Setting up a business and an office that runs smoothly is easier said than done. One of the biggest challenges that you face is coming up with billing solutions.
While many people believe that the more traditional billing methods are best, a new way of billing is becoming more popular – online invoicing. Online invoicing is the latest way of billing and invoicing and it is conducted through cloud computing.
The demand for online invoice is surging. One study found that the market for e-invoicing services is expected to exceed $20 billion by 2026. The market is booming due to the countless advantages that online invoices provides.
As a business owner, there are many instances when you might feel the need to use a cloud-based automated billing platform instead of a more traditional billing method. Cloud-based computing solves multiple problems of business owners. It is quite a cost-effective way to address financial challenges for many businesses. If you are still wondering why you should get an automated billing system, this article is for you. Here are some major benefits of moving to cloud-based billing for business owners.
1. Quick and easy
What else does a business owner need from a billing system apart from being quick and easy? With traditional invoicing, one person spends an average of around 30 minutes creating a single invoice. It is a very tedious and time-consuming activity and the additional effort has no benefit to the business. Manually creating multiple invoices is a very daunting task and very much subject to errors.
On the other hand, a cloud-based invoicing system provides all necessary and sensitive information. It can all be stored in one place securely. The online invoicing system enables you to create invoices in minutes and send them to your clients automatically.
The online invoices are also stored for future usage in PDF and other formats. The data that gets stored on the cloud remains there for future situations when you might need it. Therefore, you do not have to worry about data loss. Some of the services described by Lars Lofgren have offered these benefits.
In this way, the extra time spent on preparing invoices manually is reduced drastically as all your data can be found securely in one place.
2. Everything is stored in one location
When experts talk about the cloud invoicing benefits for business owners, data security, safety, and accuracy are among the biggest selling points that they cite. You no longer have to worry about computer crashes or security breaches that might leave your data prone to prying eyes.
As you enter your customer and contract data on the billing software, it gets automatically and securely saved in the cloud. As you take your billing experience online, you only have to log in to your account and start billing right away. No more ledger postings or searching through journals is required.
3. Automation
When a business opts for cloud-based billing software over manual billing and invoices, it greatly enhances the recurring billing process, which is especially impactful for companies using the subscription model.
With this software, you can set up accounts designated for recurring payments and notify clients before their payment dates. The day-to-day tasks get automated, and you do not have to waste time on them anymore. This is most noticeable in the accounts payable and receivable departments. For example, if you automate your accounts payable department you’ll be able to process 16x more invoices.
As a business owner, with online invoicing and billing software, you can easily set up a subscription-based business model so that you can retain your customers for a long time. You can then use your free time that otherwise would have been spent on manual billing for other lucrative business tasks.
4. Simple Audit Process
All critical details including recurring billings, including invoices, subscription-based payments and monthly income financial reports are generated automatically. It is also very easy to handle all of your financials when you have a record of all your account activity in one place.
It saves you a lot of time, energy, efforts, and costs. You can have a detailed analysis of every report anytime from the dashboard through automated billing software. You can also easily assess your taxes, liabilities, and expenses. You also get the benefit of getting tax-deductions, if you are able to assess your taxes and taxable income on time.
5. Helps in maintaining a strong brand identity
With good invoicing software, you can build a strong brand identity and brand image. You can easily personalize and customize an invoice template with your unique logo, fonts, style, design, etc. to match with your brand.
The service also allows you to create customized messages for your clients when asking for payment and upon receiving it, as well as when payment becomes overdue. With automated invoicing, you can get as much as three times faster payments.
Today’s business world is spread far and wide across the globe. As your business dealings work their way in the world, converting invoices into your customers’ currency can be a hassle. With automated recurring billing software, you can bill in and accept any currency without error.
Billing and maintaining a record of finances is one of the major concerns of all businesses, whether they are thoroughly established or new startups. But managing and cutting costs with an automated recurring billing service can do all the manually challenging work in mere minutes and help you save your hard-earned money. So, begin online billing today and see the difference in your business’s finances!
Cloud Invoicing is the Future
Cloud computing is disrupting the invoicing industry in numerous ways. We should be pleased with the changes that it is bringing to small businesses. More businesses are likely to invest in cloud invoicing services in the near future.