We all know the key to having your business run smoothly and efficiently is having a good record keeping system in place, and for any business invoicing is one of the most important records produced- not just for the sake of bookkeeping but also because this is how you get paid!

There’s more to invoicing than you might think. The process actually begins when you take on a job and only finishes when payment lands in your business account and depending on your payment terms (how long the customer or client has to pay) and a few other factors, there can be quite a few steps along the way. For most businesses, being stuck in an office doing accounts is the last thing you want to be doing so automating as many steps of the invoicing process is always really helpful for any business. While paper invoices or an excel spreadsheet have always been the norm, more and more business owners are adopting newer technology to increase their productivity, utilising apps like Xero and Quickbooks for their business bookkeeping. Xero has a great e-book available called The Invoicing Survival Guide that provides a great breakdown have everything you need so sure you’re your invoicing customers correctly. Click here to have a look at it for free.

Change can be scary, so we thought we’d address some of those concerns and give you our expert opinion in our two-part series on 5 ways invoicing in the cloud can help your business.

1. Automation for those necessary tasks.

Probably the greatest advantage that online or cloud-based software invoicing has is automation. This means that you can establish recurring payments for long-term clients or even set up subscription-based business models. Follow-ups and payment reminders for upcoming and past-due invoices can be setup to be sent out without having to do anything extra and can be delivered securely using email directly to your customers. Not only does this eliminate the tedious task of chasing down payments, you can actually access your software on your mobile and download an app to invoice directly when onsite or on the road. This saves you time and money and you can focus on growing your business, or even attaining a better work-life balance.

2. Establishing a strong brand identity for your business.

Xero and Quickbooks both offer customisation of their invoices so that you can add your logo, any specific fonts and even a colour scheme that matches your brand’s visual identity. Reinforcing your brand’s identity helps grow your business credibility and increases the chances of getting paid on-time. It may seem trivial, but your brand’s identity helps demonstrate your personality and expertise to your clients.

3. Make well-informed business decisions quickly.

With 24/7 access to your software, you have access to your client information and billing from your desktop, tablet, or smartphone. Whether you’re travelling, on-site at job, in the office, or working from home, you can have up-to-date data to help you make well-informed business decisions quickly. This can be a great advantage when it comes to forward-planning projects or budgets for your business and helps you to stay on top of your bookkeeping without spending hours sorting through receipts.

Focus Bookkeeping is committed to providing quality business advice and bookkeeping services to make running your business easier, and next fortnight we’ll share a few more reasons think cloud-based software could help free you of the paperwork. Don’t forget, Focus Bookkeeping also offers training and setup for cloud accounting apps like Xero and Quickbooks for your business. You can find out more about this and our other services by getting in touch.

We’ll be back in a couple of weeks with a few more reasons we recommend cloud-based invoicing. Catch up with you then!

Fabiana Silva – Focus Bookkeeping