A small business owners’ invoicing process seems like a minute detail in the grand scheme of your business. After all, that small business owner is focused on innovating, selling product and growing his or her business.
But improving an invoicing process — that part of the business that allows a small business owner to get paid — can actually improve your cash flow, allowing the business owner to grow the business. It’ll also save some headaches along the way.
Here are a few tips and tricks to making the invoicing process more efficient.
Understanding Invoicing
Most small business owners didn’t start out as business owners. It’s likely that they started as an employee for someone else in a position that paid them on a regular basis. As long as they were doing their job, they never had to worry where and when their next paycheck would come from.
The small business owner, however, is the one that has to make sure his or her employees have that same peace of mind. It’s not always that easy.
According to Xero’s small business guide on streamlining an invoicing process, some small business owners feel they need to be overly polite when dealing with vendors and people who do business with them.
“But the fact is, they have taken your time and/or your product,” the guide states. This means they have a legal and moral duty to pay you according to the agreed terms.”
The guide goes on to say to be polite, but firm. It’s all about embracing a mindset.
Stay Organized
For some reason, billing can be a nightmare for some small business owners. Sure, they’re swamped with everything a business may deal with from top to bottom, but it’s unusually common for those business owners not to get paid.
That’s why it’s critical to stay organized. Some experts recommend a numbering system. That system would entail giving each customer a number and each bill a number. Simple enough.
Staying organized could also mean purchasing the right kind of software to handle your invoices. Sometimes Excel doesn’t cut it and a more specific software geared toward invoicing is more appropriate.
And most importantly, use a calendar. A calendar can tracks when an invoice was sent out, but also when a friendly reminder should be mailed over.
Billing is one of those evil necessities. By making it more efficient, a small business owner can soon have more cash on hand to help grow the business.