If you were to be asked to do your entire invoices online, would you do it? Perhaps, there’s a tiny voice of doubt inside your head telling you not to. Going paperless and doing your bills purely online is something that many are not yet prepared to do. For this reason, we see the failure of having a 100% paperless office, even after a decade of having positive thoughts about it. The answer is simple: We are humans. We love to hold tangible things and we don’t trust something we can’t physically touch or see. Read the rest of this entry »
Online Invoicing: Myths Busted
April 6th, 2010 by issa
Please, just once, say: “I don’t know”.
August 20th, 2009 by Joan Petruska
That last post – the drawing of the various ways business can be built or ruined – had me mesmerized. What was the one negative element that really stood out for me ?
Aha ! “Hotel Know-It-All”.
Is there a “know-it-all” in your networking group, or on your team? How can they be recognized? Usually you will know by the 2nd or 3rd encounter. Read the rest of this entry »
Road to Business Success: What route are you taking?
August 11th, 2009 by Dave Kollasch
Click to view full-size
Well, if a picture is worth a thousand words, then this picture pretty much says it all.
Image contributed by The Rails Team
Small town. Metropolis. Same Problems.
August 3rd, 2009 by Joan Petruska
One of my favorite blogs is Small Biz Survival, not because I live in a small town, but because I am partial to them. They all have a local eatery with great pies, burgers, and conversation – and only the “locals” know about them.
So what does this have to do with Invoicing?? Lots. Recently Becky McCray posted an article on why businesses “procrastinate on invoicing”. Her conclusion: “It’s not fun”!
True, true, true.
Becky suggests 4 ways to attack the invoicing procrastination bug – all of them valid.
Why you procrastinate on invoicing and what to do about it
The question then arises: Which one will work for you?
I think that the answer lies in the type and size of your business. Mega-businesses may have more leeway on time for receivables. Micro-businesses, however, usually rely on healthy cyclic or even immediate payments.
Do you need consistent and timely turn-around of “work-performed to payment-received”? If so, then your habits need to become focused on getting that invoice out immediately. What could be more convenient to the micro-business owner than electronic invoicing?
Sharp, professional, customized invoices (or estimates) can be e-mailed to your customer’s computer from your laptop or smartphone. Do it before you even pull your truck out of their driveway! You can even set up automatic e-mail reminders for due dates – for those “procrastinating customers”.
For the Micro-business owner who thinks like a conglomerate, electronic invoicing may be “just the ticket”.
See you later. I’m off to the Beach Hut Café. They have the best breakfast along the eastern Florida coast. It’s a “local” thing !
3 Major Reasons You Should Invoice Clients by E-mail
July 25th, 2009 by Dave Kollasch
Microbusiness owners rely heavily on timely receivables. The sooner your client has the invoice in-hand the faster you could see that money in YOUR hand. Sending invoices by e-mail shaves days off invoice aging which gives your client the opportunity to send payment the same day this invoice is received, thus increasing your positive cash flow. If you are still printing and mailing invoices, the following list may convince you to seek e-mail addresses from your clients:
1. Cost: The savings add up quickly.
Save on:
- Ink – great looking PDF/e-mailed invoices – no printing costs
- Paper – unless, of course, you have stock in pulp factories
- Envelopes – (see reason above)
- Stamps – prices are already approaching $0.50 a pop and the climb will continue
- Gas – reduce trips to the post office/mailbox and office supply store
2. Time: Spend more of it growing your business.
No more:
- annoying printer issues
- folding invoices
- stuffing, sealing, stamping invoices
- driving to post office/mailbox
- additional mail delivery days for invoice aging
3. Environment: Green-up your operations.
Spare the need for:
- Ink
- Paper
- Envelopes
- Stamps
- Gas
Clearly there are some big advantages to paperless invoicing. Today most clients should willingly opt-in to receive invoices by e-mail since it is faster and more friendly to Mother Earth. However, some clients reluctant to make the switch from paper to electronic invoice delivery will require creative strategy. Consider offering a small discount to the clients willing to make the change. Suddenly everyone has incentive to decrease invoice aging!
The Construction of an Invoicing Application
July 21st, 2009 by Joan Petruska
A successful man once told me that you will never recognize success unless you experience failure. I guess that’s why shoemakers only make one shoe at a time !! And why my friend makes only one cupcake sample for her wedding cakes !! Why take a chance on doing the whole thing if it doesn’t meet the customers’ needs or expectations?
Unfortunately, development of invoicing software, for example, doesn’t enjoy that same advantage. . . or does it ??!!
Let’s say that the Beta stage is like the “first cupcake”. All the necessary ingredients are in there: invoice template, customer info, lists products, communications. This allows assessment of the true value of functions as well as the overall appearance of the application. It’s the test mode to see how our SaaS application withstands its initial entrance into a crowded public eye.
So the “First Cupcake” hits the clouds; we await the “weather reports”. Lots of sunshine, a southerly wind and small hail follow. Very valuable. Why ? Because each bit of feedback permits us to see a real or perceived failure. We have been given an excellent opportunity to learn. Ergo, we can now recognize success.
