It is said that life on the internet is 7 times faster than life in the real world. With this in mind, I think it’s worth taking a look at the time and money that can be saved by moving your business processes to the web. Let’s take a quick look at online invoicing to see how it compares to traditional software, how easy it is to implement, and how it could be used to improve business efficiency.

Moving to the web with the Software as a Service (SaaS) model.
We are all familiar with the software you buy and install on your computer in order to use it, well there is a new way of doing things and it involves accessing online functionality and services. If you have used the email client from Hotmail or Google Reader then you are already familiar with hosted web applications and some of the benefits that this type of online software can provide, the business model for providing these services is called Software as a Service (SaaS) and there are a number of key features that make software delivered this way different.

1. Available anywhere.
Your software can be accessed from any computer equipped with a web browser and an Internet connection, which means offices in multiple locations can work with the same information in real time, without going through the complexity and expense of setup . a virtual private network (VPN).

2.Automatic updates.
Updates and upgrades are rolled out automatically without you having to install any updates on your computer.

3. Low cost of entry.
Because the overhead to run the system is managed centrally, infrastructure costs are spread across a large number of users. Plus, you’re not paying for implementation, so setup costs are minimal.

4. Managed Services.
Because the software is delivered as a service, you can usually get a level of built-in support.

5. Scalable.
Usage levels are tied to a sliding scale, which means you can pay as you go and scale up or down seamlessly without having to buy servers or employ more staff to maintain infrastructure—just add or remove licenses and service packages to meet your needs.

6. Cross platform.
Whether you’re using a Mac, PC, or even Linux, because you access the software through a web browser, your operating system isn’t an issue.

We already have some compelling benefits!

Online billing to catch up with internet speed!
The widespread acceptance of the Internet in businesses around the world has had a profound impact on the way business is done – imagine trying to do business without email or researching your projects using the web! The availability of information and the speed at which communication now flows has changed the culture of business and has eliminated geographic borders forever.

For more than 10 years, forward-thinking companies have sought to harness the new medium for competitive benefits, automating and simplifying processes to reduce overhead and increase profit margins, often by building their own custom systems.

Today, these ideas and processes are commercialized and made available to anyone with the foresight to implement them.

So let’s make an invoice. Online.
There are a variety of web-based billing services to choose from and you will have to do your own research to decide which one is best for you; most of the steps and points that follow should be fairly interchangeable with most systems. First, you will need to create an account; Fortunately, most services offer the first month free or have a “starter” package for training purposes.

Once you’ve uploaded your logo, modified your billing template, and are happy with how your invoices will look when emailed and printed; it only takes a few minutes to prepare and submit an invoice.

Good online billing software will also include customer relationship management (CRM) functionality to allow you to track and organize invoices by customer and by status; This is one of the key time savers, because when you create an invoice, you can simply select who you want to send it to from a drop down menu instead of entering your customer details over and over again for each invoice.

And when creating an invoice, there should be the flexibility to edit and re-edit your invoice until you’re happy with it, and then ‘lock’ the invoice when it’s sent to ensure you always have an exact copy of what was sent to your customer.

You will also need to establish VAT rates and payment terms, along with any particular exclusions you wish to list. This will be done per invoice or as a general setting depending on the specific online billing system you are using.

Depending on how complicated your invoices are, you should be able to set one up and email it to your customer in a few minutes, saving the time and cost of printing envelopes, stamps, address labels, and at least 2 days in the postal system.

If you save 10 minutes per bill at an hourly charge rate of £60 per hour, that’s £10 of uptime per bill. Over 1000 invoices is £10,000! An additional benefit of online invoicing is the ability to view reports to help you manage the payment process, these reports include an overview of the invoice status, highlighting past due invoices, debt aging analysis, and, of course, the ability to close invoices when they are paid.

Online billing is only part of the picture.
It’s great to be able to create, send and manage your invoices online, but that’s only part of the picture when it comes to making the most of the web for your business; The same principles can be used to cover everything from creating project proposals to billing and accounting, client management, website management, and even e-commerce. But each one of them is an article in itself!

Remember that these are usually free trial services of this type, so it shouldn’t cost you anything to make sure a particular service is right for you before you pay a penny.

Ultimately, whatever service you think is right for your business, you’ll be using the speed and efficiency that the web can bring to your business and working faster and more efficiently.