2. One of the benefits of switching accounting and
financial business activity to the cloud for small to
medium sized organisations is the opportunity it
presents for streamlining so many operational and
financial elements.
One of those elements is invoicing. This is one of the
most important areas of a business. Getting this right
and using the right software for invoicing can have an
immediate and positive impact on your cashflow.
3. Ka-ching! Positive cashflow. We love that phrase.
We often speak to our clients about this. One of the
simplest ways you can remedy a cashflow problem is to
sort the invoicing process out. This is what we
recommend you do:
4. 1. Invoice faster
A simple administrative mistake many small business
make is leaving the invoicing until the end of the week,
or when they’re back in the office or worse – the end of
the month! This does nothing for your cashflow. In fact,
it will probably dry up super-fast if you manage your
invoicing this way.
5. If your team are out on site doing jobs, give them the
tools to invoice immediately onsite at the completion
of a job. Applications such as Invoice2Go allows them
to create a branded invoice right then and there. An
invoice goes straight to the customer instead of getting
delayed by ineffective administrative procedures.
6. 2. Make it easy to pay you
Another key to increasing that cashflow from a drip to a
torrent is to make it easy for your customers to pay
you. Think about your customers. They’re probably
super busy people who don’t have a lot of time for
admin themselves.
7. Xero’s online invoicing software allows your customers
to click on the payment link directly on the invoice they
receive. They can then make direct payment using their
credit card or PayPal. You’ve minimised the hoops
customers have to jump through to pay you which
means their cash turns into your cash a whole lot faster.
8. 3. Track and Chase
Another headache for many business owners is chasing
up outstanding payments that are due. The old ‘cheque
is in the mail’ or ‘I’m sorry, we’ve been having email
problems and I haven’t received your invoice’ excuses
can come thick and fast. There is a way around it.
9. Use an app such as Debtor Daddy to track invoices for
you and follow up outstanding invoices. Intuit
QuickBooks invoicing software also make invoicing easy
by keeping track of all your invoices in one place, so
you know exactly which invoices have been paid and
which ones haven’t.
10. We are so lucky. There are apps for days, platforms as
far as the eye can see and software for invoicing that
will take the administrative headache away from the
accounts receivable side of your business.
And without a headache holding you back and a little
more cash in the bank account, you get clarity and
energy back to focus on your business success. For
more tips on managing cashflow for your small
business check out our post on 5 ways to improve
cashflow or speak with on of our advisors today.
For more information contact us iKeep Bookkeeping.