First, these weather reports tell us that people have “tasted” the “cupcake”. Secondly, these people have needs and ideas bigger than the “cupcake” we offered! Hence, we begin the “Second Cupcake” – while people continue to eat the “First”.
And so it goes – on and on !!! We continue to listen and respond to our customers’ needs – - creating “Cupcake after cupcake” iteration after iteration – - each one getting bigger and better.
The best part ?
There’s always a cupcake available while we continue to build the “wedding cake”.
When we look back at our Beta offering and see how far we’ve come (and have yet to go) we appreciate all the lessons learned during the refinement of our invoicing application. Taking little steps is a good way to prepare for long-distance running!
Breaking Habits
June 1st, 2009 by Joan Petruska
Here in North Florida, during what seemed to be torrential downpours that required looking for gopher wood (used to build Noah’s ark), there were countless traffic problems.
When we have those kinds of rains (you know the type), common sense should dictate that caution would be taken. I found it interesting, that despite the warnings, some drivers still ignored the obvious.
Why didn’t they leave earlier, drive slower, stay off the cell phone, or even stop texting? Because those things had become habits. And habits can sometimes inhibit our ability to engage in healthy alternatives.
Stop for a moment and think about those activities that we do repeatedly in our businesses. Are we making the very best use of our time? Do we check up on our customers as often as we should? Are we keeping their satisfaction paramount? Have our employees become “paid personnel” or are they still highly valued? Did we make the change to “green-up” the office as we promised? Are we looking for someone to blame when things turn sour……..or did that bitter taste happen because we just didn’t prepare? Are we continuing to do the same things over and over and expecting different results? (That’s the definition of “insanity”.)
Let’s take the time to assess the condition of our habits. Consider it a catharsis for the life of our businesses. Take hold of those habits and give them a good shake. Be willing to honestly evaluate everything that falls out. If you’re not sure what those habits are – just ask a co-worker, or your spouse. And don’t shoot the messenger!
As for me - I’m going to find my husband and ask him a question. I’ll let you know what falls out!
What’s New at Greenerbilling ???……Plenty
May 5th, 2009 by Dave Kollasch
THE Consumption-based Plan – definitely the “Big Boy”.
We developed this plan to accommodate those Microbusinesses that do not need high volume invoicing. We thought you should have the option to only “Spend for what you Send.”. You can start out with 5 free “Invoice Sends” and then you only pay for each send thereafter. (You can send the same invoice as many times as you need at no extra charge.)
Now that’s the way to save money !
In the Account Preferences you are able to select
- different date formats
- various tax types (GST and VAT)
- automatic or manual sends for:
- - payment received notifications
- - due date reminders
Our Aussie friends get an automatic “Tax Invoice” as the title to their invoices when they select GST as the tax preference.
Estimates are also sent in HTML, enabling graphic representations of products. That will help your customers SEE the “goods” and encourage them in their decision-making, thus speeding up the process of creating a sale.
And all this is just for starters !!
Thank you for letting Greenerbilling help your business “grow with it”.
And let us know how we can better serve your business needs.
Champagne for a Web Launch ?
May 4th, 2009 by Dave Kollasch
Things around here are totally off the chart with excitement!!
We erased the BETA stamp from Greenerbilling and are immersing ourselves
in the joys of Info-Media, Press Releases, and all out “Chatter”.
I am MOST excited over the new Consumption-based Invoicing Plan that allows businesses to
“spend only for what they send”, giving them another way of controlling their costs.
Many many thanks to all who have helped us get to this stage.
The future looks “green” – er !
Check out our latest press release:
Greenerbilling Press Release: 4 May 2009
A Business Plan is ALIVE !
April 30th, 2009 by Dave Kollasch
I haven’t been a Dad for too long – just a bit over 5 months. During that time, many of the things that my wife and I did to prepare for Ben’s arrival were soon outgrown. His tiny clothes are now bigger, he moves about on his own – he’s just growing up. Now I have to CHANGE where the dog dishes are; be sure the screen door is CLOSED; begin shopping for the BIGGER car seat.
My point in all this? . . . In these past months with Ben I realized that Business Plans are like children — they are ALIVE and they CHANGE, they get BIGGER, and sometimes parts of them need to CLOSE down for protection.
Pull out that business plan – (it should be on the right) – Take a look at the marketing strategy that was laid out 1 (or was it 3) years ago. Has the plan been followed? What has changed in that marketplace? What was the unforeseen “Oops”?
Is that affiliate marketing program in place yet? Have all the social networking outlets (Facebook, LinkedIn) been as productive as planned? Were they kept current? Does the business plan even mention “Twitter”?
What about those promo products? . . . Collecting dust? And those press releases – are they going out on a timely schedule? Have those contacts been refreshed?
And the niche market . . . when was the last time research was done?
And now – the Competition. It’s out there. Being attentive. Being aggressive. Being a threat?
IMPOSSIBLE! Just check out that business plan. It’s all in there, right? “What to do and how to do it.”
(Where IS that plan?)
Remember – the business plan is a living breathing commodity – and if it’s a healthy one, it will go through many changes and refinements as it grows and encounters “the world”. Sometimes it will need a massage or even the “delete” key. Keep that business Growing – Refresh the Plan.
Don’t be afraid to do it. Be the Parent.
