PaymentHub is the perfect solution for these specialized needs. You can confidently control all aspects of collection, while PaymentHub performs its task in the background, with a low single-fee per transaction. PaymentHub also clears payments faster and automatically collects outstanding invoices, so you can focus on your service, not your wallet.

Some payment companies may also try and contact your customers with their own marketing campaigns — not PaymentHub. In fact, you have control of what appears on your customer’s statement for both credit cards and bank account transactions as well any payment reminder or failure notices sent by our system. This helps avoid confusion and allows you to protect your brand. After all, these are your customers, and any messages sent to them regarding the status of their payments should reflect your approach to business!

Another important factor in any recurring fee-based business is customer retention. Subscribers can be easily spooked by unexpected charges, and even late fees can discourage the relationship. Many times, late fees are due to customer error, not dissatisfaction, and a fee-free resolution is often the best way to keep them engaged. That is why PaymentHub allows merchants to control if and when a late fee is charged.

A good debit system should also be flexible in both its use and in its contract. PaymentHub charges no setup fees, and you are not locked-in to any contract. You can also access your customer base 24 hours a day, adding or deleting customers and payment options with ease.

At PaymentHub, we can put your name on your customer’s Visa and Mastercard statement. It is as simple as signing up to a PaymentHub account. Call us today to find out more.

After 6 months of development, we are proud to announce our integrated direct debit and invoicing function is now live. You can:

1. Link a payment plan and invoice,
2. Nominate the timing you want the invoice to be sent (either prior to the payment on the payment date), and
3. Nominate multiple line items on the invoice.

Based on our user feedback we are continuing to refine the invoicing system, but if you would like a sneak peak, please contact us to arrange a demo.

Firstly, we should point out that direct debit is a growing billing method throughout Australia.  APCA’s historical figures indicate a 10% year on year growth in transaction volumes for the past decade.  So why are businesses continuing to look to direct debit as a favoured billing channel?  The answer is it’s cost.  Direct debit is an inexpensive and, in most cases, automated billing solution.  It is also a secure and proven billing channel used across multiple industries.

As well as these advantages, direct debit also provides an end point in the billing cycle.  Many billers issue an invoice and see a payment due date come and go without receiving payment.  This generally requires them to follow-up by issuing a payment reminder or a collection order to recover their fees.

With direct debit, a payment date comes and results in one of two events, the funds are paid or the payment bounces.  In the second instance the biller can attempt recover the failed payment by either rescheduling the debit with the client’s approval (or sometimes this can be automated) or arranging for the payment through some other means.  My point is, the biller always knows their position with direct debit.

Direct debit’s strength is also it’s greatest weakness.  By signing a direct debit form, bill payers feel they are giving up a degree of control, they loose some visibility of their funds, they forget when a payment falls dues and may have insufficient funds at the time of the transaction.  These are all undesirable events.

Our experience indicates that in most cases, the issues billers and bill payers experience in using direct debit comes down to poor communication.  At a minimum the biller must provide the payer with the following:

1. The total amount to be collected (or the minimum amount to be collected as part of a contract)
2. The amount, frequency and start date of payments
3. The process for changing, suspending or canceling the direct debit

Additionally, by sending reminders (through email or SMS) billers can greatly reduce some of the issues experienced by payers.

When the biller provides clear, easy to understand information to the bill payer and the bill payer meets their obligations by ensuring sufficient funds are available to be collected, direct debit remains the most efficient billing option available for collecting recurring payments.

If you have experienced problems with direct debit, have been unsure how to a cancel and authority, please do not hesitate to contact us and we will assist you where we can.

Like most of our clients, these companies have an ongoing, service based relationship with their clients. They actively monitor the security alarms in houses and commercial properties and where required, run patrols and respond to these alarms. They also invoice their clients every month .

Over the last 12 months, the new clients we have assisted have carried between 50-100k worth of debtors past the due date of their invoices… sometimes until the next month’s billing cycle.  Our brief was simple, implement a system which would reduce the number outstanding debtors. Below are the steps we took to help our client:

1. We sent a letter to our client’s customers informing them that we were going to implement a new billing system to reduce the company’s administration (and thus keep their monitoring fees low)
2. We also sent a direct debit authority so we could begin billing the following month (none of our clients mandated direct debit as a payment option – they left it up to their clients to decide how they would pay)
3. We set up email reminders (and SMS reminders where suitable) totell people when they would be debited.
4. We continued to send letters to those who had not yet signed up for the direct debit payment option with testimonials from others who had (generally convenience was the most common reason for people opting to switch to direct debit)

Within 3 months, we have 40% of our clients’ customers using direct debit as the preferred payment method. We have halved the overdue debtor list and now all new clients are put straight on direct debit.

This approach has allowed our clients to:

• Improve their cashflow – they now can predict with a high degree of accuracy how much money will be in their account at the end of the month
• Reduce their admin overhead – there is no more reconciliation of cheque and EFT payments. We have reduced the number of calls that need to be made chasing up outstanding payments.
• Focus on improving their own systems – the admin staff now have more time to work on streamlining other areas of the business now that a large number of payments are being taken care of.

