Tag Archives: online invoicing software for small business

From Negative to Positive: How to Improve Your Cash Flow

Posted on by
Reply

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”https://blog.gotmenow.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Make-payment-collection-a-breeze-with-Zoho-Invoice.png” alt=”How can I convert an estimate into an invoice?” title_text=”Make payment collection a breeze with Zoho Invoice” url=”https://go.zoho.com/HzZ%20https://go.zoho.com/KwD” url_new_window=”on” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”]

What’s more important than profits? Cash. Your profit margins can change at any time, but your cash flow determines your business’s current and future health.

Cash flow is the money that flows in and out of your business, and is a crucial indicator of its financial health. Any business may be at risk of poor cash flow, and if its major causes are overlooked, the business may become unprofitable, dwindle further, and have to shut down. Knowing what can affect your business’s cash flow and how you can limit unnecessary cash outflow will help you manage it consistently, prepare for challenges, and grow steadily!

Negative cash flow: how it can affect your business

Negative cash flow is when your business spends more than what it receives, but this need not always indicate a loss. For example, your payments may be due before you receive your income and you may spend more than what you have at that time, leading to a cash flow problem. So, while you may recover your money later, or even if you’ve already been profitable, there will be certain months where you’d be spending more than your earnings. This can prevent you from having enough cash for future investments, leading to an imbalance in your revenue along with a decrease in your liquid assets.

If you don’t manage your cash inflow well to face unexpected expenses, you may have a cash flow crunch. To tackle this problem, you have to understand what’s causing the shortfall.

Common causes for negative cash flow

  • Inefficient management: Poor productivity and marketing strategies can make you spend a lot without receiving adequate returns on your investment. For instance, your staff may be focusing on tasks that could be automated, or your marketing strategy may not be effective enough for your target audience. These may lead to high operating costs, as well as poor sales and credit ratings.

  • Incorrect pricing: Undercharging or overcharging is another common reason for negative cash flow. If you have low profit margins, you might want to raise your prices. However, charging excessively for something that customers can get for a lower rate (with the same quality) will only discourage them from buying from you. Similarly, not charging enough can lead to lower returns, and will not improve your position in the market.

  • Late payments: The more complicated your invoicing and payment process, the later your payments are likely to be. Delayed payments can hurt your cash flow, and affect your ability to pay your own vendors, pay for overhead expenses, and much more.

  • Unnecessary investments: Investing too much on products or services that aren’t critical to your business can affect your cash flow. When you do this, you’re spending on non-essential assets that won’t give you much returns, leading to your funds getting drained.

  • Improper planning: Failing to set long-term goals, expanding too quickly, or not having the right employees can impact your future opportunities and your brand image, all of which will hit your revenue. Things may look up temporarily, but you may not have enough resources to give you good returns. Poor financial planning will leave you short of funds when you have unexpected expenses, and you may become too dependent on loans without having enough cash to repay them.

Managing poor cash flow is important, but so is steering your business towards consistently improving your revenue. Here’s how you can do both, in two stages. 

Stage 1: Survival strategies to manage poor cash flow

Money matters

Record and review your operating expenses and financial statements on a bi-weekly or monthly basis (depending on the size of your business), so you’re always updated on where your money is going to or coming from, and you can take action accordingly. You should also run a cash flow statement because this will help you understand how well you’ve been managing your cash flow.

To prepare for the unexpected, you can keep aside a certain amount of cash every month as a cash buffer. This amount can be determined based on your general expenditure, your current and past performance, and how quickly your products get sold. If your overall performance is slow and indicates that you need more money for an emergency, you need a bigger reserve. 

If you can’t do this and urgently require cash, invoice factoring (selling unpaid invoices to companies in exchange for immediate cash) may help you get cash right away. However, the factoring company will take a cut of the money you earn. Alternatively, you can opt for a business loan.

Ultimately, be mindful of the amount you spend during this period, and cut down on unnecessary expenses. If you need to pay for a business expense, prioritize the resources that will help you improve your cash flow and grow your business (whether long-term or short-term). For instance, if you had to choose between revamping your office space and purchasing new software to help your business processes, the latter would be far more beneficial. 

Avoid delayed payments

Send out invoices as soon as possible and have a written record of your payment terms and conditions so your customer knows the consequences for not paying promptly. You can also incentivize them for prompt payments, or, if they opt out of cash payments, check their credit score to ensure they have a reliable record.

