Billing is one of those dicey parts of the business world. A lot of people don’t worry that much about it, thinking that customers will pay when able. Unfortunately, this attitude does not usually work well. The sad truth is that most people do not have the integrity to pay you on time and every time.
Even if there is no integrity issue, there are all kinds of financial problems that can force a person to delay paying you. With that in mind, let’s look at some billing services that help specific industries to keep better track of their money.
Medical Billing Specialists
When it comes to regulations, medical billing specialists have some serious headaches. Lawmakers are far more likely to focus on this particular industry because it involves human safety in a big way. Certainly, this kind of billing presents unique challenges. Medical bills are notoriously hard to collect if the patient is unwilling, so they have to get a little bit more creative.
According to a survey of medical providers, most people do not pay their medical bills on time. In fact, 77% of those surveyed reported that it takes at least a month to collect on a debt of this kind. That’s why medical billing specialists have to be a little more patient with the patients who cannot immediately pay.
There is also much more need for delicacy when doing collections work of this type. It’s important to remember that most of these non-paying customers are not intending to “rip-off” anyone. Everyone needs medical care at some time or another, and they usually can’t choose when it is required. Thus, there is much more need for patience and compassion in all of your medical billing practices.
If you are trying to find a good provider, MBS Select, a company who does medical billing in Massachusetts reminds everyone that “One size does not fit all, and neither does one system – particularly given the often inferior billing modules that are bundled in today’s EMR and medical billing software systems.” So make sure to do your research to find the best outside help for your company.
Telecommunications Billing Specialists
In many ways, information technology is the cutting edge of the future. The ancients knew that knowledge itself could be powerful, but they probably didn’t think that information could take physical form. As a computer system is just the physical manifestation of its data, it is literally knowledge in a tangible form.
This category includes TV networks, internet service providers, online content providers, radio stations, telephone services, etc. One of the most frequent problems they have is the disparity between old and new services. For instance, traditional TV networks have lost much of their popularity, but companies still find them profitable enough to continue offering them. Balancing the old and the new is one of the biggest challenges in this particular industry.
Finance Industry Billing Specialists
The finance industry has to be a little more hard-nosed when it comes to billing, and that is mostly because they deal with larger amounts of money. When a person agrees to borrow money in any way, they also agree to a certain set of terms. Obviously, as with any debt, it can be difficult to get people to pay.
Because of the larger amounts of money involved, finance industry billing specialists have to be a little bit more sneaky than most. This is not to say they are dishonest, but they might have to think outside the box in order to get payments made on time. These specialists also have to keep constant tabs on any changes to existing finance law or the U.S. tax code.
Finance industry billing practices are also monitored by another regulatory agency called FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority). This is a private organization that is run by members of the finance industry. It’s basically an internal regulatory service (as opposed to an external one like the FDA). FINRA exacts dues from its members, so it does add one more expense to the stack.
Conclusion
As you can see, every industry has its own unique challenges when it comes to billing. As such, they have come up with many innovative ways to meet those challenges. As a final note, we would like to mention that any billing policies you adopt should be clearly outlined. Your customers need to know all the terms of the deal, and they will be less inclined to pay if they feel they have been deceived. On that note, we wish you the best of luck in all these matters.