Today we have a special interview that I think you might enjoy! We have contacted a couple customers to interview, and I am excited to share some of their stories and perspective with you all. At Sprout Invoices, we exist to help you get paid, and striving for great customer service and feedback is one of our top priorities! As a result, we also want to get to know you and share your stories, to both encourage and inspire you, as well as show you the wide range of flexibility of Sprout Invoices!
Without further ado, our first interviewee will introduce themselves!
Me: How would you like to introduce yourself?
Alex Vasquez (AV): I’m Alex Vasquez, I run a Digital Marketing Agency in Los Angeles called DigiSavvy focused on Custom WordPress Development and Email & Sales Marketing Automation consulting. I also operate the self-hosted WordPress Crowdfunding Plugin, IgnitionDeck.
Me: What is it that you do?
AV: You sound like my Mom! I’m a Web Developer who cut their teeth in Digital Marketing in the early 2000s. It wasn’t until 2014 that I started working full-time for myself. Up until that point my work was pretty much a side-hustle.
Alex works a lot in the digital realm, and to be honest has a fair bit of knowledge that might go beyond your average Joe in the web development range. Alex has a couple of particular things that have impacted his business, as well as a preferred way to work.
Me: How has Sprout Invoices impacted your business?
AV: Sprout Invoices has given me ownership of my data, which I think is important more than ever. But also, Sprout Invoices fits within my desired onboarding process for clients. I can onboard new clients once they’ve made a payment and oddly enough I’ve received a number of compliments on how professional a process it is and that helps to promote the vision I put out there for clients while also instilling confidence in their investment in our work.
Alex sees the importance of control of data, and rightfully so. In today’s technological climate, data is precious. Your customers want to know that you are trustworthy, and that you have their best interests in mind with their data, as well as yours.
Me: What part of Sprout Invoices do you use the most?
AV: Well, I tend to use the time entry and expense entry import tools (it does help that Dan did some custom work for me to hook Sprout Invoices up to ActiveCollab, where I do my work). I have been utilizing payment terms to really automate my payments, too. I get a lot of mileage out of that and I think it really helps further ensure I get paid on time.
Alex uses a few add-ons in his Sprout Invoices in order to deliver a solid experience to his customers. Dan, who he mentioned, is also involved in our support! The exact nature of Alex’s customization took a little bit of fine tuning, but Dan was willing to help get Alex what he wanted. There is a ton of flexibility in what Sprout Invoices can do for you and your customers.
Me: Can you share any other significant benefits you have seen from Sprout Invoices in your business?
AV: Since Sprout Invoices is able to accept ACH payments, I’ve been able to reclaim some revenue by reducing fees that come from Stripe for large transactions. Also, Sprout lets me work the way I want to work. Process is important to me and I know that Sprout Invoices fits into how I do things and not the other way around. It takes payments, which is great. I don’t have to worry about it. I don’t have to worry about it. It’s just crazy how central Sprout Invoices is to my processes. It fires off email sequences when people decline estimates, it starts onboarding sequences on successful payments.
Alex talks a bit about secure payments and the automated process that he has for his clients. This does take a bit of front end work, there is no denying it. However, his customers appreciate it, and so does he. With payment option flexibility payment option flexibility built into Sprout Invoices, as well as automation compatibility, Alex has a lot less to worry about when it comes to invoicing.
Me: How has Sprout Invoices impacted your ability to collect payments?
AV: Honestly, I’m lucky here. I’ve only had to chase a payment once in my life and I took the client to court. And I won. I feel like having strong agreements in place really helps avoid that. THAT SAID, I LOVE the fact that Sprout Invoice has the ability to integrate with an online e-Signature plugin. It makes my workflow that much easier when the client can see their invoice, read the agreement (before they pay), agree to the terms signing online, and then get issued their invoice. Along with the Zapier addon, I’m able to add tags to my clients when they make a payment which I then use to fire-off their onboarding sequence. I’ve gotten a number of compliments on that whole process actually. Sprout is central to all of that!
This is the meat and potatoes of Sprout Invoices goals. We want to help our customers to get paid, and this is what we hope for! By being able to integrate e-Signature, it has safe guarded Alex’s work. With the customized payment options, and ability to directly customize the invoice, his customers know exactly what they are getting into, and what to expect. Sprout Invoices has successfully joined seamlessly with what Alex’s workflow was trying to be, and helps him accomplish his tasks!
Hearing from customers and getting feedback like Alex’s is encouraging! Our goal at Sprout Invoices is to help customers get paid, by helping improve their invoicing options through their WordPress Site. It is my hope that by hearing from Alex you can see a great range of what is possible through Sprout Invoices.