What are you doing to improve your business?  What can be automated to let you focus on providing your customer with the best service you can?

If you would like more information on PaymentHub Direct Debit and Billing – please contact us on 1300 909 339.

The lay-by system worked as follows:

1. Working with Peats Ridge Festival, we determined what the payment plans would look like, the frequency clients would be billed and a maximum number of payments
2. Festival goers would sign up on a PaymentHub direct debit plan that suited their requirements
3. We wanted to make sure that the ticket buyers knew when the funds would be debited from their account so we issued both SMS and email reminders about upcoming payments
4. On completion of the payment plan, Peats would issue the tickets

A really simple approach that delivered positive benefits to both Peats Ridge Festival organisers and their clients!

Membership businesses are generally built around the following concepts:

1. There is a common purpose or interest bringing a group of people (for example sailing, breeding canaries, sport or reading)
2. Members are willing to pay an ongoing fee to be part of this group
3. Members are provided with some material which identifies them as part of the group (for example a shirt, badge, certificate or piece of equipment).

We’ve been fortunate to speak to a number of successful membership organisations over the past 5 years and the list below describes the key activities they’ve undertaken to build their memberships from 1 member to thriving communities.

1. Identify the key common needs of the group and go out of your way to deliver on those needs.  Successful membership organisations are not built over night, but the fundamental element of any successful organisation or club is that they have identified the key, common need of the membership base and they deliver on it.  Remember people don’t have to be part of your club, so unless you are delivering on that thing that made them become a member in the first place – they will leave.
2. Provide a group identity – this is important whether you are a football group or a member of an exclusive club.  Members like to be recognised by other members and other people who share their interest.  A strong form of membership identity whether it be clothing (an AFL club), a membership card (a golf club) or some other trinket that provides an identity for the club or membership organisation (for instance BNI provides a badge and business card holder) is a common element in all the successful membership organisations we have observed.
3. Reduce the barriers to entry – The goal of most (and I use the word most rather than all) membership organisations is to grow their membership base.  Quite simply, the more members a club has, the greater its resources to fulfil the common needs of the group.  Make it easy to sign up for club, collect an ongoing subscription fee rather than a large upfront fee and reduce the time taken to process an application.

We will add to this list of the upcoming months, but would love to hear your thoughts on growing a membership business or club.  What strategies have you implemented, what worked and what didn’t.

Also if you have any questions about PeopleHub and how our direct debit and billing solutions can assist your club, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Q. How long has PeopleHub been in business?

A. PeopleHub has been helping businesses around Australia for 5 years now.  During that time, our systems and procedures have been refined to give your business “MORE TIME, MORE MONEY AND MORE FLEXIBILITY.”

Q. I need a custom report for my business, can PeopleHub develop them?

A. Yes, we will gladly develop any additional reports you require at a small charge.  These reports will be automatically sent to you at the intervals required by your business.

Q. I’m not really technically minded, how can PeopleHub help me with this?

A.  PeopleHub’s online system has been built with you in mind.  You want to be up and running quickly, without having to read large user manuals.  If you are experiencing any problems getting started, simply call PeopleHub and we will step you through setting up your first 10 customers.  We guarantee you will become an expert in PeopleHub Online within a week of using the system.

Q. Can I change payment and customer detail for individual customers?

A. Yes it is a simple process through PeopleHub Online to make these alterations. You can debit accounts on any working day and at whatever intervals agreed to with your customer. All changes through PeopleHub Online are made instantaneously.

Q. Can I alter a customer’s payment terms or payment schedule?

A. Yes, PeopleHub provides you with a simple editing feature that will allow you to change the payment amounts, edit a single payment within the schedule or skip one or more payments.  We are committed to giving you MORE TIME and through our online system you can manage these alterations easily and simply.

If the contract between you and your customer changes however, you may need to complete a new direct debit form.

Q. When do I receive my funds from PeopleHub?

A. PeopleHub clears funds to your account daily.  The basic clearance rules are as follows:

• Payments collected on Monday – clear to your account on Friday
• Payments collected on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday – clear to your account the following Monday
• Payments collected on Friday – clear to your account the following Tuesday.

At any time, you can log into PeopleHub and get live status updates on your payments.  Every time PeopleHub deposits funds into your account, you will receive an email containing the payment details as well as having the same reports posted to your secure PeopleHub payment site.

Q. What happens if a payment fails?

A. PeopleHub will notify you immediately through our failed payment report.  You will receive an email detailing the customer, reason for failure, how many times the customer has failed in the past and their contact details for immediate follow-up.  We can also notify your customer of the failure through our SMS facility.

Q. Do You Charge for Defaults and Payment Failures?

A. No, there are no additional fees when a payment fails.  At PeopleHub you will only pay your standard 88c transaction fee giving you more money to spend on your business.

Q. Can PeopleHub integrate with my membership software?

PeopleHub has a strong development area and have published a programming interface that will allow your software to integrate seamlessly with our payment system.  You will be able to update customer details and payment information in your membership software and it will be automatically updated in PeopleHub.

