By far the worst part of owning your own business is all the paperwork you must do. It never ends, it’s complicated, and it takes up much of your time. Invoicing is particularly burdensome, but it’s an essential step because you’re not getting paid without it.
The best way to manage your invoicing is by using software designed specifically to make invoicing as simple and as fast as possible. There are quite a few different accounting packages that could handle your invoicing to choose from, with most vendors providing slight variations on the following:
Customised invoices/invoice templates
You look much more professional when you send your clients invoices with your company branding on them. The best invoicing software lets you create your own designs or import existing templates for your invoices.
Automated Invoicing Functions
Sending monthly invoices for the same thing manually is a royal pain – it’s much better for everyone (especially you) if you can automate them. Most invoicing software packages can help you do this, saving you a ton of time in the long term.
Multiple Payment Options
When you make it easy for your debtors to pay you, there’s a better chance they will pay on time. And that’s what modern accounting packages do – they integrate various online payment gateways and payment methods so that your clients can settle their bills quickly.
Invoice Tracking and Reminders
It’s handy to know if your client has seen your invoice and to receive reminders if payment has not yet been received. Modern invoicing software does this by tracking invoices and letting you know on the back end if they’ve been seen; automated reminders can also be set up to notify you of non-payment within a given time frame.
A mobile app
Since business owners are so busy these days, it’s important to be able to access your invoicing capabilities from your phone. Big-name accounting software packages offer mobile apps for this exact reason; don’t underestimate just how useful it is to issue and track invoices from your phone.
Tiered subscription levels with varying functionality on each
And because we’re living in the age of cloud-based subscription services charged on a consumption basis, all good accounting/invoicing software offers users a selection of tiers to choose from. Companies tend to structure their offerings from basic to advanced, with increasing prices accompanied by deeper functionality as you go up the tiers.
Smaller organisations can get by on the invoicing functions offered at the entry-level tiers but will need to move up a level or two as they expand.
The Services
Now that you know what to expect, allow us to introduce you to five software invoicing options for small businesses that tick most, if not all, of these boxes.
Quickbooks
Website: http://www.quickbooks.com
From R132.25 per month with the current 50% off special, normally R264.50 (Full Price list)
Free 30-day Trial
Sage Accounting
Website: http://www.sage.com
From R185 per month (Full Price List)
Free 30-day Trial
Xero
Website: http://www.xero.com
From R396.75 per month (Full Price List)
Free 30-day Trial
Inv24
Website: http://www.inv24.co.za
Free Basic Tier, Premium Tier is R149 per month (Full Price List)
Free tier is free forever
PayPod
Website: http://www.paypod.co.za
Free/Plus R35/Premium R99 per month (Full Price List)
Free trial of Premium
Try before you buy
Thanks to free trials, you can try each one of these packages for at least a month before deciding. Since they all offer similar functionality, what will set them apart for you is the look and feel of their respective interfaces and how each of them goes about providing the functions you need.
Figuring out which one works best for you is, unfortunately, a trial-and-error process and not one we can shortcut for you. So go check them out yourself, give each of them a try, and go for the one that does what you want, in the way that you like best.
Good luck!