms should be reiterated on the invoice provided, which should be generated in a timely manner in order to expect a timely payment. Some businesses offer incentives for customers to make payments on time or even early. For example, if a customer has 30 days to pay an invoice, but does so within half that time, he or she could receive a slight discount. Everyone likes to save money, so this could be an attractive incentive.

Of course, some customers just are not going to meet their payment obligations no matter what. In these instances, it may be necessary to begin creating a paper trail for a potential lawsuit with the hope that step is not needed. In order to make sure that everything is done in accordance with Massachusetts law, it might be a good idea to involve an attorney with experience in contracts and nonpayment issues.