Maybe you’ve already implemented an automated accounts receivable software, or maybe you’re still considering it. But the one thing that’s standing in your way is, “How do I get my customer’s to go paperless?” E-invoicing and using online payment portals are great and they get you paid faster, but if your customers aren’t using them it’s pretty useless.Most companies these days have gone paperless and the use of paper checks is declining, but there are still some companies that are hanging onto the Stone Age. With all of the savings you can benefit from by switching your customers to paperless, from postage to labor costs, it’s worth it to take a little time to try and talk them into it.

Here are 6 easy ways to encourage customers to go paperless:

ONLINE EXPERIENCE

You have to make their online experience easy. If your payment portal is difficult to find on your website, most people either won’t know the option is there or will give up trying to find it. Give them tools to use like graphs and charts. Make this experience so good they won’t want to go back to paper statements.

GIVE HISTORY

Paper statements can only give so much before you’re mailing a novel. Make their online payment and account history more easily accessible and trackable. The farther back they can go online the more sense going paperless will make.

EXPLAIN THE BENEFITS

Some customers may just not be paying attention to the ease of going paperless, while others may have their reservations. Explain to your customers how online portals and e-invoicing saves time and money, while also explaining that it is a secure way to go. Some customers may even be lured by the idea of better environmental practices.

USE SAVINGS AS AN INCENTIVE

Offer a discount for customers to go paperless. If they opt-in to using e-invoicing or a customer portal, give them a $1 off each monthly statement.

REWARD THE SWITCH

Give each customer who decides to go paperless a chance to win a gift card or enter them into a rewards program.

CHARGE A FEE

This is a tricky route to take. You don’t want customers to switch vendors simply because you want everyone to go paperless. However, if you explain to each customer why you are making the switch and how it will benefit them, the switch will be more manageable. Further, make the switch extremely easy so no one feels as though they are being penalized for not wanting to use an unintuitive system.

In the end, having customer go paperless is a win-win situation. You’re able to save more money and time and your customers will come to appreciate the functionality of it too. With so many people switching to e-invoicing and payment portals it only makes sense to get ahead of the game and start saving early.