Blog

January 27th, 2012
Simple Invoicing Using Online Services

You opened your own catering business because you love to cook. You went into the bakery business to sell pastries and cakes. You didn’t open your own landscaping company because you love paperwork. Yet to be a successful small business owner, you cannot ignore the financial side of your business, and this means that you have to make sure that you properly invoice your clients. Forgetting to invoice your customers can leave you with a serious cash flow problem, one which, if left unchecked, could put you out of business.

Invoicing help online

Using an online invoicing service is a viable option for business owners who need a quicker, more reliable way, and often-automatic means to invoice their customers. There are a multitude of available online options to choose from that can take that tiresome task of paperwork off your plate. Below we’ll examine just 3 of the possibilities available:

A free but powerful invoicing service

BillingBoss has a huge advantage: It’s free. This online tool allows you to set up automatic invoicing of repeat customers and send out once-off invoices to those customers who are not regular. Don’t be misled because this service is free. It should be plenty powerful enough for the majority of small business owners.

A power tool

AcceptPay from American Express is without a doubt for the power user. For only $30 a month, users of AcceptPay can connect with QuickBooks, collect online payments from clients, and set up a variety of customizable automatic invoices. It seems a fairly small price to pay for such a robust tool.

Invoicing for the tech-savvy

Lastly we’ll look at the most customizable option of the bunch, BambooInvoice. This open source program is hosted on your own servers and can be easily customized for your business’ needs. So if you need more control and are a little tech-savvy, BambooInvoice could be your best choice.

These are only a few of the available options online. Most services are free or exceptionally cost-effective. If you wish to take the reigns on your invoicing process, consider using an online solution.

Topic CPA Firms, General
April 20th, 2011
How Does Your CPA Firm’s Technology Stack Up Amongst Your Peers?

Aligning your practice goals and technologySo what makes your firm tick?  What are other firms doing to be more efficient and serve their clients better that you might be overlooking?  I know, there’s barely time in your day to consider these questions, but if you’re not, when will your practice make strides to improve?

There comes a time, after tax season or extension filings, when you need to poke your head up from the hole you’re digging to make sure you’re actually digging in the right place.  In my world we call this “working on” your business, not just “working in” your business.  It’s a simple concept of being self-aware in the way your firm operates and evaluating your use of technology should be a priority.  Rather than accessing your technology use from a cold start, you should consider other data collected about how other CPA firms are operating.

The Journal of Accountancy recently posted results from the 2010 PCPS/TSCPA National MAP SurveyHow does your firm compare to how other firms are using technology to improve efficiency and client service? where firms were asked how they were keeping up with different types of

technology use within their practices.  This article can provide excellent talking points for your next meeting of partners.  Investing in tools that create improved efficiency for your staff has been a trend in the past decade, but improving methods of client communication has become more important in recent years.

Of the many areas that our clients seek advice, we are often asked what others in their field are using or doing.  This is not in the interest of upstaging the competition, but rather the need to have assurances that they are on the right path and not necessarily re-creating the wheel to accomplish their goals.

Just as your clients seek your advice for matters with which they have little to no expertise, you should consider who can assist your practice with technology planning and implementation.  There’s a lot of translation involved in matching solutions to your practice and a great deal more to be gained in making the right investment for long-term growth.

Read the article in the Journal of Accountancy here –>

Topic CPA Firms