In case you want to make a sale to a customer who doesn’t have a promising financial history, do so at a high interest rate; they’ll buy only if they really need to and it’s more likely that you’ll get your money back. Meanwhile, ask your vendors if they can extend the payment terms, and regularly check your AR aging report. This will provide details of payments that have crossed the due date, so you can follow up with these customers and recover your receivables.

Stage 2: How to improve cash flow and grow consistently

Pay less or buy more

Having enough cash for your day-to-day operations is important for good cash flow management. When you lease a product and rent it from the supplier, you can use it without spending excessively, only paying small amounts each month. This helps cash flow, especially because these expenses can be written off on your taxes. Similarly, if you’re purchasing a product, ask if you can pay in installments.

You can also buy your supplies in bulk to get good discounts. In case you’re unable to buy in bulk as a sole entity, partner with similar companies and pool your cash together so you can get your vendors to lower their prices.

Make payments easier and incentivize customers to pay on time

While sending out invoices, attach a payment link to help your customers pay immediately with just a click. Offer electronic modes of payment; they’re easy and quick! Your accounting software can simplify the process by helping you with online payment integrations and instantly getting your invoice sent with the right payment options.

You can also ask for partial payments up-front (especially from newer customers) and encourage them to pay faster by offering discounts for early payment. Implementing reward programs and referral programs can work in your favor, as you can grow your sales and churn more revenue, while your customers also gain when they buy from you! 

Make your invoice easy to read for your customer, so they’ll understand the terms and conditions. State the due date clearly, with information on accepted payment modes and late payment fees, if any. Once they’re sent, send invoice reminders a few days before the payment’s due date. You can make this work smoother if you automate your AR/AP process.

Monitor your inventory

Conduct an inventory valuation on a quarterly basis, noting the goods that aren’t moving quickly or aren’t in much demand. These goods, which become dead stock, could affect your cash flow. So, cut down on buying these in the future and liquidate what you currently have, or even sell them at a discount so they’ll move faster.

Negotiate with vendors and extend payment terms

Once you’ve established a good rapport with your vendors, you can negotiate with them to give you discounts for paying early. If you need more time to pay bills, ask for extended payment terms (you can do this especially for large purchases). If you’re a regular buyer with a history of prompt payment, your vendors will most likely agree, and this will give you more time to make your sales before your due payment to the vendor.

Be proactive with cash flow forecasting

When you prepare a cash flow forecast, you estimate your future income and operating expenses, helping you build a budget and plan better. You can do this by analyzing the previous year’s performance or by calculating your expected inflow (like customer receipts) and outflow (like vendor payments and payroll). 

It’s best to forecast monthly or quarterly to keep track of your key performance indicators, helping you understand your working capital, and whether you have enough income to manage the following month’s requirements. Once you finish forecasting a period and move on to the next, return to your forecast for the previous period and check your estimation against the actual cash flow; if there’s a mismatch, you’ll know the difference and understand why your cash flow didn’t meet your expectations.

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_video src=”https://youtu.be/4g9T20wRdio” _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][/et_pb_video][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”]

Invest well and use bank accounts safely

Make your idle cash work for you, and invest wisely. If required, you can even take short-term loans, where you get a lump sum amount that can be repaid in installments. This borrowed amount can be used to make smart business decisions that will help you in the long run, such as expansions, purchase of new inventory, and more.

You can even make payments with a cash-back business credit card (where you get a certain amount of money back after a successful payment), which will be helpful for regular monthly payments. Use a checking account (also known as a current account) to deposit a portion of your income regularly as a reserve, and to deposit the rest of your income, use a savings account that will yield high interest. To make it simpler, you can keep transferring your money from the checking account to the savings account, so if your funds go below the minimum requirement for a checking account, they’ll get transferred back automatically. This way, you can save money for an emergency. 

It’s equally important to keep your bank accounts secure and decrease the chances of unauthorized use. For instance, you can minimize the number of people who can access it, so you ensure your money is in safe hands and won’t be spent without your knowledge.

Plan for a steady expansion and raise prices

If a certain product of yours is doing well in the market, bump up its price by a marginal amount. Check if your own expenses for equipment, manpower, and time have increased. If their value does not match the final sale amount, reassess the price. However, take a look at your competitors’ prices as well, and make sure that yours isn’t raised too much in comparison. If you’re raising your price, be sure to let your customers know how much they can gain by buying from you.

