Friday, December 21, 2012

Billing Software

One of the most important functions of any business, no matter the size, is to be able to effectively receive payment for the goods and/ or services it provides. The ability to accurately bill and collect money is vital to the success of any business. As with so many other things in business, technology has made the process of invoicing, tracking and collecting payments. Billing software has been a huge factor in making the billing and collection process more accurate and more efficient. Before, billing was largely a manual process. Someone received a report of some type and was required to enter information into another program, like a spreadsheet, for tracking and reporting functions. Then information was entered into another program to generate an actual invoice. The process may vary, depending on a company's unique situation, but the process would most likely require multiple people to manage and multiple systems to complete the cycle form billing to collection of payment.


Billing software can make this process simpler and easier to manage. For some companies, due to their structure, complex billing systems are required. For most though, especially smaller businesses, there is a need for accessible, accurate and easily managed billing software. This helps them collect payment and keep good records for tax purposes. Many smaller businesses are very 'mobile' in nature, meaning many people work from home and there may not be an abundance of office space, as with larger businesses. This means there can tend to be less centralization of data and data systems. An internet based billing system works very well for theses kinds of businesses

When looking at billing software consider:
  • Its ability to manage invoices online
  • Its ability to accept payments online
  • Its ability to track expenses
  • Its ability to track projects and time 
  • How well the software produces reports
  • Does the software support multiple users
Use the list as a guideline because those features are the things that will allow you to get the most out of your billing software.


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