While recently perusing one of my bookmarked small business forums, I stumbled upon a post from a small construction company that was looking for a better way to manage their billing requirements.
The post explained how currently, after a job, they type up each invoice in a word processing program and send them out manually. And how do they track which payments they’ve collected and which are still outstanding? By memory alone.
This business is spending precious time on manual processes and is giving up revenue to payments that get lost and in turn, never collected. They are the perfect candidate to transition to electronic invoicing and billing in the cloud. Here’s why:
1. It’s Secure
One of the biggest advantages of cloud-based billing and electronic invoicing solutions is the security they offer. By storing sensitive customer information with a PCI-compliant third-party provider, you don’t have to exhaust as many resources building and managing your local database security, or worse, worry about sensitive information sitting on your desk or in filing cabinets.
2. It’s All in One Place
Some cloud-based billing solutions offer more than just the ability to quickly invoice your customers. You can also collect electronic payments (credit cards, eChecks, etc.), manage your customer information, set up payment plans or recurring payment schedules, and host online payment forms. The most robust solutions also allow you to run reports on your receivables activity, which helps keep tabs on your cash flow.
3. It’s Accessible
Instead of passing around a spreadsheet, you can set up multiple user accounts for whoever needs to access your solution. With PaySimple, you can even assign different roles to all of your users so only certain information is accessible to designated individuals. In addition, PaySimple offers a mobile app that allows you to collect payments in-person and instantly view all of your billing information.
4. It Grows with Your Business
Unlike a paper customer file that gets harder and harder to navigate as your business grows, online solutions keep all your information nice and tidy. You can also search for specific customer information, instead of sifting through documents. If you’re like the construction company from before and are expecting growth, find a billing and invoicing solution that allows you to upload unlimited customer information without capping your billing activity. The last thing you want is to transition your invoicing to a system that will be replaced in the near future.
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5. It’s Cost Effective
I know what you may be thinking: These benefits are nice, but is it worth it to pay for a solution? Well, if you think about how much time and energy you spend chasing payments, managing customers, and reporting, the answer is a simple yes.
In addition to considerable time savings, a software that streamlines your billing helps ensure every bill you send is recorded and can easily be followed up on. Thus, unpaid orders and payments can become a thing of the past.
If the system you’re using now is working well, it’s worth examining its scalability as your business grows. For more information on PaySimple’s easy to use online payment solutions, explore all of our options.
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