For example, if you’re manufacturing chocolate and adding a unique ingredient to it, highlight that. You can even provide an add-on or an extra feature to your product, making it different from the rest. Meanwhile, add new categories and products to your business, and expand slowly but steadily. Consider other customer groups you can target who could benefit from your products, and encourage them to spend more by selling in bundles. So, taking the previous example, you could expand your sweets business to include healthy sugar-free variations and, later, even target healthy beverages.

However, while expanding, it’s important to make cost-effective choices. If it gets too expensive to handle everything on your own, outsource certain functions, and regularly review your existing contracts. Streamline your business processes by investing in more efficient software and equipment. While this may initially be more expensive, it will cut a lot more costs for you in the long run. 

It all boils down to how you take things forward with your money. Negative cash flow is common in growing businesses, and if you’re able to spot the issues as they occur and solve them, then you’re good to go! To improve cash flow for your business, prioritize resources that will bring you returns, plan ahead, focus on your cash flow statements, and stay on top of your forecasting. Build up from there and work on the tips mentioned above so that you can safeguard your business and keep it growing at a steady pace.

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_button button_url=”https://go.zoho.com/KwD” url_new_window=”on” button_text=”Access Free Invoicing Software” button_alignment=”center” _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#FFFFFF” button_bg_color=”#0C71C3″ button_border_width=”0px” button_border_radius=”22px” button_use_icon=”off” filter_saturate=”74%” button_text_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_style=”preset3″][/et_pb_button][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_post_slider posts_number=”10″ include_categories=”138,139″ bg_overlay_color=”#0C71C3″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][/et_pb_post_slider][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_social_media_follow _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” text_orientation=”center” global_module=”10723″][et_pb_social_media_follow_network social_network=”facebook” url=”https://www.facebook.com/zoho” _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#3b5998″ follow_button=”off” url_new_window=”on”]facebook[/et_pb_social_media_follow_network][et_pb_social_media_follow_network social_network=”twitter” url=”https://www.twitter.com/zoho” _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#00aced” follow_button=”off” url_new_window=”on”]twitter[/et_pb_social_media_follow_network][et_pb_social_media_follow_network social_network=”linkedin” url=”https://www.linkedin.com/company/zoho” _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#007bb6″ follow_button=”off” url_new_window=”on”]linkedin[/et_pb_social_media_follow_network][et_pb_social_media_follow_network social_network=”instagram” url=”https://www.instagram.com/business_tools_online/” _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#ea2c59″ follow_button=”off” url_new_window=”on”]instagram[/et_pb_social_media_follow_network][/et_pb_social_media_follow][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

How Zoho Books Works |Getting Started| Help|

Posted on by
Reply

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”]

Zoho Books is cloud-based smart accounting software which takes care of all your accounting needs. To fully understand how Zoho Books works, go through modules below in the given order.

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_video src=”https://youtu.be/vNu7HEAQG5A” _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][/et_pb_video][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”]

Accessing Zoho Books

To access Zoho Books, you’ll have to sign up for the free 14-day trial period during which you can test the product for free. The free trial version of Zoho Books contains all the features in the Professional plan of Zoho Books. If you are already a registered user, then you can directly log in to Zoho Books. Learn more.

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”]

Plans

After your free trial expires, you can subscribe to any one of the paid plans to continue using Zoho Books. Learn more.

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”https://blog.gotmenow.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Zoho-Invoice-a-one-stop-solution-to-all-your-invoicing-requirements.png” alt=”How can I convert an estimate into an invoice?” title_text=”Zoho Invoice – a one-stop solution to all your invoicing requirements” url=”https://go.zoho.com/o9b” url_new_window=”on” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”]

Migrating from another software

If you are migrating from another software to Zoho Books, you would need to import various modules such as the opening balances, items, customers, vendors, and sales and purchase transactions. Learn more.

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”]

Dashboard

The Dashboard will give you a clear picture of your company’s finances. It gives you an overview of the Total Receivables, Total Payables, Cash Flow, Income & Expense, Top Expenses, Projects, and Bank & Credit Cards. Learn more.

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”]

Opening Balances

Before you start accounting with Zoho Books, you would need to import the closing balances of your previous financial year as the opening balances for the current year. Learn more.

