From Quickbooks, the QuickBooks Canada Team offers insights into problems you can avoid by using an invoicing software. These are my favorites:
4) Not Offering Credit Card Payments to Customers
When you send invoices to your customers using software like Excel or Word, it doesn’t automatically give your clients the option to pay the invoice online by credit card. Of course, you could insert a link to available payment options into your invoice, but when you manually insert information like this into your invoices, it’s really easy to forget.
Invoicing software ensures your available payment options are included on every invoice. Once you link your accounts, you can set up your invoice template with the payment link inserted. This way, it’s included on every single invoice you send.
…
6) Not Adding Late Payment Fees to Your Payment Terms Section
A lot of small-business owners don’t charge their clients late fees, usually because they’re afraid of losing the client. But here’s the thing: Do you really want to work with clients who constantly miss payments?
Chances are, when you send an invoice to a client, you’ve already supplied the client with the products and/or services purchased. You deserve to be paid in a timely manner. In most industries, it’s completely normal to charge late fees — but you need to be upfront with your clients about them. This means you should include a blurb about late fees in your payment terms section. You want to keep your payment terms simple: A short sentence or two that tells your clients when late fees will be charged and how much they are should work just fine.
When you use invoicing software, you can create specific payment terms for your business. Then, all you have to do is choose to have your terms displayed on every invoice you send. Once it’s set up, you don’t have to manually insert your payment terms into your invoices.
7) Using Preset Invoice Templates
It’s common for small-business owners to use preset invoice templates they find online instead of creating a custom invoice for their business. But there are several reasons that creating a custom invoice template is a better option. When you use a pre-made invoice template, you might not be able to:
- Customize your payment terms
- Itemize your invoice items
- Use your company’s branding
- Offer multiple payment options
- Add short messages to clients
- Offer incentives for paying early on future purchases
8) Not Collecting the Right Amount of Sales Tax
GST laws vary by province, making it hard for small-business owners to keep up with at times. But when you use automated invoice software to create customized invoices for your business, it’s possible to set the system up so the right GST rate is calculated automatically for each invoice.
To do this, you have to first determine which goods and services are taxable. Then, set up your accounting software so it applies the right tax rate for your services for each province where you do business. This saves the information in the system. When you create a new invoice, all you have to do is choose the right selection for GST tax, and it’s automatically calculated and placed on your invoice.
9) Storing Credit Card Numbers
It’s common for business owners who use word processing or spreadsheet software to create invoices to store their clients’ credit card numbers so they can process automatic online payments. But this is a huge no-no. Instead, you should consider switching to invoicing software. This way you can set up recurring invoices for your customers without the need to keep their credit card information on file.
Ultimately, using software that lets you automatically send customized invoices to your clients can save you a lot of time and money. QuickBooks Online helps you create and send invoices that help you get paid faster.
Read the full story at 9 Common Mistakes Prevented by Invoicing Software | QuickBooks
