How Your Small Business Can Streamline Invoice and Payment Processing
One of the most tedious aspects of maintaining a small business is keeping records. Whether it’s keeping inventory or keeping track of sales, if you want to ensure that your business is in good legal standing, every good or service that your business provides to your customers must be accounted for. As important as this practice is, it can be fairly time-consuming for many small businesses. There are many areas in record keeping that can be streamlined through automation, but one particular area we will focus on today is invoicing.
Through the use of invoices, small businesses can track when goods or services were sold, how much the business received for said item, and whether or not there are any outstanding debts. The old-fashioned way of invoicing was to either mail or email the invoices to customers, but today there are software packages like Freshbooks that allow users to customize and automate professional looking invoices to fit their small business. Following are a few of the ways small businesses can use such resources to automate some of the tasks associated with invoicing and payment processing.
Recurring Invoices
For many small businesses, some of their customers might require invoicing on a monthly or even weekly basis, making it difficult to keep track of how often each client should be billed. When recurring invoices are automated, customers are automatically charged each month for whatever amount they previously agreed upon. This removes the hassle of waiting for customers to pay and forcing the customer to input their payment information each month. There is no action required on your end or the customer’s end. The software will automatically process the payment.
Payment Reminders
For those customers that choose not have their payments automatically deducted from their accounts, sometimes due dates go unanswered, and you have to send out payment reminders. It can be a hassle to not only determine which clients are behind on their payment, but to also reach out to them (sometimes multiple times) to get their accounts current. When you set up automated reminders, all you have to do is tell the system how often you want the reminders to go out after a missed payment, and it will do the work for you!
Payment Types
The saying “keep your options open” doesn’t only apply in the world of dating. It can also apply in business. When it comes to making payments, your customers have different methods of payment that they feel comfortable using. Some customers would prefer to use PayPal instead of their credit card, while it’s the reverse for others. Regardless, it’s important to ensure that your invoices allow for customers to pay in the manner they prefer.
Though invoicing is the means by which a small business acquires money, automating the invoicing and payment process is the means by which your small business can save both time and money. In the end, it all boils down to convenience; convenience for the team members of your small business and convenience for your customers. Tuxedo Impressions LLC™ is here to help make the inner workings of your small business more convenient for you. Contact us today for a consultation.
~ S. Wasike, Team Tuxedo Impressions LLC™
