Invoicing is an important task of many businesses; it’s literally how they get paid! Invoicing is not a terribly difficult task when done correctly, and in an organized way.
The trouble is, most of the time, no one starts organized. At first, freestyle invoicing is manageable. A detail here or there is misplaced, but it only takes a few minutes of searching an e-mail, or a notepad, to get the information back. This is the easiest, and most efficient, place to deal with invoicing needs. It is easier to establish a solid system and prepare for the future than it is to switch up the process later.
Perhaps a business goes beyond this point, and has a fairly solid system set up. File folders neatly organized, and an invoicing system built around the information an individual has organized in their specific way. Part of the problem with this, is that it can add a serious layer of work to an individual person. If that person needs a break, or is unwell, then invoicing is delayed. Delayed invoicing can lead to slower payments and confusion. A small business needs to be able to work through invoices quickly and not necessarily be tied to a specific physical location or person.
Taking it a step further, a larger business may be well established, but has begun to earn a negative reputation lacking in professionalism. Details of what work was done, for exactly who and at what price, begins to get sloppy. Invoices aren’t sent in a quick manner, and payments are getting difficult to track. Maybe a person has even received multiple invoices, when it wasn’t warranted. Invoices get done in large batches, and take much longer than needed, as sheer volume of information makes tracking difficult. This is the point that it has become dire to change invoicing methods.
Fitting quite well, the old adage says, “The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is now.” It is best to try to sort out a business invoicing system before the problem becomes serious. Invoicing errors can lead to upset customers, and reflect poorly on a business!
Let’s take a look at some signs to see if your business is ready to take a step in a different direction on invoicing.
- You are making a bigger step of commitment
- Time is a huge factor on the effectiveness of a business. If your business is a side hobby, and you have no intention for it to grow, then you can get by pretty easily. It may be helpful to use a tool that can invoice basic information, just to make sure all the details are lined up properly. If the business you are working on is something that doesn’t require much commitment, Sprouts Invoices has a very affordable option available. If your business is something you are going to seek to grow larger, however, it is valuable to keep your invoices and records in a professional manner.
- Multiple invoices and clients are active
- If you start dealing with multiple customers, it is time to take a serious look at invoicing. It can become more confusing when two customers are dealing with similar services. If a business has multiple customers that means there is more sitting in the back of an individual’s mind. This is the least wanted place to store details, and remembering to send invoices and collect payments. An invoicing plugin can be operated and tracked online, seeing who has been contacted and had invoices sent to, as well as who has not paid yet.
- Clients are coming back
- Invoicing tools like Sprout Invoices are also useful to cut down on data entry. Rather than having to manually enter and track down client information continually, it is helpful to have a tool that saves client information. The next time a business needs to send a repeated client an invoice, the clients contact information is there at the click of a button! No more searching e-mails to figure out which contact person should be invoiced!
- The business is changing
- As a business grows, so does the reach of the business. Many of the previous practices that helped get a business to grow can become practices that hold it back. This is true for invoices as well. Having a sleek invoice process can help deliver a level of professionalism, that also promotes what the business is about. Having a specific, familiar method to deal with invoicing makes a business consistent, while also freeing a business to work on the important tasks at hand.
One of the tricky things is that once a business has taken a step onto their billing process, it can feel scary to try and switch to something new. A common fear is a loss of a critical piece of information. The reality is that as a business gets organized in invoicing, they discover information that had been lost. This gives a business an opportunity to fill in some gaps of information, or catch an outstanding payment. Using Sprout Invoices means the information they already have is stored in a way that is efficient for the business and convenient for their customer. That leads to a faster business, and more time spent on the parts of the business you are passionate about.
Sprout Invoices is perfect for a growing business. The basic plan, priced currently at $39.50, offers the flexibility that WordPress does, but some huge advantages as well. At the most base price, it provides unlimited records and invoicing services, templates for invoices, the ability to accept PayPal payments, as well as tools for tracking and creating invoice and payment options specific to what an individual business needs. Sprout Invoices is designed to grow with a business, offering more options at affordable prices. Sprout Invoices also offers a strong level of customization, while remaining extremely simple. The level of depth required in this tool is as simple as a business may want, but with plenty of options available. This invoicing tool is designed weave in perfectly with WordPress, taking the difficulty of having information spread across different mediums and consolidating it down to one location. It is no wonder that Sprout Invoicing is the highest rated invoicing plugin for WordPress.
If your business is in a position to change invoicing methods, please consider Sprout Invoices. Sprout Invoices is designed to make invoicing a faster and easier experience for both you and your customer, with price points that are manageable for whatever size your business is. We would love to assist and serve you in dealing with invoices, so you can get back to the business you love! Whether you choose to use Sprout Invoices, we hope that your business has great success in navigating the transition before you.