Most of the businesses face problems related to invoices that are long overdue. Many a times, invoices fall into unending disputes and since the resolution gets delayed, the payments too suffer. So, how do these problems arise in the first place and what is their solution.
Erroneous Invoices
Many businesses keep sending invoices that have got small little errors that make a big difference to the overall invoicing process. Some times the number of hours added to the project bill are inaccurate and the whole bill amount goes for a toss. On other occasions the description is confusing and the prices or taxes are added incorrectly. Many a times the staff member who is creating the invoice has either made a mistake in adding these details or has not received proper communication from the sales team.
The solution to this problem is not complicated at all. Having an online invoice software that automatically gives you a calculation of the bill amount and provides a detailed structure of entering all the details, helps in avoiding all such problems. Moreover a solution that helps in managing staff and controlling the invoicing activity through requisite approvals is essential too. Such solutions also help in editing invoices, created earlier and rectifying errors if any.
Unprofessional Invoicing
Most business owners are too busy in providing and improving their core offering and often forget to take the invoicing process, too seriously. Sending out invoices in a word doc or an excel sheet without important details like company address, terms and conditions etc. makes the invoice look seriously unprofessional. Sending an invoice ensures that the client would not take it too seriously either.
Choosing an invoicing solution that provides a professional invoice template with an option to add your company address and logo is essential. Adding an invoice number to this template, every time an invoice is being sent out is very important too. An invoice number ensures that an invoice can be quickly tracked and any related issues can be easily resolved with ease.
There are also solutions like Invoicera that help businesses customize the invoice template completely, according to specific business requirements. This helps in reinforcing the corporate identity of business and add to the promotional efforts of the business.
Invoice Management Issues
You may have a large number of invoices that need to be sent and managing these has become a big problem. The first thing to do is to get rid of any form of paper based invoicing. This not only costs more money and resources but also hampers the productivity of the system. An online invoicing solution helps in providing access from anytime anywhere, for tracking all the sent invoices with ease. A solution like this provides a single dashboard to track the status of each and every invoice and take necessary action.
Slow Invoice Processing
Many invoices fail to reach the client on time and so the payments get delayed as well. A mechanism should be created for e-mailing invoices to each client on time. A suitable invoicing solution also provides the feature of scheduling the invoices so that they can be sent on time. Another useful feature that helps in expediting payments is to provide online payment option on the invoice itself. Once the client receives the invoice in his inbox he should get the payment option on the invoice so he can make instant payment through a payment gateway of his choice. This makes it simpler for the client to pay up and ensure that the payment is not delayed.
Delayed Payments
Another very common problem that businesses face is delayed payments. Using features like automatic payment reminders and late fee help in ensuring that the client pays up on time. A Late fee helps is a fixed amount or a percentage of the bill amount added to the invoice once it gets overdue. Penalizing a late paying client helps in reducing the occurrences of late payment. Similarly automatic payment reminders are a useful way to save time that is otherwise spent on following up for payments.
Also know more about how to choose between Net 30 and due upon receipt while deciding on the payment terms.
