Smart Solutions (issue 3) | Page 15

Great Payers: On one end you have families that pay everything on-time, every time. Struggling Payers: On the other end of the payment spectrum you have the families that scrape to keep their children at your school. Slow Payers: In the middle is the group that is the most challenging to manage. They are your slow payers; and they are usually the largest group. Re-shaping their behavior is critical. How can you make your school a payment priority with your parents? Here are 6 suggestions: 1. Clear Guidelines: Distribute clearly written payment guidelines to parents annually. 2. Consequences: Provide detailed descriptions of the consequences for late payments. Follow through with the stated consequences. VISA Checkout® is VISA’s electronic wallet solution It allows payers to speed through checkout when making online purchases or donations. VISA Checkout makes payment transactions easy, secure, and convenient for your payers. • 95% of users said it was easy to sign up to use. • 96% of users say they feel very secure using it. The VISA® brand is the most 3. Late Fees: If a consequence is a late fee, make it serious enough to change behavior. $40 is a standard late fee amount. trusted e-commerce payment 4. Monthly Invoicing: Consolidate all charges on one single bill for each month. Don’t ask families to pay you several times a month. to use VISA Checkout to provider. Smart Tuition encourages payers speed up the payment of school tuition and fees. 5. Offer Payment Options: Give families the widest range of payment options. Mirror the choices they have when paying other bills. 6. Payment Cards: Credit and debit cards with EMV chips are now more secure and many cards offer loyalty rewards that many families desire. Understanding the payment behavior of school families and changing slow-payer behavior can help your school move in the right direction of on-time payments and improved cash flow. 15