TL;DR
Key features of invoicing software are customizable invoice templates, AI-powered invoicing, recurring billing, invoice tracking, smart receipt scanner, advanced reporting, secured invoicing platform, third-party payment integrations, export-friendly reports, project management, and time tracking.
Paper-based billing or automated invoicing, whichever process you use for completing the administrative tasks, shapes your financial landscape. Because the billing process decides how soon you will get paid, it ultimately sets the pace for your business growth.
It goes without saying that you can’t be everywhere. Either you can serve customers, or spend time performing your invoicing duties. The latter can easily be taken off your plate, all thanks to the state-of-the-art invoicing software for small businesses that does all the hard work, including satisfying the customers’ billing requests.
Now, what’s important is choosing a reliable and feature-rich invoicing software rather than adopting ordinary billing software. Here, we will guide you about the key features of invoicing software that you must consider while picking an online invoicing software.
Why Small Businesses Need Invoicing Software?
Nowadays, every SMB as well as startup needs sophisticated invoicing software to handle the increasing demand for invoices. Because nobody can spend more time just making invoices and receipts, isn’t it?
A modern invoicing software can help them prepare multiple invoices with ready-made invoice templates, reducing the manual intervention and chances of errors.
In addition to invoicing for small business, the software plays a central role in helping CEOs and CFOs make strategic decisions with data-backed insights. Businesses can zip past complex challenges, forecast revenue, and even comply with global e-invoicing regulations.
While a paper-based invoicing approach only keeps businesses in the dark, invoicing software turns the tables by providing clear visibility into cash flow movements, best-selling products, and whatnot.
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Key Features of Invoicing Software for Small Businesses
Let us check out the list of amazing features that will surely alleviate the small business billing process.
1. Customizable Invoice Templates
Having pre-designed invoice or estimate templates means you’ve half done the job. You no longer need to create an invoice, quote, or estimate from scratch. You can fill in the required details, such as business information, payment details, and to whom you are issuing an invoice, in no time.
Adding to this convenience, you also get the benefit of automatic calculations, which leaves no room for errors and guesswork. Your total invoice amount, including taxes or discounts, remains accurate without any human intervention.
2. AI-powered Invoicing
Despite thousands of invoicing software available in the market, an AI-driven invoicing feature is a complete rarity. You might not realize its worth in the beginning, but once you start dealing with a high volume of sales and invoices, it becomes handy.
In case you have never heard of it before, let us give you a brief explanation.
Akin to automated invoicing, it moves beyond simple automation in managing the complexities of invoice generation. When invoicing automation coupled with AI, you can even pull the hand-written data from paper documents and generate professional-looking invoices. The best part is that you can later convert an invoice into a receipt, credit note, or proforma invoice with a single tap.
3. Recurring Billing
Recurring invoices or recurring billing also play a role in billing your clients at regular intervals without any extra effort. It is especially useful for subscription-based companies that require generating a new invoice at the end of their monthly, quarterly, or yearly billing cycle.
The presence of a recurring billing feature offers businesses some breathing space, meaning they can focus more on what they love to do. This is because you don’t need to create a fresh invoice at the end of the billing cycle. The software itself identifies the due amount and dispatches an invoice in a timely manner.
Therefore, setting up recurring invoices will not only lessen your workload but also make sure you collect money 2x quickly with an in-built payment link.
4. Invoice Tracking
It is a much sought-after invoicing feature by growth-hungry companies because nobody likes to conduct a manual hunt to find a specific invoice. Imagine you want to pull out an invoice in haste from a bunch of paper invoices. You will certainly need some time, right? But that’s not the case with the automated invoice tracking.
Invoice tracking, when done using software, only takes a minute or less. This much-needed feature alleviates the pain of manually tracking a specific invoice and makes the entire tracking process a breeze. Even you can retrieve an invoice dating back years that is currently buried in your inbox, all while you are on the go.
5. Smart Receipt Scanner
A receipt scanner, or better known as a quick scan, is a salient feature of invoicing software. Loved by SMBs, it is a part of AI automation that helps you capture the data from the paper invoice and create an accurate payment receipt. That’s right, you only need your iPhone or any other smart device to open the camera and generate a new receipt instantly.
This AI-assisted modern feature has not only grabbed the attention of business owners, but recipients also admire it because they receive crystal-clear receipts digitally. Such features take the pressure off your shoulders and help you acknowledge payments more satisfactorily. So, whenever you explore a new software or claim a free trial, don’t forget to look for an AI-based quick scan or receipt scanner.
6. Advanced Reporting
Remember, your software is of no use if it fails to make accurate reports. You must choose the tool that provides high-quality reports to gauge team performance and get insights into sales patterns. Because if you, as a business owner, have to spend time on doing manual things, then what are software good for?
