There are aspects that when starting a business we cannot neglect or to which, at least, we must dedicate enough time. Billing is clearly one of them.
As every entrepreneur will know, the problem is that time is the last thing you have. Generally, you can never dedicate the necessary time to this type of task and you end up doing billing procedures quickly and, often, in the wrong way.
Since we cannot afford to neglect one of the fundamental parts of the operation of our enterprise, nor add more hours to a day, it is necessary to find a way to simplify these procedures.
We must find the balance between carrying out the procedures correctly without having to spend a lot of time on them. In this article we will talk about exactly this and we will help you to make the best decisions to simplify your billing.
How to simplify and streamline billing procedures for entrepreneurs with specialized software.
Simplifying means doing the same task faster and easier. Nevertheless, it is even possible to improve the current system without having to give up speed and convenience.
In fact, the best way to simplify billing today is to use billing software like Holded. There are very few SMEs and enterprises that still do not keep their billing under control through these softwares.
The future of companies and digitization means that more and more aspects of the management of a company are digital and are supported by specific software. It can be marketing, management and customer service, or communication.
These programs help simplify and, in some cases, even automate many repetitive and time-consuming processes.
For that reason, Using billing software is, without a doubt, the best option to avoid headaches.
How to choose the right billing software.
Choosing software to help us with billing tasks may seem as easy as opening a search engine and selecting the first option that appears.
It is an unorthodox technique and, although it sounds strange, it can turn out well. However, there is a very good chance that we will end up wasting time and money on a program that does not suit our needs.
Choosing the right program is about exactly this: be very clear about what we need and look for what is closest to it.
On the one hand, it is necessary to make an analysis of how our accounting works and what the process of adapting to a program will be like. This will help us to see failures, strengths and other aspects of our billing.
On the other hand, it is necessary to analyze the offer. Not all software is the same and not all offer the same type of service. Some focus on adding more functionality, giving up simplicity, and others may have fewer tools but a very friendly and easy-to-use interface.
Depending on our starting point -understanding as such the operation, infrastructure, training, among others- and the offer that we find in the market, we will be able to find the best option for our venture.
What to look for in an accounting program.
As we have mentioned in the previous section, each venture and SME is different: it has needs, expenses, personnel and its own and exclusive operation. What works for one may not necessarily work for others as well.
However, in billing for entrepreneurs there are certain basic requirements that in the middle of 2022 we must demand of the programs we seek.
We cannot be satisfied with the minimum, technology is constantly advancing and we will have to look for those programs that are most up-to-date and can offer us tools in keeping with the times.
Regardless of the size, sector or activity that your business carries out, if you are looking for a billing program to simplify daily procedures, you should pay attention to the following aspects:
1. Cloud server.
Cloud technology has only been around for a short time and yet it has managed to gain a foothold and be present in almost all aspects of our lives. Obviously, in the business world even more and billing for entrepreneurs is no exception.
This does nothing more than speak of its potential and usefulness. It is a technology that adds accessibility and comfort to any management, since it It frees us from the need to centralize information on a single device.
Therefore, it is not necessary to explain too much why we should look for programs that offer us the possibility of working in the cloud.
A billing program in the cloud allows us to have our documents, reports and utilities always at hand, no matter where we are. From any device we can access the information we need.
This gives us the opportunity to have greater control of finances and accounting without having to dedicate more hours or spend more time in the office.
From the comfort of our home we will be able to manage or review all the billing information or create invoices at the moment and send them to the client without having to wait.
2. Automation.
Automation is one of the main goals of today’s technology. All the new trends point to an increase in activities carried out directly by programs based on artificial intelligence.
The developers of these programs analyze the operation of a task and how it is carried out by a person, dump the information into the system and program it so that it can be done automatically.
Billing for entrepreneurs is not exempt from this technology, quite the contrary. There are many billing-related tasks that are repetitive and time-consuming, even if they don’t necessarily involve a lot of mental effort.
These are precisely the tasks that are sought to be automated and that, in fact, many programs already perform automatically.
Programs like Holded already have tools that automatically perform bank reconciliation and they are in charge of analyzing our bank statement, identifying income that corresponds to pending invoices and registering their status once confirmed.
In this way, in seconds, we will be able to see how an invoice goes from outstanding a paid without the need to even control the extract.
The automatic creation of accounting entries is also a tool that we can already find in many programs and that will help us save a lot of time without losing organization.
3. Personalization.
When we talk about personalization in billing for entrepreneurs we can refer to different aspects:
The first is the possibility of adjusting the program to what we need. Many programs offer a wide range of options and tools that we can use or discard depending on what we think is best.
Having a wide range of tools should not cloud us nor should we think that it is necessary to use them all. As we said before, each business or venture is different, and the programs try to cover all possible options.
For this reason, we must make conscious decisions and only leave those tools or functionalities that are useful to us and that we are going to really use.
There is also the option of hire software developers to create an ad-hoc program, tailor-made for our company. Although the cost in these cases is higher, we will have an exclusive tool, made taking into account 100% everything our venture needs.
At another level, we have invoice customization. Many programs allow us to create invoices based on often basic and repetitive templates. If we want to stand out and our business focuses a lot on its appearance, a basic invoice will not be consistent with the rest.
We must search among the programs for the one that gives us more options and freedom when creating our company’s invoice.
4. Compatibility.
As useful and convenient as our billing program is, it’s not the only one we’ll work with. If we are a digitized enterprise – and if we want to be successful today, it is almost mandatory – surely we make use of many software in different departments on a daily basis.
The billing software that we choose can have many functionalities that cover several departments at the same time: purchases, sales, warehouse, etc.
In billing for entrepreneurs we must look for a program that is compatible with the other tools that we use. In this way we can really be more productive and simplify the entire billing process of our company; in this way it will be a more profitable business.
A billing program that connects directly with the CMS or sales platform, will allow us to control and order accounting movements directly and instantly, without having to take any additional action.
The same can happen if you connect to the CRM and thus directly access the customer data to fill in the information and send the invoice by email at the moment; or if it is integrated with an OCR program and thus manages to automatically scan and record invoices in physical format digitally as well.
The more compatible the software we choose is with those we already use, the fewer processes we will have to carry out and the easier everything related to billing will be.
We hope this information will be of great help to simplify your billing processes and that you can focus on other areas of your business 🙂
And remember, if you are really interested in creating your own business, you can read our book “How to create a company while working: Discover how to manage your time, manage your money and motivate yourself while creating a company and working for another” , where you will find all the information you need to found your own company, without having to leave your job.
