Are you tired of manually invoicing your customers, spending money on printing and stationery, arguing over lost paperwork, or spending hours chasing money owed to you from your customers? If so we may be able to help you!
The statutory requirements for invoicing
It is a legal requirement for you as a business owner to issue an invoice for the sale of a product or service if both you and the customer are VAT registered. This is known as a business to business transaction. There are a number of details that should be included on an invoice. This involves administrative costs for you as you must comply with the rules.
Click here for HMRC guide to invoicing
How can cloud technology reduce the administrative burden?
- You have the flexibility to raise an invoice from anywhere with an internet connection
- You can set up invoice templates with the statutory requirements – no need to type each one individually
- A recurring schedule can be set up for customers on a regular standing order/direct debit so that invoices will be sent automatically at specified intervals
- Invoices can be sent via email saving on printing and stationery costs. Some software packages allow you to track when the email invoice has been opened by your customer – no more excuses of lost paperwork
- You could get paid quicker. Software such as Xero, Sage One or Quickbooks Online has the ability to allow your customers to pay the invoice online immediately by credit/debit card (payment fees may apply)
- You can schedule reminders to be sent for unpaid invoices to reduce the time you or your staff spend on chasing debt
- If you are using a job costing or point of sale system, we can recommend solutions that integrate so that the invoices, once raised, can flow directly into the accounting software reducing double handling of information
At Johnston Smillie we have experience of using and installing the latest cloud software. We can review your current systems and give advice on how you can save time and money. If you would like to book a free review with one of our cloud accounting experts, please contact Laura Taylor on 0131 317 7377 or email laura.taylor@jsca.co.uk