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”https://blog.gotmenow.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Make-payment-collection-a-breeze-with-Zoho-Invoice.png” alt=”How can I convert an estimate into an invoice?” title_text=”Make payment collection a breeze with Zoho Invoice” url=”https://go.zoho.com/HzZ” url_new_window=”on” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”]

Customize your Zoho Books account

Set up Zoho Books as per your business needs. Learn how to update your email address and password, change the theme of your organization, change the default organization, and various other functions in Zoho Books. Learn more.

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”]

Items

Items are the goods or services in your organization. Add or import items and price lists into Zoho Books. Learn more.

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”]

Customers & Vendors

Add your customers & vendors in Zoho Books to create various sales and purchase transactions for them. Learn more.

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”]

Start Invoicing

Create and send invoices to your customers. Receive payments for all the invoices online or manually mark them as paid. You can track all the payments received in different accounts and also record partial payments for invoices. Learn more.

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”]

Sales transactions

Create different sales transactions for your customers, such as:

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”]

Purchase transactions

Create different purchase transactions for your vendors, such as:

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”]

Accountant

The Accountant module takes care of all accounting-related aspects in Zoho Books. This module consists of:

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”]

Settings

Configure general and module-specific settings of your organization. You can configure Users & Roles, Currencies, Templates, Reminders, Reporting Tags, Automation, Data Backup and Domain Mapping. Learn more.

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”]

Banking

With the Banking module, you can learn how to set up your bank or credit card account in Zoho Books, receive bank feeds, reconcile transactions, and perform various other banking operations. Learn more.

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”]

Banking

With the Banking module, you can learn how to set up your bank or credit card account in Zoho Books, receive bank feeds, reconcile transactions, and perform various other banking operations. Learn more.

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”]

Transaction Approval

Transaction Approval allows you to verify and approve the transactions that your employees create in Zoho Books. You can choose which users get access to this module by giving them the required level of access. Learn more.

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”]

Time Tracking

The Timesheets module is for businesses that charge their customers based on the time spent in finishing a project. Record time using timesheets and bill your customers for the projects you create for them. Additionally, the Client Approval allows you to get your time entries verified and approved by the clients you’re working for. Learn more.

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”]

Documents

The Documents feature in Zoho Books will help you streamline and store all your documents in one place. You can upload any document like receipts and attach them to transactions like expenses or bills. Learn more.

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”]

Client Portal

The Client Portal allows your clients to keep track of all the transactions that have taken place between them and your business. Bid goodbye to lengthy emails and collaborate efficiently. Learn more.

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”]

Integrations

Zoho Books can be integrated with various third-party apps as well as its own apps like Inventory, CRM, etc. You can also integrate Zoho Books with multiple payment gateways to receive payments from your customers. Learn more.

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”]

Web Tabs

Web Tabs are similar to browser tabs, but accessible within Zoho Books. It enables you to access web pages or applications that provide you with an embed URL, to be embedded within other applications. Learn more.

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”]

Checks

Pay your vendors by writing and printing out a check directly from Zoho Books, ensuring a secure form of payment. Learn more.

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”]

Reports

The Reports module in Zoho Books contain 40+ reports related to your business, accounting and taxes. Learn more.

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_post_slider posts_number=”5″ include_categories=”139,138″ bg_overlay_color=”#0C71C3″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][/et_pb_post_slider][et_pb_social_media_follow _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” text_orientation=”center”][et_pb_social_media_follow_network social_network=”facebook” url=”https://www.facebook.com/zoho” _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#3b5998″ follow_button=”off” url_new_window=”on”]facebook[/et_pb_social_media_follow_network][et_pb_social_media_follow_network social_network=”twitter” url=”https://www.twitter.com/zoho” _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#00aced” follow_button=”off” url_new_window=”on”]twitter[/et_pb_social_media_follow_network][et_pb_social_media_follow_network social_network=”linkedin” url=”https://www.linkedin.com/company/zoho” _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#007bb6″ follow_button=”off” url_new_window=”on”]linkedin[/et_pb_social_media_follow_network][et_pb_social_media_follow_network social_network=”instagram” url=”https://www.instagram.com/business_tools_online/” _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#ea2c59″ follow_button=”off” url_new_window=”on”]instagram[/et_pb_social_media_follow_network][/et_pb_social_media_follow][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

Manage Accounts Receivable remotely using an online invoicing tool

Posted on by
Reply
[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]

Remote work has been steadily on the rise over the past decade. Recent research by GetApp found that remote work nearly quadrupled over the past 10 years. With added impetus from the COVID-19 situation, remote work has become the new normal for many workers. This shift may be here to stay—a recent survey by Gartner found that 74% of CFOs intend to shift some employees to remote work permanently.

