The short and sweet answer is 100% absolutely yes!
Sometime ago I knew I wanted more out of my business so I invested in a graphic design course that helped me recreate my packages and encouraged me to raise my prices. And a piece of advice that came with the course was to use payment plans and once I implemented payment plans into my customer process my business changed for the better.
Payment plans are a win-win for everyone involved. Payment plans have allowed me to charge my worth without feeling like I'm not worth the investment. By offering payment plans I have been getting more bookings while giving my clients the flexibility to pay what works for them. Payment plans have made my packages less intimidating and clients are able to focus on the value and the service and not so much the price. My clients are all local small businesses being able to help them afford high end design is a wonderful feeling for both parties.
The advantages
Consistent revenue, great customer experience.
Not only do you have a somewhat consistent revenue coming in each month but it is helpful for your client to be able to pay you at an affordable rate.
The disadvantages
Extra fees, payments can go into default.
Sure there are more fees since each payment is separate but if having a payment plan is how you are able to book clients without lowering your rates I say pay the extra fees. Or you can always add those extra fees on to the packages itself.
What do I do? I charge my clients interest free for my payment plans and I pay the fees myself because at the end of the year the amount of fees is far less that the amount of income I make. Also, the fees are a good tax break. The reason I don't include interest in my payment plans is because I find it personally frustrating when other payment plans do include interest so I'm staying true to my values by not charging my clients interest.
If you're worried about payments going into default you just have to make sure to use a payment platform that allows for AUTOMATIC payments every 30 days or however long you set the automatic payment for. This way your client only needs to enter their credit card information into your system once, they can set it and forget and you don't have to worry about clients not paying their bills.
What do I do? I used Wix to create my website and luckily they have an invoicing system that allows automatic payment plans.
Payment plans can help your business in more ways than it can hurt. If you've been thinking for a while if you should incorporate payment plans this is your sign to start today. Your customers will feel like they have control over their accounts and trust me you will be able to increase overall sales with a payment plan than without. The worse that could happen is it doesnt work for you and you go back to your old ways.
Cheers!
Rizza
