Billing And “Paycheck To Paycheck” Living

According to a 2017 census report, nearly eighty percent of Americans live paycheck to paycheck! That is astonishing! This means that the money Americans earn is already spent on living expenses before it even reaches the bank! The bills keep adding up! There is no cash cushion for unexpected events like the loss of a job or illness.

The term ‘living paycheck to paycheck’ conjures up several images in regards to why so many people are living with such tight finances. Single parents who are working long hours at a minimum wage paying jobs definitely feel the financial strain. Middle-income parents who continue to support their kids through college no doubt face financial struggles. Even the elder are not immune to feeling a financial crunch as they move into retirement and face greater medical bills. No matter the stage of life, the majority of Americans face financially hard times at some point.

The fact of the matter is the majority of Americans are one missed paycheck away from financial ruin! They may do an excellent job of hiding this ugly truth. They may be your neighbor who drives a slick car or the couple who you so admire on Facebook. But, underneath the façade of fancy cars and inflated smiles, many of the people you know are often robbing Peter to pay Paul.

We are living in times when people launch #GoFundMe campaigns to pay for surgeries, asthma medication, or insulin shots! Given the current high costs of food, housing, transportation, and healthcare, paychecks are spent before they can be deposited. Many people struggle to keep food on the table throughout the month and gas in the tank. They struggle to stay on top of their monthly bills.

So, what does this drop in consumer confidence mean for businesses?

Small businesses are often hit the hardest when customers struggle financially. When far too many customers are hurting and have become negligent with their bills, many businesses without adequate support are unable to continue operating. Knowing that your customers are spread so thin can give you some insight into how they view and respond to the bills they receive from your business.

Maintaining consistent and open communication during your billing cycle and streamlining business costs are some of the main ways to navigate through hurting the economy. Keep your customers informed and in the know as often as you can.

Bills Need To Be Accurate And On Time

Knowing that so many people struggle from paycheck to paycheck puts added pressure on businesses which depend on printing and mailing bills. Businesses that print and mail out bills have a huge responsibility to stay in contact with their customers in a positive nature! People’s finances are spread thin. Most people know they have very little wiggle room with their spending. Therefore, many people have very little tolerance for bills that are received late, have inaccurate data, or fail to reflect up to date information. Customers are more likely to post a negative review online about billing inaccuracies than any other complaint. And, who can blame them? When finances are spread so thin, errors on a billing cycle can jeopardize their ability to make other payments on time and damage their good credit standing and standing with their bank. Bills that are late or inaccurate can cost someone more than they have.

Have you ever counted how many dollar signs, percentage signs, or decimal points there are on a single bill? There are quite a few of each! When each bill is processed manually by your in-house team, there is a lot of room for major errors.

That’s not to mention the time crunch involved with each billing cycle. Even a very small business which processes just a few bills each cycle knows that all the tasks involved with printing and mailing bills routinely is a major feat. It is easy to get behind and face delays. But, as mentioned before, customers who are living paycheck to paycheck have very little acceptance for delays, even if there is a good explanation.

A professional printing and mailing service can put your office at ease. Accuracy and consistency are the two main reasons why businesses decide to outsource their bill printing needs to a professional printing and mailing service. With an automated system, the risk of human error is eliminated. Plus, with a computerized process, bills are never delayed. They are always on time. Therefore, customers can depend on the fact that their bills are consistent and they are never faced with surprises which can hurt their credit standing and good standing at the bank.

Customer Relationships Help Prevent Negligent Accounts

Customers more often than not have no desire to be negligent with their bills. Most customers have good intentions to pay their bills on time and handle their debt. When they find themselves in a hard situation, most have the wherewithal to handle themselves appropriately. However, if customers feel they have been disrespected by a business and have received their bills inconsistently or notice that there are errors on their bills, they are more likely to make decisions that will lead to negligent accounts.  By providing timely and accurate bills, your business creates an open and honest relationship with clients which means they are more willing to communicate effectively when they face hardships. If they get into a position where they are spread too thin, and they cannot pay their bills, they are more likely to communicate with a business that has been consistent and accurate than one which has shown mistakes.

Help your customers trust your consistency and accuracy by depending on a reliable printing and mailing service to handle all your bill printing needs. With a professional bill printing service, like Towne Mailer, customer billing information is uploaded and then the entire process is automated. This eliminates the possibility of human error and creates an effortless and flawless billing practice.

Do you know who is most likely to pay you on time? A customer who feels valued and respected. If you treat your customers with consistent respect, it becomes a reciprocal relationship. They will aim to please you as well. This includes calling and discussing payments they may be struggling to make.

Streamline Business Costs

When your customers are cutting back on their spending and trying to float finances until their next paycheck, it is simply a smart decision to mirror their concerns and consider being frugal with your business spending. In addition to providing consistent, accurate, and on time bills, a professional printing and mailing service is also cost-effective. Your business can witness significant improvements in operational efficiency by streamlining your billing process and hiring a bill printing service.

Your business most likely uses dozens of operational processes every day. You probably go through the exact same steps each time you resolve a customer complaint, contact a new client, generate a report, or process a bill. Each one of these steps, which occur daily, uses unthinkable amounts of material and manpower. By taking one of these steps, like bill printing and mailing, out of your daily routine, you not only save money on material, you save money on labor. Your in-house staff spends hours organizing, processing, printing, and mailing bills. All of these steps which your staff take for each bill your business sends out costs you for their labor.

A dependable printing and mailing service that can handle all of your bill printing needs allows you to eliminate unnecessary and costly steps. Plus, a streamlined process means fewer delays and fewer mistakes.

Towne Mailer

There is no denying that when our customers suffer, our businesses suffer. When clients are living from pay check to pay check, they often struggle paying their bills on time every month. Open, reliable, and consistent communication is the most effective way to encourage customers to maintain their bills. By keeping lines of communication clear and direct, you are eliminating the risk that customers will write negative reviews about your billing practices. Poor reviews hurt your bottom line and lead to a cascade of other problems.

A printing and mailing service that processes all of your bill printing and mailing needs is the most effective way to streamline your communication process.  Towne Mailer can accommodate your bill printing and mailing needs no matter the combination of core processing and imaging platform required for your data formats. You can trust us with all of the bill printing and mailing services you are looking for so your clients will feel safe and confident in your ability to handle their needs.

Towne Mailer looks forward to supporting you in communicating effectively with your customers. We have over twenty years of experience processing bill printing and mailing needs in all industries. We are confident that we possess the expertise you have been looking for. Our goal is not unlike yours. We aim to provide exceptional customer service with quality bill printing and any other printing and mailing services your business might require.

Contact Towne Mailer today for a no-obligation consultation and find out how bill printing and mailing can help your business.