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]

As a business owner, your primary concern about remote work may be the productivity of your employees. The good news is that there’s a lot you can do to help them be productive. If you put the proper tools in place to allow them to carry out their usual tasks efficiently while working remotely, they’re more likely to show the kind of productivity you’re looking for.

This is especially true for Accounts Receivable, which is an area where many businesses end up using Excel for invoicing. A 2017 article by Small Business Trends revealed that a whopping 69 percent of small businesses trust spreadsheets to track their invoices and spending. The reasons are obvious—Excel is good with numbers. Calculations are easy, and it’s simple to manually correct small errors like an item value that’s entered wrongly.

But for an invoicing team to function remotely, it needs more than a tool that can calculate. Team members need to be able to send estimates and invoices, collect payments, share insights and information easily, and most of all, stay up to date. This is where spreadsheets tend to fail, and where online invoicing tools can help.

In this article, we’ll look at the different aspects of the invoicing process and how online invoicing tools offer an edge over Excel for remote work.

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]

1. Collaboration

In a traditional office setting, a lot of information gets exchanged during face-to-face interactions. Since this is out of the question with remote work, it’s important to ensure that your team members are still able to collaborate and keep the show running.

Shared notes:

If messages regarding financial transactions are exchanged via collaboration tools like a chat group or email thread, it means they are not linked with the corresponding transactions. As a result, your team members have to go back and forth between their messages and their invoicing tasks to get the right information.

Since online invoicing tools are designed for a multi-user environment, they allow your team members to communicate in a space that’s connected to the work they’re doing. Users can record important details regarding invoices or estimates as comments that can be viewed by other users in the organization.

Shared access:

With Excel, it’s challenging to provide your team members with access to the information they need, while maintaining the security of sensitive financial information. Online invoicing tools, on the other hand, allow you to give users specific role-based access—you can define what they can and cannot view or modify.

Shared reports:

Collaboration is not just about conversations—it’s also about making sure everyone is in the loop. Online invoicing tools allow you to schedule sales and other reports to be automatically emailed to your team members. This helps them stay up-to-date on the team’s activities, wherever they are.

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_button button_url=”https://go.zoho.com/KwD” url_new_window=”on” button_text=”Access Free Invoicing Software” button_alignment=”center” _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#FFFFFF” button_bg_color=”#0C71C3″ button_border_width=”0px” button_border_radius=”22px” button_use_icon=”off” filter_saturate=”74%” button_text_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_style=”preset3″][/et_pb_button][et_pb_image src=”https://blog.gotmenow.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/WhatsApp-Image-2021-07-09-at-11.04.45.jpeg” _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″][/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]

2. Organization

If your company does invoices in Excel, each invoice has to be created in a separate file for recordkeeping and sending to the customer. Organizing separate files for each invoice means a lot of nested folders, which makes it hard to find the individual files later. A better solution would be a central repository where all the invoices are stored, searchable, and available for your team members whenever they’re needed.

Online invoicing tools provide this setup by default—since they are cloud-based, all the transactions are saved on secure servers, and team members with permission to access them can find and view them instantaneously.

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]

3. Keeping track of invoice numbers

Accidentally duplicating invoice numbers can cause a huge and possibly expensive headache for your company. Besides making it difficult to match up incoming payments, it can also cause confusion during the end of the fiscal year and tax season.

Keeping track of invoice numbers becomes more challenging during remote work when employees are working less closely with each other. You can avoid duplication by assigning number batches to different staff, but that requires an extra layer of manual coordination, and it makes it more likely that you’ll have gaps in your invoice numbers (which in turn makes it harder to check for duplicates).

Online invoicing tools eliminate this problem by centralizing the invoice numbering system. Once you set up how you want the invoices to be numbered, the application ensures that all your invoice numbers are unique and continuous, even if multiple users are creating invoices concurrently. This eliminates gaps and duplicates, making it easy for you to find and match transactions.

