Between tracking billable hours, listing services and charges clearly, calculating prices and taxes correctly, and ensuring the right people receive the invoice for payment…well, it’s a lot. And yet, all that effort falls apart if clients receive confusing, unprofessional, or downright inaccurate invoices.

Before you press send on that PDF, give your invoice a quality check to avoid common mistakes that could cost you sales and revenue. Read on to understand why proper invoices are critical for every small business and learn some key strategies to avoid problems that slow down getting paid.

Why Proper Invoicing Matters

An invoice serves an important accounting purpose: to request payment owed for products or services rendered. But it’s also a reflection of your professionalism and attention to detail.

Clients frustrated by sloppy invoices containing errors, omissions or confusing charges end up lacking trust in your business. The next sale becomes harder to close when a client lacks confidence due to past payment issues.

Additionally, correcting invoice problems eats up your own precious time. Having to resend paperwork, explain charges or track down payments means losing billable hours.

Creating quality invoices, the first time accelerates cash flow so you hit revenue goals sooner. When you appear organized and attentive to client needs, you build credibility prompting referrals and growth.

So, avoid losing business over simple invoicing mistakes. Review these common trouble areas to prevent problems for future billing cycles.

1. Failing to Include All Necessary Details

The easiest way to have an invoice sent back for clarification or corrections is leaving off important information. Be sure invoices clearly state:

• Your business name, address, phone, email
• Logo and branding elements
• Invoice number for your records
• Client name and billing address
• Date invoice created and period of services covered
• Line items detailing the products/services provided and relevant metrics like quantity, price, tax, etc.
• Item IDs, SKUs or product codes
• Total amount due
• Due date for payment terms
• Late fee policy
• Accepted payment methods

Without these details, delays or nonpayment becomes more likely. So, reference this list when creating invoices to confirm no key info is missing.

Pro Tip: Load common invoice details like business info, branding, terms, and payment settings into templates using time and billing platforms like Time Tracker. Then accurately customize each invoice with a few clicks.

2. Making Calculation Errors

Simple math mistakes undermine professionalism and accuracy. Always double check:

• Line-item amounts reflect the accurate hourly rate or pricing model
• Use latest sales tax rates on products
• Verify extension calculations on line items using the quantity x rate
• Confirm addition of all line items matches the total
• Check percentages on discounts or fees applied
• List any late payment fees from prior unpaid invoices

Seemingly small math issues can trigger bigger payment delays and accounting headaches. While accounting software does the heavy lifting on calculations, give your invoice totals and figures a final manual review.

3. Using Confusing Invoice Formatting

If clients can’t clearly interpret your invoices, delayed payments, or rejection increases. Support easy billing review using:

• Grouping: Related line items by project, product, service, delivery dates, etc.
• Labels: Clear column headers like Date, Hours Worked, Hourly Rate, Line Total
• Highlighting: Subtotals, taxes, discounts, and final amount due
• Separation: Credits or expected payments apart from total owed
• White space: Avoid cramping too much text onto the page

A few time tracking or billing apps even include templates to maintain a consistent, professional look. Check out software like Time Tracker for invoicing automation with polished templates.

4. Failing to Reference PO and Job Numbers

If clients use purchase orders and you assign job numbers to projects, link this key info on invoices. This helps answer client questions when they are auditing or reconciling your charges for payment.

Set defaults in your accounting system so PO or job numbers auto-populate future related invoices. The less manual data entry, the better!

5. Not Sending to Correct Person

With shifting roles and staff changes at organizations, the past accounts payable contact may no longer handle vendor invoices. Before sending an invoice, proactively confirm:

• Special handling codes needed for accounting?
• Has the AP contact changed recently?
• How can I get invoices directly to the right approver?

Updating contacts minimizes invoice rejection or processing lag simply from sending to the wrong place. This extra attention to detail keeps cash flowing.

Expand Beyond Invoices to Track Time Too

As important as solid invoices, recording and tracking billable time must also run efficiently to operate a profitable services business. Don’t rely on memory, notes scrawled on napkins, or frantic Friday scrambles to tally hours for invoices.

