How to Make Managing Invoices Less Painful for small businesses

Invoicing is a dreary process yet a crucial of all businesses. We create an invoice, send it — either through snail mail or electronically — and until we receive payment, there isn’t a way to tell whether or not the other party received it, or has dispatched payment.

However, the good news is that business owners now have the advantage of using modern software that provides for online invoicing and accounting options. Therefore, it seems backwards to allow some of the simplest functions in business to slow workflow. The notion of adjusting to common obstacles and developing workaround processes that further impede productivity is being phased out.

Entrepreneurs are opting for systems that can “follow” clients and support better tableside service. Rather than adopting fixed POS system terminals, small-business owners that have grown up with hand-written accounting books or perhaps PCs and the Web are opting for mobility in POS applications. Retail, restaurant and hospitality point-of-sale system services are changing as companies are rewriting the rules and adopting mobile technology.

So, let’s take a look at common invoicing hassles and see how mobile point of sale systems can help to solve them.

Documentation!

One of the biggest document management system problems is filing and keeping track of records. Both paper-based and electronic systems have their individual storage and collaboration challenges. A cloud-based invoicing platform makes sending and storing invoices convenient, with access to your folder from virtually anywhere. A reliable storage system like this minimizes the risk of losing invoices.

Analytics

When you send clients invoices, there’s often no way to tell if they have received it, or if there is a billing query on the client’s mind that needs quick addressing to ensure quick payment processing. Implement smart document analytics into your invoicing system. This notifies you when the client opens and sees the invoice. Then you can better time a quick follow-up call to ask if they have any questions or concerns with the invoice.

Payment Procedures

A cumbersome payment process can dramatically slow invoice processing. Turn multiple payment steps into one by placing credit card processing right into the electronic invoice document. Alternatively, if you take over the counter payments, offer an mPOS service to your customers. mPOS is essentially a smartphone with software that functions as a cash register. To protect cardholder data, customer data is encrypted and stored in the cloud — not on the device.

Invoice Template Problems

A content library with templates can reduce the time it takes to build invoices. With templates and pre-built content blocks, you won’t have to start from scratch every time you create a new proposal. Instead of using old documents as templates and overwriting them, put together a fresh proposal in minutes to reduce errors.

Integrate your contacts’ information with your invoicing platform.

One of the most tedious parts of building an invoice is entering repeat data — the company name, address, and other contact information that doesn’t change on a regular basis. Instead of entering this data every time, use an invoice builder with pre-stored information.

There are numerous tools to help make common, frustrating business processes less painful. Keep an eye out for the new features and integrations released every few weeks — implement a smart document solution so you can perform better with ease.