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_button button_url=”https://go.zoho.com/KwD” url_new_window=”on” button_text=”Access Free Invoicing Software” button_alignment=”center” _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#FFFFFF” button_bg_color=”#0C71C3″ button_border_width=”0px” button_border_radius=”22px” button_use_icon=”off” filter_saturate=”74%” button_text_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_style=”preset3″][/et_pb_button][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″][et_pb_video src=”https://youtu.be/4g9T20wRdio” _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″][/et_pb_video][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]

4. Errors in transactions

Excel, as good as it is for calculation, can’t keep track of your customers and items. When you create invoices in a spreadsheet, these details are mostly copied from other sources, like emails or previous transactions. It’s easy for errors to happen during this copy-paste process, especially if you have a high volume of invoices. If you find one mistake, you can advise your team members to be more careful. But if you see these errors happening often, maybe it’s time to question the tool!

Online invoicing tools give you the option to save your customer and item details separately from the individual invoice. This means that while creating invoices, you just need to pick the right customer and select the products from a list. This eliminates a lot of the errors that can happen when you type these details each time manually.

If there are certain fields that must be filled in on all your invoices, an online invoicing tool allows you to actually make them mandatory.

In short, you are setting rules to make sure everything goes right. This ensures that your invoices are error-free when they reach the customer, even without having a second staff member review them.

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]

5. Tracing errors

If you notice an error in one of your invoices that’s already been sent, it may have already caused a ripple effect and caused errors in other invoices too. When Excel is used for invoicing, it’s very difficult to figure out which invoices have been affected. If you can’t search your files for the specific issue involved in the error, tracking down the affected invoices is time-consuming at best, and at worst, may not even lead to finding them all.

Because online invoicing applications record a time-stamped history for each transaction you create and save everything in a centralized location, you have many more options when trying to track down an error. Once you notice an error in a transaction, you can cross-reference that with other transactions created around the same time, using the same new product, addressed to the same customer, created by a specific user, or anything else that may be involved in the error. Since online invoicing tools come with elastic search functionality, you have the power to narrow down your search based on any of these criteria.

Also, online invoicing applications offer something called an audit trail. It’s just a record of each version of the invoice so that you can compare two versions of the same invoice to see what has changed and when. As its name suggests, this can be very useful during audits, but it’s also helpful for tracking down errors.

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]

Right Time Tracking Tool Can Keep Your Business Ticking

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]

6. Approval process

Many businesses have a process for approving sales transactions before they’re finalized. For example, the person who creates an invoice might run it by their supervisor, then by the sales manager, and only then send it out to the customer.

In companies that use Excel for invoicing, these approvals usually happen over email, which can consume a lot of time even under normal conditions. In a remote work environment, where team members can’t follow up on these emails with face-to-face conversations, you can end up with delayed invoices and even delayed payments.

An online invoicing application lets you define your approval hierarchy and have all of your invoices automatically sent to the next approver. At each stage of the approval process, the submitter and approver are notified about the invoice’s status, eliminating the need for follow-up calls and emails.

Does Zoho Invoice support barcode scanning? If yes, how does it work?

7. Project invoicing

If you charge customers based on the time you spend on their projects, Excel invoicing becomes more challenging. Each employee involved in the project has to log their time, then send it over for the AR team to apply the correct hourly rate and generate an invoice. For consultants who generate their own invoices, this whole workflow falls on one person; in larger organizations, it may be spread out among so many staff members that it creates another communication hurdle. In both cases, the manual calculations offer another opportunity for error.

Most online invoicing solutions come with extensive time tracking capabilities. If you employ temporary workers or independent contractors, you can give them access just to log their time without viewing any information about the customer or project. For your on-staff employees in leadership positions, you can use role-based access to allow them to view and manage the time entries of other users involved in the project.

The time that’s logged within your invoicing system can then be converted to an invoice with a much simpler process and no manual calculations. In addition, any billable expenses incurred during the project can also be included in the invoice automatically.

Overall, your online invoicing tool can act as the central hub for project information and keep project invoicing functioning like clockwork.

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]

8. Invoicing on the go

How many times have you received calls from customers or colleagues with questions about invoices and payments when you are not at your desk? Keeping all your invoicing data in Excel requires you to have your laptop or PC access to even the simplest information. Since remote work increases the chance of anyone in your organization being away from their work computer, a mobile-friendly solution might come in handy.

Most online invoicing tools come with a mobile version. Though they might not have all the features of the desktop version, they enable your team members to perform a lot of basic operations on the go—whether it’s sharing a payment link, recording the payment for an invoice, or pulling up last month’s sales report.

