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Are you a business owner who frequently finds yourself in the position of reminding clients to submit their payments? Does the constant concern about receiving timely payments leave you feeling stressed? Keep reading to discover how a dental hygienist got to the root of it and cured her late invoice problem!
Brush up on Helcim merchant: Welcome Wellness
Helcim merchant Tanya De Sousa is a hygienist and a proud owner of Welcome Wellness Dental Hygiene, a mobile dental hygiene practice.
Tanya has been working in the industry for 17 years and just made the switch to Helcim about a year ago. Since switching, she says Helcim has helped her practice not only get paid on time but save more on her payment processing — helping her free up cash flow to put back into her business.
As a business owner, Tanya says she values the unconventional work environment of dental hygiene, where she thrives on building trust with her clients and empowering them to take ownership of their oral and systemic well-being.
Too much time spent “checking up” on payments
Of course, a core component of running a business is getting paid, and for many industries like dentistry, that involves sending out invoices to your customers. Of course, we've all experienced late and lost invoices at one time or another.
Tanya speaks to one of the biggest pain points of invoiced payments for her business, "I was waiting for payments from my patients, and I had to continuously remind them that there was an outstanding balance."
She explains, constantly reminding your clients of payments can be tedious for businesses and an annoyance for their customers. Furthermore, constantly pestering the client can lead to damaged relationships.
However, with Helcim, Tanya found a solution to accepting payments that worked better for her business model, and she is now able to take payment immediately. No more keeping track of who has yet to pay means she can get back to focusing on the great care and service she provides.
Getting to the “root” of it.
For many businesses, getting paid on time keeps them in business; that's why Tanya says making the switch to a Helcim card reader to accept in-person transactions as opposed to chasing down late payments via e-transfer has helped her receive those critical payments in a timely fashion.
Since getting the Helcim card reader, it's allowed me to take payments on the spot, which made my accounting a lot easier for my practice.
Before making the switch to Helcim, Tanya was using a few other methods to receive payments, such as cheques and e-transfers. Ultimately, although it seemed convenient at first, this caused serious delays in her payments. Oftentimes, she would not receive them on time, both from the client and the bank. With the Helcim card reader, Tanya started collecting payments at the time of service, eliminating the need to send payment requests after the fact.
I use the card reader day-to-day, whether I am at a client's house, facility, or if I'm at an event selling products and networking.
Diagnosis: Accepting cards is just more convenient
Tanya uses the Helcim card reader in her daily practice, which she says has eliminated all of her previous payment problems. When she initially opened her business, she was hesitant to use any sort of credit card reader or accept any card payments. Under the impression that she would lose a large portion of her money to fees, she wrote off in-person payments for the time being.
But, since switching to Helcim, Tanya says it's just more convenient to accept credit card payments, not only for her but for her clients as well.
Invoices require additional administrative work and add to your mental load of remembering to send out and chase down payments. With a card reader, Tanya can simply punch in the total amount and accept the payment via Tap, or Chip and PIN.
On top of that, Tanya has saved a lot of money through Helcim's Interchange Plus pricing and by not paying additional hidden fees from her payment processor. "Since switching to Helcim, I've definitely saved quite a few hundred dollars, and that has been noticeable in my monthly statements when I compare them to previous months with another provider."
I have and will continue to recommend Helcim to other business owners, especially other health care providers.
Brightening up her payments
Tanya was thrilled not only with the functionality of the card reader but also with the added bonus of personality that complimented her practice. The Helcim card reader comes with a customizable colored countertop stand: purple, pink, and yellow. For Tanya, the choice was easy: "I love that it comes with the yellow casing." she said.
This customizability allows her to match her stand color with her business branding, creating a cohesive and professional aesthetic that resonates with her customers. This also reaffirms her brand's image while introducing a refreshing visual appeal to the way she accepts payments.
Final thoughts
With Helcim, not only does Tayna never have to worry about getting paid on time, but she believes Helcim has helped her business in even more ways through their comprehensive product and service offering. Besides allowing her to take payments on the spot, she says Helcim's phone and online support are always there when she needs it. Plus, with transparent pricing, no hidden fees, and no contracts, she believes Helcim to be the best fit for her.