What to Consider When Choosing Invoice Software

Still preparing invoices manually? You can take the pain out of the process "and even get paid faster" with invoice software. Here's what to look for when choosing invoice software for your small business.

Why you need invoice software

When you become self-employed, your clients cannot compensate you until you invoice them. This means you need send your payment request to each client with enough lead time to get paid by a desired date.

If you have one client, the invoicing process may sound easy enough to manage on your own. But what if you had five, ten or even one hundred clients? This is where invoice software offers advantages over manual invoice preparation.

Save time and get paid faster

Do you manually create invoices in a word processing tool or spreadsheet? You are likely losing valuable time fussing with invoice formatting, hunting down client email or postal addresses and emailing or snail-mailing invoices. Invoice software lets you fill invoice templates, save client contacts and send invoices with the push of a button. The faster you can send an invoice, the faster you can get paid.

Increase accuracy

Even diligent business owners can make math mistakes when figuring invoice amounts manually. Invoice software gives you the peace of mind that neither you nor your client will get shortchanged because of an incorrect invoice amount.

Look professional

The presentation of your invoice is as important as the accuracy of the payment terms. Invoice software allows you to create and send custom invoice templates with your business logo. The polished look of your invoice will lend credibility to your business as a whole.

What to consider in invoice software

Cost

Determine a budget for invoice software based on the size of your client base. Many popular invoice software providers offer free trials or free accounts. Remember to include payment transactions fees in your budget. Some services may impose a 2.8 percent fee for credit card transactions.

Feature-rich invoice template

At a minimum, the invoice templates within your invoice software should include:

• Payee contact information
• Payer contact information
• Project details
• Payment amount due
• Invoice date
• Payment deadline
• Late payment terms

Make sure that the invoice templates meet the needs of your project and billing preferences.

Ease of use

Look for a sleek interface with intuitive options for electronic invoice submission. Some services can also send payment reminders to your client. You can also see in the interface whether a client has viewed your invoice. This means you never again have to worry whether a client has received your invoice.