Faster Payment
How to Get Paid Faster: 10 Tactics That Work
Short answer
Get paid faster by removing friction (online payment link on every invoice), shortening terms (Net 15 instead of Net 30), collecting deposits upfront, and automating reminders. The combined effect typically cuts days-sales-outstanding by half.
Most small businesses do not have a 'getting paid' problem — they have a 'making it easy to pay' problem. The tactics below are ranked by impact: each one independently shortens your average collection time, and they stack.
The 10 highest-impact tactics
These are ordered roughly by impact-per-effort. If you only do three of them, do #1, #2, and #5.
- Add a payment link to every invoice (cards, ACH, Apple Pay, PayPal).
- Invoice the same day the work is completed — not the end of the week.
- Shorten your default terms to Net 15 for new customers.
- Send invoices by text and email together — the text gets opened first, the email is the paper trail.
- Require a deposit on any job over a few hundred dollars.
- Automate reminders on a fixed schedule (day 0, day 7, day 14, day 30).
- Disclose a late-fee policy on every estimate and invoice.
- Make customer-side payment methods explicit ('We accept card, Apple Pay, Cash App, Venmo, ACH').
- Use milestone billing on long projects so cash arrives during the work, not after.
- Charge cards on file for recurring customers (with written authorization).
What 'days sales outstanding' (DSO) looks like for each tactic
DSO is the average number of days between invoicing and getting paid. Industry-typical DSO for small service businesses is 30–45 days. Each tactic below pulls that number down.
| Tactic | Typical DSO impact |
|---|---|
| Add online payment link | -5 to -10 days |
| Same-day invoicing | -3 to -7 days |
| Net 15 instead of Net 30 | -10 to -15 days |
| Deposit at booking | Front-loads 25–50% of revenue immediately |
| Automated reminders | -5 to -10 days on late invoices |
| Milestone billing | Eliminates one large back-loaded payment |
What does not actually speed up payment
Calling customers before the invoice is due, lowering your prices, or being more 'flexible' on terms do not measurably speed up payment in industry data — and the last two reduce your margin. The biggest speedups come from removing friction (payment links), shrinking the window (shorter Net terms), and being consistent (automated reminders).
Frequently asked questions
What is the fastest way for a customer to pay an invoice?
Card or digital-wallet payment (Apple Pay, Google Pay) inside a click-to-pay link is the fastest — funds typically settle within 1–2 business days. ACH is cheaper but slower (3–5 business days).
Should I offer an early-payment discount?
Only if your cost of capital is high. A 2% discount for paying in 10 days versus 30 is an effective 36% annualized cost — expensive if you have healthy cash flow.
Put this guide to work.
Glo Invoice automates reminders, takes online payments, and tracks your AR — free for 14 days.
Sources & further reading
Primary sources we consulted when writing and reviewing this guide.