Hello, Laurence here. Following up from my previous AMA thread, I have decided to make an agency related guide that’s not discussed to often, so I’ll be covering everything from client expectations to payments.
First off, as a standard procedure, always ask for the payment BEFORE you start any of your service. Most agencies charge month to month, so from the moment that the money lands into your account, you’re providing your service until 30 days have passed.
Payments payments payments…
This is a very tricky subject, as there is a lot of controversy surrounding which payment processor is the best for you. From my own experiences, it is much more seamless and professional to invoice rather than using PayPal, which can a lot of times put off proper limited companies, as it’s easier for them to use their companies card, rather than faffing around on PayPal typing in your email.
Not to mention the fact that PayPal is notoriously known as the platform that gets abused by scammers, and disputes regarding digital services are often overlooked.
So, I would recommend using Stripe to receive payments, and then using a separate system to invoice clients. There are many free platforms that can be used to invoice clients (and in fact you can invoice within Stripe, but I find it a bit fiddly), but the one I use (and is paid), is called Simple Invoices. I’ve found it makes things a whole lot easier, I was actually recommended to use it by a fellow agency owner and I’ve been using it since. I have heard that a product called Wave Invoicing is quite good, it’s completely free and it does offer Stripe integration.
Now I’m going to outline exactly what happens when I on-board a client:
-
Client says ‘yes let’s go for it’.
-
Ask client for their email to invoice them, and confirm with them a brief overview of what you’re offering + the price, and under what terms (how long).
-
Login to your invoicing platform and send an invoice to them, but make sure you copy and paste the confirmation message you sent to your client under ‘notes’ in the invoice, so how long and what it is that you’re doing. This will help in dispute scenarios, it’s even better if you write out a quick contract (there are templates free online depending on what service you’re offering), and use the free tool ‘eSign’ to sign your signatures. Then, under ‘notes’ in the invoice, attach a PDF link of this.
-
After you’ve received your payment, ask your client for any information you need to start your service, (it’s important to note that Stripe usually takes 5 days to transfer the money you’ve invoiced to your bank, but the money will still show up in Stripe, don’t worry, the client can’t retract the money within those 5 days so you’re fine to start using that money as if you have it) , and also tell them what you’re about to do, and when you’re doing it:
i.e: ‘I’m going to spend the next couple of days researching content and then we will start posting on the xth’.
Make sure you do this so your client has a clear view of what’s going to happen. If you haven’t been on a call with them, meanings often get confused over messages, so you need to make sure you’re making everything extremely clear.
-
Ask them if they have any questions, this is important, as you’re making yourself available to them and they feel like they can ask you questions throughout the service. The one thing you don’t want is a client that pays you and then doesn’t say a word for the next 30 days, but at the same time you don’t want a naggy client that’s constantly asking questions and wasting your time.
-
Ask for referrals AND permission to use them as a case study. Don’t feel bad by doing this straight away without doing anything from them yet, just ask something along the lines of: ‘I was also wondering if you knew any business owners that might also be looking for (insert service) as I’m trying to expand my portfolio.’
-
A lot of people forget this step, but it’s one of the most important if you want repeat business. At least 3 days prior to their 30 days ending, get them to agree to another month, and send an invoice (and make sure they’ve paid), before the 30 days are up, so you’re not fumbling around with invoices at the last minute and giving your client a chance to doubt your efficiency and decide that they don’t want to carry on.
I hope I have managed to answer everything about on-boarding clients, there’s a good chance I’ve missed a lot of things out as I don’t want to drawl on for too long, so if you have any nitty gritty questions that you think I might be able to answer, please do not hesitate to ask!