Professional time tracking offers several key benefits:

• Accurately log hours on projects daily using desktop timers or mobile apps.
• Tag time entries to client accounts and projects.
• Generate reports detailing billable hours by project, client, or individual service provider.
• Export cleanly formatted hourly data to accounting systems to simplify creating invoices later.

Combining stellar time tracking with quality invoicing provides a top-notch billing solution for managing accounts receivable the right way.

Get Invoicing Help from the Pros

Creating error-free professional invoices may sound straightforward. But it takes substantial time and diligence to get your invoices right every single time.

Why not hand off the heavy lifting to invoicing experts?

eBillity offers small business owners and solopreneurs the ultimate accounts receivable solution with Time Tracker software.

Built-in features simplify creating, customizing, and sending invoices by automate these key capabilities:

• Time tracking: Accurately log billable hours by project daily via desktop and mobile
• Batch invoicing: Generate multiple invoices across clients in just a few clicks
• Templates: Professionally formatted invoices with your branding
• Payment tracking: Match invoices to payments or deposits in real time
• Reporting: Identify unpaid invoices and other trends impacting cash flow
• Notifications and reminders: Receive alerts for approaching due dates and overdue invoices

With Time Tracker by eBillity managing the invoicing busywork behind the scenes, you can focus entirely on growing your business and taking care of clients. Let accurate invoices ensure on-time payments while strengthening your credibility and reliability.

Start a free trial today to discover how Time Tracker can simplify your billing and invoicing. Join the thousands of entrepreneurs, consultants, agencies, and small business owners who trust Time Tracker to take accounts receivable off their crowded to-do lists.

The post Avoid These 5 Common Invoice Mistakes to Streamline Your Small Business appeared first on eBillity.

An automated clearing house (ACH) is a financial transaction network that allows for electronic payments between participating financial institutions. ACH payments only cost .80% of the total amount of the transaction, capped at $5. This is much better than the credit card fee of 2.9% + 30¢ per successful charge. 

Your clients can now easily access ACH payments through your Time Tracker client portal.

Here is how to set-up ACH payments:

Step 1: Connect ACH with Stripe

If you do not have a Stripe account create one here. If you already have a Stripe account connected to eBillity, login and go to Admin > Stripe. 

Select: 

1. a) enable both credit cards and ACH as payment options via Stripe, or 
2. b) enable ACH only as a payment option via Stripe  

Click SAVE. Once you have this enabled your clients can access ACH payments from their client portal. 

Step 2: Client Portal ACH Payment Setup

The first time the client wants to pay by ACH they will need to register and verify their banking information. To do so they can click on the payment link on the invoice and login to the client portal, then go to Accounting >Make Payment .

The client will need to add the account holder name, select if the account is an individual or business account, and enter their bank routing number and account number then click VERIFY. 

Step 3: Client Portal ACH Payment Verification

Check your bank statement for 2 deposits listed as “Verification.” It could take 2 to 5 days for these to show on the bank statement. Once the deposits have been received, add the ‘Payment Amount’ and click on VERIFY.

Step 4: Make an ACH Payment 

Now that the ACH payment has been setup and verified the client will be able to select ACH from the payment method dropdown, add the amount to pay and click on PROCESS PAYMENT.

Getting paid quickly is important to all businesses and their cash flow 

We also know that online payment options improve the speed of payments for our customers, therefore we hope by providing an additional online payment method the time between remitting an invoice and getting paid only gets faster!

If you or your clients have any issues or questions setting up ACH payments contact us one of our Support Specialists would be happy to help for free!

The post ACH Payments Now Available appeared first on eBillity.

If you need a hand with overcoming cash flow gaps, our new integration with Fundbox can help. You’ve earned the money for your hard work—you just need access to it.

Note: This integration is only applicable for Time Tracker Premium and +Legal accounts. To upgrade your account, please visit our pricing page.

What Is Fundbox?

They are a company that provides cash advances for small business owners with unpaid invoices. Funds are easy to pay back—no hidden fees.

