Being a freelancer or owning a small business, means long “to-do” lists and limited time to get everything done! It’s one of the few things that makes running a business not so fun some days. This is the reason why cloud invoicing market is steadily on the rise for the past few years and will most likely be growing even more!
As professionals are striving to maintain a loyal client base, boost sales and automate repetitive tasks, online invoicing platforms offer “smart” tools that help them carry out the most tedious of all: keeping track of invoices and getting paid on time!
We have previously discussed how keeping your invoicing process in check, can help you get paid faster in a number of levels. You company’s cash flow operations greatly depend on how promptly you send out invoices for your products or services rendered.
Having a steady income is every business owner’s dream because it gives you the necessary flexibility to plan your next moves, invest in equipment and overall better manage your company. In this article, we are going to illustrate how recurring invoices can streamline your small business’s daily operations.
What are recurring invoices?
Online invoicing applications have unique features, as pointed out in our “10 good reasons your company should use cloud invoicing” article. One of them, which Εlorus proudly has amongst its features, is recurring invoicing. This feature practically automates the invoicing process in case you charge for your products/services in a scheduled manner.
All you have to do is set up “rules” depending on your case:
- How often you want the invoice to be automatically created (monthly, daily, weekly)
- To whom
- The total amount of the invoice
- Payment terms
When the time comes, the application will do all the work for you and notify you whenever a new invoice is generated automatically. It is as simple as it sounds, really!
And one might argue that invoicing isn’t a long process anyway, but a few minutes per day on that task add up. Also, why waste time doing repetitive tasks if you can avoid them altogether?
Τhe benefits of recurring invoices
Here are some of the most important advantages of using this incredible, yet simple, feature!
#1 Saved time and costs
The cost of time spent on creating, tracking and processing each invoice is not insignificant. And as your business is growing, it also grows with it! Moreover, if you’re too busy running the business you’ll need someone to do all this for you and thus, pay them. You won’t have to do that if you choose a recurring invoice system, like Elorus!
Let the application do the heavy-lifting for you and eliminate the costs of printing, stamping and hiring an assistant.
#2 Cash flow improvement
Recurring invoices ensure that you have a steady income, thus better cash flow. When you’re fully aware of your accounts receivable you are better prepared in low season times, when sales are naturally declining.
Additionally, recurring purchase invoices help you estimate how much money you’ll need in the long-run. This way, you’ll be able to stay on top of obligations no matter what!
#3 Streamline payments
An invoice’s ultimate purpose is to get paid off, so everyone can move on with their lives! However, all too often we hear complaints from business owners that getting paid on time is among the toughest aspects of their job.
Recurring invoices do away with the actual invoicing process but also create an easy-to-follow payment routine for your clients. They can expect your invoice and prepare to pay you.
#4 Reduced payment time
Recurring invoices can also be automatically paid off if you connect documents with the clients’ credit cards. This process is called “recurring billing” and is available in most online payments providers. Once, the invoice is paid you get notified, the application creates the corresponding payment records and updates the client’s balance.
If your company runs on subscriptions, for example, this is the perfect solution for you! You neatly organize invoicing and billing your clients, all at the same time. Your clients can receive and view invoices via email whenever they might be.
#5 Automated payment process
An extension of #4 is that invoicing platforms also support online payments. Once the invoice is created you can assign it to an online payment gateway and send it to the customer. Advanced applications, such as Elorus, can assign it in advance and also send it via email automatically!
This process not only apparently saves you a lot of time wasted on repetitive tasks but speeds up the payment time. You know your clients will get the invoice promptly and can pay you within a few clicks!
#6 Streamlined expenses
Recurring invoices are not necessarily sales; you can register expenses that occur in a scheduled manner and have an estimation of future cash flow. This way, you will get notified when an expense is due, so nothing gets left behind.
#7 Attend more important matters
Invoicing is every business’s core of operations but there are certainly far more significant matters that require your time, focus and creativity. Recurring invoices help you better manage your time and allocate it effectively on marketing or boosting your sales!
Recurring invoices can exponentially improve your everyday life!
Your small business needs all the help it can get to become organized and thus, efficient. If your trade involves scheduled sales to particular clients, you will find great relief by introducing recurring invoices to the way you do business. They will streamline your workflow to the maximum and save you both valuable time and money.
Have you experienced any other benefits from using recurring invoicing? Feel free to post them and inspire other readers to take their business to the next level!
