As Sprout Invoices continues to grow and improve, we love to hear stories of how our products help you get paid! We reached out to a couple of customers on how they have been using Sprout Invoices, and are excited to share the story of Ken K.. Ken describes providing Sprout Invoices to a client, and the unique challenges his client faced, as well as how Sprout Invoices was able to meet and exceed those expectations!
Me: How would you like to introduce yourself?
Ken: I am the owner of KLK Web Services, LLC, located in Macungie, PA (Just outside Allentown, PA) I have been using WordPress since 2014 and am a co-founding member of my areas local WP Meetup and an co-organizer of our local WordCamp Lehigh Valley (4th year being planned right now for late summer).
Me: What is it that you do?
Ken: I offer support, maintenance plans and design services using the Genesis Framework for small companies just getting on the web or help them improve what their existing websites.
Ken is out on the front, helping companies get started on making a WordPress site, and improving their services online. What this means is that he has to help businesses adapt to a new type of work and business, namely online presence. Navigating this can be tough, and part of his challenge is helping his customers with how they would work, which may be different than how he would.
Me: How has Sprout Invoices impacted your business?
Ken: Sprout Invoices has allowed me to help my clients improve his business by providing a solution which is flexible enough to meet his needs.
Me: How has Sprout Invoices impacted your ability to collect payments?
Ken: Payments are easily entered in via Checks, my client does not have the ability to accept payments online (and they don’t want to at this time).
Me: Can you share any other significant benefits you have seen from Sprout Invoices in your business?
Ken: My client has been able to allow people to work from home in bad weather, by moving the site from a Windows based network solution to an online web based solution. When bad weather is coming, his employees can take information home with them and work on it from the safety of their own home and in the event that my client is at a department reviewing things with them, he has access to the system to review any immediate issues they may have.
Ken has a client who uses Sprout Invoices as an organized filing and invoice submission system! His client doesn’t want to accept payments through online interactions, but can track payments being made offline by using Sprout Invoices. I personally love how Ken was able to provide a solution that was workable online to provide benefit for his clients, but was adaptable to the offline payment plans that his client used through many of Sprout Invoices’ features.
The added benefit of off-site access has also provided a better experience for his client’s employees. By allowing access to work from home when needed, his employees are experiencing both trust and safety, which is great for a team environment. It also enables Ken’s client to still be able to complete work tasks and process payments from anywhere he would like! This is important if you consider the challenges Ken’s client was facing, as well as how he uses Sprout Invoices:
Me: What problems were you having with your invoicing, and how did Sprout Invoices solve them?
Ken: Application Performance issues, since it was a Windows based application running on a NAS, it seemed to have gotten to a point where if more than two people accessed the application at the same time, it just slowed down to the point that it was useless.
Me: How much time a week do you spend invoicing, and (depending on if you invoiced before this point), how much time did you spend invoicing before?
Ken: My client spends about 3-4 hours a day on invoicing, but they are not using the application as a ‘normal’ user of Sprout would. They are collecting money for local fire departments in 6 states (PA, NJ, MD, NY, WV and OR) from incidents where it could be a Motor Vehicle Accident, Structure fire, etc.
Basically a middle man between Fire Department and Insurance company, when the person submits a claim from the Motor Vehicle accident or Structure Fire, if the Fire Department is dispatched, based on local ordinances, the Fire Department can collect money for use of equipment/manpower and usage of items which need to be replaced (refill oxygen tanks, road flares, caution tape, etc)
Thanks to Ken, his client is able to use Sprout Invoices to solve a slowed processing problem, as well as help streamline claims for Fire Departments and insurance companies. A slow system would inhibit firefighters getting their needed equipment! Ken’s client spends a large portion of time processing invoices every day, and as a result being able to track information accurately is important. This is especially important in relation to communicating between two different parties, all the while having others involved in the invoicing process!
What honestly impresses me most is how Ken K. was able to weave Sprout Invoices easily into an offline payment system. It had never occurred to me how uniquely robust and adaptable Sprout Invoices could be for both traditional and nontraditional invoicing problems. Sprout Invoices is a wonderful tool for any business that is beginning to branch into online toolsets! Our goal is to help businesses get paid in a timely fashion, and as easily as possible. Sprout Invoices utilizes a variety of payment options, customization, and integration to accomplish whatever invoicing challenges your unique business may face! Ken probably summed it best with:
Me: If there was one thing you could recommend for people considering to use Sprout Invoices, what would it be?
Ken: If you need to customize your invoices, this is the best solution available!