Here’s your takeaway:

If you want your invoicing team to be productive while working remotely, one of the best things you can do is to have an online invoicing solution in place. This keeps all of your invoicing information in a single application, eliminating the need for hundreds of separate files. It also keeps everyone in the loop without distracting and back-and-forth email threads.

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_social_media_follow _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” text_orientation=”center” global_module=”10723″][et_pb_social_media_follow_network social_network=”facebook” url=”https://www.facebook.com/zoho” _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#3b5998″ follow_button=”off” url_new_window=”on”]facebook[/et_pb_social_media_follow_network][et_pb_social_media_follow_network social_network=”twitter” url=”https://www.twitter.com/zoho” _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#00aced” follow_button=”off” url_new_window=”on”]twitter[/et_pb_social_media_follow_network][et_pb_social_media_follow_network social_network=”linkedin” url=”https://www.linkedin.com/company/zoho” _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#007bb6″ follow_button=”off” url_new_window=”on”]linkedin[/et_pb_social_media_follow_network][et_pb_social_media_follow_network social_network=”instagram” url=”https://www.instagram.com/business_tools_online/” _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#ea2c59″ follow_button=”off” url_new_window=”on”]instagram[/et_pb_social_media_follow_network][/et_pb_social_media_follow][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][/et_pb_section]

How do we change the billing/shipping address in an estimate/invoice?

Posted on by
Reply

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”https://blog.gotmenow.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/estimate-change-address.gif” alt=”How do I change the billing” title_text=”estimate-change-address” _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”https://blog.gotmenow.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Make-payment-collection-a-breeze-with-Zoho-Invoice.png” alt=”How can I convert an estimate into an invoice?” title_text=”Make payment collection a breeze with Zoho Invoice” url=”https://go.zoho.com/HzZ%20https://go.zoho.com/KwD” url_new_window=”on” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_button button_url=”https://go.zoho.com/KwD” url_new_window=”on” button_text=”Access Free Invoicing Software” button_alignment=”center” _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#FFFFFF” button_bg_color=”#0C71C3″ button_border_width=”0px” button_border_radius=”22px” button_use_icon=”off” filter_saturate=”74%” button_text_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_style=”preset3″][/et_pb_button][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”]

Billing/shipping address can be changed in these modules by,

  • Navigating to the module and select the estimate/invoice already created.
  • You can also create a new estimate/invoice and change the billing/shipping address after entering the customer name.
  • Click on the location notification in blue that appears below the customer name field.
  • Select the ‘edit’ icon present next to the shipping and billing address fields to enter the new address.

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”https://blog.gotmenow.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Zoho-Invoice-a-one-stop-solution-to-all-your-invoicing-requirements.png” alt=”How can I convert an estimate into an invoice?” title_text=”Zoho Invoice – a one-stop solution to all your invoicing requirements” url=”https://go.zoho.com/KwD” url_new_window=”on” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_button button_url=”https://go.zoho.com/KwD” url_new_window=”on” button_text=”Access Free Invoicing Software” button_alignment=”center” _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#FFFFFF” button_bg_color=”#0C71C3″ button_border_width=”0px” button_border_radius=”22px” button_use_icon=”off” filter_saturate=”74%” button_text_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_style=”preset3″][/et_pb_button][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_video src=”https://youtu.be/4g9T20wRdio” _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][/et_pb_video][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_post_slider posts_number=”5″ bg_overlay_color=”#0C71C3″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#0C71C3″][/et_pb_post_slider][et_pb_social_media_follow _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” text_orientation=”center”][et_pb_social_media_follow_network social_network=”facebook” url=”https://www.facebook.com/zoho” _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#3b5998″ follow_button=”off” url_new_window=”on”]facebook[/et_pb_social_media_follow_network][et_pb_social_media_follow_network social_network=”twitter” url=”https://www.twitter.com/zoho” _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#00aced” follow_button=”off” url_new_window=”on”]twitter[/et_pb_social_media_follow_network][et_pb_social_media_follow_network social_network=”linkedin” url=”https://www.linkedin.com/company/zoho” _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#007bb6″ follow_button=”off” url_new_window=”on”]linkedin[/et_pb_social_media_follow_network][et_pb_social_media_follow_network social_network=”instagram” url=”https://www.instagram.com/business_tools_online/” _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#ea2c59″ follow_button=”off” url_new_window=”on”]instagram[/et_pb_social_media_follow_network][/et_pb_social_media_follow][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]