A feature-rich right invoicing software will take care of financial management as well as keep you audit-ready for tax season. It frees you up from tedious manual calculations and creates a comprehensive report. As a result, you neither miss filing taxes on time nor deal with hefty penalties.
7. Secured Invoicing Platform
While traditional software doesn’t guarantee the security of users’ confidential data and reports, advanced invoicing software makes sure your sensitive financial data never slips through your hands. So, put your money on a solution that truly keeps your data safe and under your control.
If there is a law enforcing you to store data only for a limited time, then a secure invoicing platform can help. You can embrace an online invoicing software that enables you to store important data in cloud storage, leaving no access to unauthorized parties. That way, it will further make your compliance process easier and safer.
8. Third-party & Payment Integrations
Online payment integration and third-party integration support are also as important as your billing process. Because if you don’t offer a customer-preferred payment mode, they might refuse to pay an invoice early, resulting in constant follow-ups.
Therefore, it’s worth buying an invoicing software equipped with multiple payment integrations and support for third-party integrations. This feature will ensure you can connect to your existing software or apps and fetch the data in under minutes. Plus, you can offer cashless payment options like Stripe, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Cash App, and many more.
9. Export-friendly Reports
Besides reporting & analytics, it is also important to check if the software allows exporting reports in multiple formats. Whether you are meeting investors or keeping records for internal use, you need to export reports many times. Hence, double-check if your chosen software allows you to download and export reports in PDF or HTML format.
Adding to the user’s convenience, some invoicing and accounting software also allows users to share reports quickly via WhatsApp. A small yet necessary feature to impress your investors, or lenders as well. A few taps and you can export the entire report on your handheld device, eliminating the need to take a printout.
10. Project Management
This feature is no longer an option but a necessity for businesses working on long-term projects. An automated software with an in-built project management feature can help business owners in many ways. You can see project status, auto-calculate billable hours, and see how many team members are working on a specific project.
It works as a project caretaker, who does everything to maintain project hours and records while you concentrate on what’s important. Unlike manual processes, it does not keep you in the dark and notifies you about the latest activities. The best part is that you can even import an existing project through CSV, TSV, or XLS files.
11. Time Tracking
Forget calculating billable hours manually because now invoicing software comes with an exceptional feature – time tracking. A feature that will automatically calculate billable hours for the assigned project and help you make a new invoice based on the working hours. As a result, you save hours doing extra work and shift your focus to completing project work as early as possible.
Businesses can track time spent on projects and core business operations in real time and also generate detailed timesheets. It helps you to process payroll as per worked hours and analyze the team performance. Hence, it is a must-have feature for companies managing multiple projects and a large team.
Benefits of an Invoicing Software
Till now, you know which invoicing software features are worth investing in. But how does the software actually benefit your business? It’s time to find out
1. Huge Savings
If you prefer using invoicing software rather than conventional methods, then you are likely to save big. This is because it lowers your overhead costs by reducing paperwork, postage, and invoice printouts. You might not know, but it costs roughly $10-$15 per invoice if you rely on handwritten invoices. With an automated invoicing solution, the money stays in your pocket.
2. Multi-currency and Multilingual Support
If you are someone who bills foreign clients frequently, then invoicing software can help you make an invoice in the preferred currency and language as well. You can select from over 100 currencies and languages that align with your requirements while invoicing your foreign clients.
3. Accessibility
Invoicing software enables accessing multiple invoices, no matter how far away you are from the office desk. It keeps invoices, receipts, and other documents in cloud storage, meaning you can access them from anywhere using your smartphone or tablet.
4. 2x Faster Payments
Unlike handwritten invoices, software’s automated invoicing process doesn’t extend your wait times and helps you get paid instantly. Invoices, when made using software or a customizable template, are easier to understand, encouraging clients to pay invoices as soon as possible.
5. No after-sales disputes
Another perk of using automated software is that you avoid unwanted disputes with customers once the sale is made. The reason is that you generate a clear invoice, along with highlighted payment terms, which leaves no chance of disputes between the two involved parties.
Final Thoughts
In short, startup founders, freelancers, or business owners all need powerful invoicing software with modern features. Increasing workload, customer satisfaction, late payment hassles, and plenty of other factors clearly stress the need for smart invoicing software.
Now that you know which are the essential features, along with software benefits, we hope you will find it easier to get the one that fulfills your invoicing requirements. Well, since you’re already on the hunt for invoicing software, would you mind trying Moon Invoice? It’s completely free for 7 days, giving you enough time to explore every feature in detail. Claim your free trial.
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We at Moon Invoice, are the best minds behind smarter invoicing and seamless business growth. We love to solve financial problems and keep providing effective tips through our blogs, newsletters, and social media channels. As a team, we continue exchanging ideas about growing financial challenges and smart use of automation tools.
