This guest blog was written by Aliza Sharma, Partner Associate at Stax by Fattmerchant.
Running a successful business includes, and is often dependent on, your ability to collect payments on time. In fact, a U.S. Bank study revealed that up to 82% of businesses who found themselves struggling and failing cited cash flow as the reason.
With a large majority of professional service firms relying on invoicing as a way to request timely payments from clients, it is important to streamline this process for the health of your business.
What does streamlined invoicing mean?
- Using software to automate your invoicing process
- Investing in an all-inclusive solution that encompasses essential business tools such as invoicing, accounting, time tracking, payments
Here are five advantages of streamlining your firm’s invoicing:
1. More time to focus on important revenue-generating tasks
When you automate your invoicing process and invest in a more robust solution, you save time otherwise spent generating and reconciling invoices. This translates into more time focused on your clients and less time on operational tasks.
2. Improve invoicing speed and accuracy
By using a streamlined approach to invoicing your business can effectively reduce human error. Use automation where you can. When you invest in software that helps you automate the calculation of hours, billing rate, expenses your need for manual entry is eliminated. Use software that allows you to auto-fill customer data and improve invoice accuracy. This is important in order to help you offer the best service to your customers and reduce any unnecessary support cues.
You can also streamline invoicing by using software that syncs seamlessly into your accounting platform. The key is to eliminate the need for manual reconciliation and data entry to further improve your operational efficiency.
3. Easily resolve client invoice complaints
When customers have queries about invoices, it’s important to have the ability to easily track and verify invoice details in real-time. With software like BigTime, you can effectively track and troubleshoot invoicing errors on the go and create an overall better experience for your clients.
4. Save time and money
Investing in the right billing and invoicing software upfront allows you to save time on the backend. You can significantly improve operational efficiency by utilizing custom templates. By streamlining your invoicing processes, you can easily track all your invoices and keep a pulse check on your business all from one platform.
5. Get paid faster
Automating your invoicing systems not only allows you to get paid, but it also enables you to get paid faster. Using tools and software to streamline your invoicing needs, you can email invoices as soon as the service is completed. In fact, according to Just In Time Accounting, delivering invoices at the time of service has been known to get you paid two days earlier. Sending invoices via email and including a Pay Now button has been shown to increase your chances of getting paid on the same day.
In closing, it is no surprise that invoicing is essential to the running of a successful professional services firm. By using software and automation to streamline this process you can significantly optimize your business.
Interested in exploring BigTime’s invoicing solution and their new payment processing feature, BigTime Wallet? Request your personalized demo today to learn more.
