As a business owner, there’s no doubt that you are always looking for ways to make your life easier and your business run better. Sometimes a seemingly small change can make a huge difference in how efficient you are, and in your bottom line. Invoice automation can be one of those changes. If you are currently doing your invoices manually, then there are untapped benefits in creating a new system to get your clients the information they need to pay you.
Problems With Manual Invoicing
If you are currently sending out invoices by mail, fax, or individually by email, then you are opening yourself up to a whole host of potential problems. For one, it’s time consuming, and someone on your staff has to spend time they don’t have stuffing envelopes or typing in email addresses and fax numbers. We are in the 21st century, and there’s no need to do this anymore.
Not only that, but there is a greater potential for error. You might type in a figure incorrectly, or something can get lost in the mail. Any of these problems could lead to delays in you getting your payments. Or, if you are using old methods of sending out invoices, you could end up losing clients who want to work with a more forward-thinking and modern company. The best way to make things easier on yourself is by using an automated invoicing service like GetYooz to handle it all for you. Here’s how invoice automation can impact your business for the better.
You Can Save Time
Sending out invoices takes time. Whether it’s you or someone on your team, time has to be taken out of the day to manage an important aspect of your business. It involves not just sending out the invoices, but also checking each customer to see what type of payment plan they are on, keeping track of billing cycles, and making sure that every figure is correct. That is time that could be spent doing something else important that can’t be automated. On top of that, customers might call to make changes to their account or payment terms, which again takes up time.
With automated invoices, all that work is done for you. Services can integrate seamlessly with your accounting software so that invoices are sent out and tracked as soon as you enter the data in your CRM. Once you have everything set up, you don’t even have to think about it. Invoices will go out at the designated times every week.
Improved Accuracy
By doing your invoicing manually, you are running the risk of human error causing issues. Invoices can be repetitive and mind-numbing, and mistakes are bound to be made. When they are, they lead to non-payments, or disputes, which means it takes longer for you to get your money. Not only that, but there are long-term considerations at play as well. If you are consistently making mistakes on your invoices, then your clients may start to see you as unprofessional. If you can’t pay attention to those details, then what else might be slipping through the cracks in your business? It could lead to them switching to a competitor.
With automated invoicing, everything is done automatically. Once you put in a new sale or subscription, the automated system will generate invoices for every pay period until you end the agreement. Simple for you and no risk for your customers, no matter how many you have.
Accurate Metrics
No matter what your business is, you need to have metrics underneath the surface that show you the whole picture of how your business is performing. With the reporting capabilities of your automatic invoicing service, you can get accurate and immediate data related to sales, revenue, missing payments, and anything else related to invoicing and paying. You can get a quick snapshot of how much is outstanding, how much each customer brings to your business every year, and how much revenue you’ve made during a specified period. Having the data at your fingertips makes things much easier, and you don’t have to do a thing to get it.
Late Payment Notifications
Other than actually producing the invoices and sending them out, the other time-consuming task can be tracking down late payments. In fact, tracking which payments have been received and which haven’t can be a chore all by itself. It can be tricky keeping track of when invoices were sent out, and when the due dates are, and then being timely with your followup. By automating the process, you will get an email notification when a payment hasn’t been received by the due date. It will automatically send a notification to the customer as well. You don’t have to lift a finger and your payments are tracked at every step of the process.
Improved Customer Relations
It’s hard to earn customers. You want to keep as many of your current ones as you possibly can. To do that, you need to provide them with a superior customer experience and let them know that they are appreciated. Automated invoicing can help with that, For starters, it is easy and professional. There will be little to no errors, and invoices will always be sent out promptly, which means the customers will always know when to expect them.
On top of that, it provides some good opportunities to communicate with your customers. For starters, you can send out automated emails with your invoices to thank them, or to let them know of any new features or specials. Also, with the time saved from not having to do invoicing, you can spend more time talking to clients and finding out what their needs are. This will allow you to create better products to make sure that you have addressed their pain points. It’s a win-win situation.
Small changes can make big differences. That’s what automating your invoicing can do. It can have a huge impact on your business in ways that you may not have imagined. If you are looking to make your life easier and grow your business, consider automating your invoicing process.
