It seems that every time I get postal mail it’s a bill.  I get power bills, phone bills, insurance bills, bills from the council, bills from the electrician, and bills from the mechanic!  I’m drowning in bills.

By definition, bills are not particularly friendly.  I have yet to meet someone who actually enjoys getting and paying bills.  They cost money (obviously!) and
are a chore.  In fact, one recent study from the UK suggests that people on average spend up to one working week a year in paying bills!

However, bills are getting smarter and more ‘user friendly’.  To save us time, we now have freepost envelopes, automatic payments, direct debits, online bill
payment and free phone numbers.  These are all designed to get me to pay my bills on time.  It generally works – but not always.

Late last year, my wife and I bought a new house and got our first bill for the residential rates.  Like many bills, there was an option to request that a
direct debit form be sent to us so that the bank can just pay it on our behalf.  I ticked the box.  Three months later when the next rates payment was due,
another bill turned up – but still no sign of the direct debit form.  So again, I ticked the “send me a direct debit” box, wrote out a cheque, found a stamp and
posted my payment.  Two weeks later I finally got my direct debit form.  I filled out the form up to the part where it asked for a bank deposit slip with
my printed account number.  With no bank deposit slip at home, the direct debit form got relegated to the “To deal with later” pile of junk.

Two and a half months later, my direct debit form surfaced from a long forgotten pile of papers.  I had come no closer to finding a bank deposit slip, so I sent it off without one.  After six months I didn’t want to delay it any longer.

Modern payment methods are designed to be convenient, and in most cases they are.  However, the smallest of changes can make the entire process much easier:

* Make it clear that a bank deposit slip is optional
* Perforate the return slip on my invoice
* Note on my invoice when I don’t need to take any action as I have already set up direct debit for this account
* When a free phone number is provided – make sure I don’t need to navigate through 5 menus and 2 transfers before I get to the right person.

Bills will probably never be pain free, but the payment process can be, and should be, as painless as possible.

Usability is often about understanding and offering the path of least resistance – regardless if we are talking about the process for paying a bill or the
buttons on a mobile phone.  A user centred mentality can reveal valuable insights in all areas of an organisation, be it in accounts payable, marketing,
customer support, information systems or product development.  Perforated invoice slips, free phone numbers and envelopes, automatic payments and direct debits can all be viewed as ‘products’ – products that have a user interface.  This interface is often quite simple – it doesn’t necessarily have soft keys or drop down lists, but it can be as frustrating as the most confusing website.  People are ringing free phone numbers and setting up direct debits daily.
Sometimes, the user interface fails the user and a direct debit application is left on a desk for months.  User centred thinking can improve websites and
software but it can also improve direct debit applications, call centres and bills.

Sam