The most important thing for a small business starting out is a profit. Of course, it’s not as if a business’s ability to make a profit ever loses significance; it’s simply especially significant in the early days. You can’t run a business without making money, and you can’t make money unless you consistently earn money. It’s one thing to earn money in theory, but another entirely to bill clients and customers for goods and services. You have to, of course. But many business owners don’t know how to start the process, and for that matter don’t realize that billing and releasing statements is yet another thing that they have to save money for. Billing can be done in many ways. It can be done through traditional mail, email, and other types of electronic invoices. Understandably, some small business owners feel uncomfortable with the concept of letting “others” handle their billing for them. Certainly, it’s not easy to let another party run a section of your business. For that matter, it can be frustrating for some to outsource any part of their business at all. However, outsourcing your billing needs not only saves you time, but in the long term, money — and it ensures that you get the money you deserve from your clients.

What Types Of Billing Are There?

Once, traditional mail was the only way through which bills could be sent and paid. Some still choose to have their bills sent to them through traditional mail, in part because it gives them physical copies of their bills and invoices their records. With that being said, many companies have switched to electronic billing services, and with good reason. Electronic billing is much simpler for customers than billing sent through traditional mail. For one thing, when people choose electronic billing, they can usually pay their bills whenever they want without having to go the trouble of sending off a bill. This means that you don’t have to worry about bills getting lost in the mail on either side, and late payments are dramatically reduced. Customers will be more responsive, and collection time can be reduced as well. Another great thing about electronic billing is that it can allow for expense tracking, which will of course save money. Many consider the fact that electronic billing also reduces the environmental impact of billing statements a plus as well. It certainly doesn’t count against the benefits of this method. With a small number of consumers still preferring traditional mail, perhaps a compromise would be to give your customer an option of whether or not to go “paperless”.

Why Should I Outsource My Company’s Billing Needs?

Many small business owners find the idea of outsourcing anything contradictory. The point of running a small business seems to be to have as much autonomy as possible, and rely on as few people as possible. This expectation is a bit different from reality. Outsourcing isn’t for every aspect of running your small business, of course. But outsourcing billing is both practical and beneficial in multiple ways. Billing needs to be quick, secure, and accurate. When you’re busy running your business and unfamiliar with the practical aspects of billing, it can be easy to make mistakes. By outsourcing to a professional service, you’re ensuring that your invoices, communications, and statement processing are delivered quickly and accurately. By outsourcing, you can speed up your receivables by one to three days and increase your cash flow. You can also reduce personnel costs — it’s cheaper to outsource than hire permanent employees to handle billing — and more.

How Can I Improve The Billing Experience For Consumers?
As previously mentioned, many consumers now appreciate online billing. They should be able to not only view and pay their bills online, but print and archive them as well. You may also want to give consumers the option of scheduling payments — that way, they don’t even have to think about their bills. A happy consumer means a stronger business!