• Connect Time Tracker Premium or +Legal to advance payments for outstanding invoices
• Access Fundbox anywhere from their online platform
• Free to start with no setup, subscription, or inactivity fees
• Have funds advanced directly into your bank account in only 1-3 days, depending on your bank
• Avoid bloated loans by getting only what you need, right away

Few business owners have time for manual billing entries and cash flow management. With Time Tracker’s new integration you can tackle both with ease.

Start using for free.

Time Tracker and Fundbox play well together.

Save time and overcome cash flow gaps with these two in your corner.

• Convert time entries into invoices in only 4 clicks
• Import invoices from Time Tracker into Fundbox
• Request advanced funds 
• Pay the loan back in 12 or 24 weeks (your choice) at a fixed rate

It’s easy to import invoices from Time Tracker into Fundbox. Clear imported invoices and they’ll transfer you the funds right away!

Before you confirm your loan request, Fundbox will always provide a transparent cost for the fee of the cash advance. You can pay back the loan early at no extra cost.

Connect Time Tracker and Fundbox.

Get started in less than 5 minutes!

1. Visit www.fundbox.com and create a free account.
2. Follow the setup wizard to connect with Time Tracker and import your invoices
3. Select an issued invoice you want to get advanced funds for
4. Hit the Clear the Invoice button
5. Follow the setup wizard to input the bank account you want your funds to be transferred to
6. Receive the advanced funds for the requested invoice

You can manage all of your loans from inside your dashboard for better cash flow and peace of mind.

Enjoy better cash flow and peace of mind with this new integration.

FAQs

How much does it cost?

It costs nothing to create an account and apply for Fundbox Credit. They charge a small fee on top of the invoice value when you advance an invoice. You repay Fundbox over 12 or 24 weeks. Repay early and Fundbox will waive all of the remaining fees.

Does Fundbox call my clients?

They will not interfere with your customer relationships.  They simply provide you with a short-term advance based on the invoice value.  You still maintain the relationships with your client and collect on the invoice.

Does Fundbox look at my personal credit or pull a credit report?

No, they do not pull your credit score when you get started. The initial underwriting is based on the data we extract from eBillity.

How secure is my data?

Fundbox uses best practices security protocols and views security as a top priority. You can securely access your dashboard any time from your desktop and mobile devices.

Sign up for today

Need Help?

Please contact Fundbox directly at (855) 572-7707 or submit a request on their contact page.

The post Meet Fundbox—our newest integration partner appeared first on eBillity.

Stripe features now better than Paypal

As part of our recent upgrades to our user interface, we are replacing PayPal with Stripe inside of Time Tracker.

Stripe is a payment gateway similar to PayPal, but with more features and lower fees.

We’d like you to switch from PayPal to Stripe

Stripe has all the features you need to get paid faster:

• Same transaction fee as PayPal
• No setup fees
• No holdbacks
• User friendly interface
• Highly secure: uses the same encryption used by banks

If you don’t have a Stripe account yet, you can head over to stripe.com and create an account in minutes.

Connect Time Tracker to Stripe

The first step is to activate the new Time Tracker interface. Click the ‘Try New Time Tracker UI’ at the top of your screen.

Once inside the new interface, click the Admin tab and select ‘Stripe’. On the next screen, click the ‘Connect to Stripe’ button.

A new window will open. Enter the email address and password that you use to log into Stripe and click the ‘Authorize access to this account’ button.

Once you have authorized access to your Stripe account, you will be redirected back to the Time Tracker interface.

That’s it. You are now ready to accept credit card payments right inside of Time Tracker.

Don’t have Stripe?

No problem. Just head over to Stripe.com and create an account. It only takes a few minutes to setup your Stripe account and, unlike other payment solutions, there are no hidden fees.

Need Help?

If you need help connecting Time Tracker to Stripe, our friendly support team is here to help. Please contact us for support, or jump online and start a live chat with one of our helpful team members.

Thanks for choosing Time Tracker. We look forward to moving forward with you!

The post Introducing Stripe appeared first on eBillity.