Q . What kind of reports will I receive from PeopleHub?

A. PeopleHub will email you important reports such as out “Payment Summaries” which provide detailed information on the deposit PeopleHub has made to your account and “Failed Payment Summaries” that detail the reason why a customer’s payments have failed.

All reports are sent in a printable format as well as in a spreadsheet so you can also run your own analysis.   All reports are sent daily.

Q. How quickly can I get my PeopleHub account set-up

A.  We can have you set-up and ready to commence payment processing within 24 hours.

Q. Can PeopleHub automatically send out payment reminders to my customers?

A. PeopleHub can send both email and SMS reminders to your customers letting them know their payment is about to be made.  No only does this give your customer peace of mind, it also reduces the chances of your customer’s payment defaulting – saving you time and your customer from incurring fees from their bank.

Q. Do I have to pay any set-up costs to get my clients on your file?

A.  No, if you are creating customers in our system, you will never have to pay a set-up fee.  We will simply provide you with our easy to use online system and you create the customer file.  PeopleHub will only charge a small fee to enter the form at your request, otherwise it is FREE.

We always welcome your quesitons – if there is anything we have missed, please do not hesitate to contact us for further clarification.

How do I make sure I get paid?

You will note from a previous post on avoiding the pitfalls of direct debit that there are some risks of providing direct debit to your clients.  There are a couple of strategies that you implement as part of your payment plan or lay-by system.

1 – Don’t provide the product until you have received full payment. This is obvious I know, but with the proliferation of rent to own products, many products are provided upfront with payment collected over a period of time, with the option to purchase at the end of the rental period many customers expect to receive their product prior to payment being made in full.

2 – If you are in an industry where the product is supplied upfront and your costs recovered over time, it is essential for your business that you have your lawyer draft a clear set of terms and conditions that will protect your business from receiving part payment.

3 – Remember a direct debit request form is not a payment agreement. Many of our new customers signing up for a PeopleHub account think that by having their customer sign a direct debit form they have a contract.  This is not the case.  A direct debit authority gives PeopleHub permission to debit your customer’s account.  Your customer can cancel a direct debit authority at their bank, however if you have a signed contract, they will still need to pay you through some other means.

I survive on low margins, how can I afford PeopleHub’s direct debit solution?

Our direct debit solution is very inexpensive.  There are no set-up costs or monthly minimums.  At 88c per transaction, it is not a costly system and if used correctly, it will not only save you money in your accounts receivables, but will also provide a tool to grow your business.

You can actually implement PeopleHub at NO COST to your business.  Most people realise that the freedom to pay a product off over time will incur some additional cost and will accept PeopleHub’s transaction costs in order have that convenience.

A final word on direct debit and payment plans

Direct debit is a reliable means of accepting payment, but it is important you implement your system in a way that is also convenient for your customers.  You can do this by aligning the payment dates with their paydays and by providing email and SMS reminders of upcoming payments to your customers.  These simple strategies can asisst in reducing your failure rate and providing a lot of goodwill to your customer.  As a consumer, there is nothing worse than being overdrawn and then being debited.  Not only will you need to find the funds to pay your next installment, but you will more than likely have to pay a default fee to your bank for being overdrawn.

PeopleHub can assist you in providing this flexibility as well as reminders to your customers.  Call us to discuss our system and how direct debit may fit into your business.

At PeopleHub, most of our clientele are either providing a service at a discounted price in return for the consumer guaranteeing their custom for an extended period of time (for example a gym membership) or alternatively they have provided a physical product and are collecting payment for this product over time (for instance a coffee machine).  These long term customer relationships, while also covered by the Trade Practices Act, generally involve some form of contract or terms of trade.

What are terms of trade you might ask?  It is simply a contract between you and your customer which sets out the rules for the purchase of the goods or services.  It spells out the obligations of each party in the transaction and makes it clear what the implications are if these obligations are not met.  We regularly come across businesses who do not have this fundamental document when trading.  The most common reasons are:

1. “I don’t want to pay a lawyer to develop my contracts”
2. “I don’t need them because I am on friendly terms with my customer”
3. “It is too much paperwork for me and my customers”

While some people feel unconfortable getting contracts signed, they are essential should the relationship between two parties deteriorate.  This may be due to a customer paying late or the standards of the product or service dropping.  In either instance, a contract can provide the basis for moving the relationship back onto a positive footing.

An example of this is, many small businesses expect to be paid within 30 days.  When you notice a client beginning to become a little tardy with their payments, pointing them back to the clauses within your contract can be a simple way to get things back on track.  It does not have to be used as a big stick, but people are sometimes forgetful and paying your invoice may fall somewhat down their priority list.  If your friendly reminders do not get you anywhere, then it may be necessary to refer to the contract.

Remember – speak to your lawyer.  These standard terms and conditions can be written for under $2,000 and are a valuable part of your business.

Does your business have terms of trade? How do you use them?

]]> http://www.direct-debit.com.au/2009/05/12/customer-relationships-what-are-terms-of-trade/feed/ 0