Online Consulting Business - Website/Organization Help Needed

4 replies
Can't figure out the best platform, tools and way to handle this issue I am having.


Basically I do online consulting for a certain group of people and I am getting more business which is great but systematically my business is a complete mess.

I currently offer either a one time 30 day payment, a 3 or 6 month contract. The 3 or 6 month contract they sign is paid per month but at a discount to the normal 30 day rate. I offer check payment and paypal payment.

Problem now is that as my business is growing its getting to become a complete hassle to figure out who is paid up, who owes money, or who is late. I have an excel file that I have to keep referring back to but its a mess. There must be a better way to keep track of payments, something with reminders, etc?

Also paid clients get unlimited access to my email, text and phone support. What I find though is that even when a client has stopped paying they keep emailing, calling and texting me..LOL. What am I supposed to do after I keep reminding them to pay and yet they now think they can just keep contacting me even though I dont answer their questions.

Has to be a way to cut off access to my email, or phone until they are paid again??

Is there a CMS that handles this stuff? Or is something like this even handled online?

I do not offer any in person support at all and my consulting requires that I be able to offer emergency support via email/phone.


Any thoughts, suggestions or even links to where I can learn more are greatly appreciated as I am all out of ideas here.


Big thanks!

MrD
#business #consulting #needed #online #website
  • Profile picture of the author Mark Singletary
    One option to solve some of the problems may be to do something like this:

    1. Have a CMS (such as WP but it could be something else too) that has a way to collect payments and block access to the CMS if a payment isn't made.

    2. Through the CMS and/or through a forum or chat plugin handle all of your email or text based contacts. If they haven't paid, then they can't access the chat or forum or whatever to send you an email or text. Don't provide your "naked" email to anyone for purposes of the consulting.

    3. Check and see if there is a way to install a plugin that allows voice chat or phone calls too and only do the voice piece through this software. Again if they can't get to the link then they can't call you.

    Hope that helps a little bit. I believe what you want to do is possible.

    Mark
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  • Profile picture of the author IgniteFeed
    There are a number online systems for these situation. Mint . com is one.
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  • Profile picture of the author prashanthk
    What you need is a CRM or accounting system and not CMS.

    For CRM try Insightly.com, Zoho.com - you can integrate with Paypal with custom integration or through services like zapier. In the CRM system, you can receive all your requests as records in the system. If the billing doesn't happen, you simply don't honour the requests (or you can choose to, if needed).
    If you don't want a monthly bill (but can live with a hidden maintenance cost when product upgrades happen) - you can look at SugarCRM Community Edition.

    You can also use an accounting system like FreshBooks that does the exact same thing - it can also take care of your invoicing and present multiple payment options.
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  • Profile picture of the author mrdeflation
    I owe you guys big time.... this info is exactly what I needed!!..

    Will definitely be doing some research this week =-)

    I pray this all works out as the paperwork, spreadsheets and my computer is a complete mess..LOL
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