Invoice Processing for Small Business: Free Options With Great Features

The invoicing process is a fundamental task for small business owners. Unfortunately, it is a task that can quickly grow out of control, especially when a business is highly reliant on utilizing paper invoices for billing. While most know that adding capable invoicing software will lessen the workload and add efficiency to the process, many balk at the perceived costs. This makes many business owners decide between remaining in the status quo or using modern invoice processing’s free solutions that are ideal for small businesses.

Start By Understanding the True Meaning of “Free”

Before you take the leap into the world of the free, you must first understand what “free” can actually mean. Like free POS systems, the promises of free can quickly fade away when the free invoicing solution is placed under closer scrutiny. Here are some examples of potentially free invoicing software options that can end up costing more than if you had simply purchased an invoicing solution:

Export options. Free invoicing solutions will often limit the number of data exports that can be made. For businesses with any level of success, these free exports will be quickly used up, leaving them to pay a fee. Fees are often based on volume and can exceed the costs of a pay-for-use invoicing solution fairly quickly.Upgrades. Upgrade paths are very limited, if they exist at all, within free invoicing software. What you install is what you get, with no true path to upgrade to a newer version, or to migrate to a different platform. Those that do offer upgrades often do so at a significant cost, and without support, making this a high risk/low reward proposition.Support channels. Getting proper support for a free invoicing solution is nearly non-existent. If offered, support is typically limited to just the functional pieces of the software, has limited support hours, or is only offered on a cost-per-incident basis.

None of these aspects represent free invoicing software as being a good option for a small business making a name for itself. So now what? The best answer is to let go of your purchase price anxiety and to let your thinking out of the box and into the world of invoicing options that will be a cost-effective tool for any business size or type.

Discover Budget-Friendly Invoicing Options for Any Business

The world of invoicing software has an almost limitless selection of cost-effective options that can fit any budget. As the need for these options has grown, so have the technical capabilities of invoicing software evolved. There are several recommended options for small business owners to pursue in order to keep costs in check while leveraging modern invoicing technology inside of the small business space:

Web-based invoicing software. Utilizing the cloud space to host invoicing software yields tremendous benefits. Updates are applied behind the scenes and rarely affect your ability to use the tool. No hardware is required, outside of an internet-capable device, and data is crash-proof and always accessible.POS-integration. Obtaining invoicing software that is web-based is great, but what if it could also integrate into your POS solution? This would allow for the customer, financial, and sales information to flow freely between the invoicing software and your POS system. The integration and functionality improve considerably when the web-based invoicing software chosen is provided by a reputable POS solutions provider.Ease of reporting and monitoring. The ability to erase the dividing lines between a POS system and web-based invoicing software through seamless integration provides you with deeper levels of reporting. Custom reporting that utilizes shared and compatible data gives you clarity into the status of any and all invoices while making inventory management and financial reconciliation a breeze.Digital invoice and payment options. With the world going virtual, it makes sense to choose invoicing software that offers you paperless digital options for getting invoices to the customer and for payment receipt. Invoices, once created, can be sent via email. These will also contain a clickable link for ease of payment.

Selecting an invoicing option that contains these options can help you quickly realize a higher ROI and give you a powerful platform to turn invoicing from a tedious, time-intensive task into one that runs on its own.

Implement an Invoicing Tool That Works for You

The best thing about choosing a web-based invoicing tool that is provided by your POS vendor is that the hard work of integration is already done. This only leaves you to figure out what features contained within this type of invoicing software are most applicable to a business in your industry and to learn how exactly to implement it into the flow of your business. Here are some example of how some businesses have aligned their processes to the features in their invoicing tools:

Catering services. Uses the digital communications feature to add transparency to order and meal changes.Special event management for florists. Detailed, digital invoices allow them to receive payments quickly, and to then make corresponding fast payments to suppliers to eliminate delivery delays.Everyday retail or dining. Customers gain the ability to store digital receipts for ease of expense tracking or to expedite the return process.

Invoice Processing for Small Business: Free Solutions Do Not Make the Cut

No matter the business model you employ, or the industry in which you operate, the benefits of POS-based invoicing software will torpedo any thoughts of using a free solution. Implementing invoicing software can be done with minimal interruption to your business, or to your schedule, and will be a simple task for your POS provider to manage for you.

Why struggle with invoicing software that may not be the best fit when you can partner with talech and gain powerful invoicing tools that plug directly into your POS solution? We align our web-based invoicing software to your business type and processes to maximize its positive impact on your bottom line. Reach out to us today to sign up for a demo and to learn more about how talech can be your valued POS partner.