You send an invoice to a good customer and it has taken longer than usual to get paid. You go back to review the invoice and you realize you have made a couple of mistakes.
Being able to catch these mistakes while you are in the process of filling out the invoice can save you a lot of headaches. According to a new infographic from cloud-based accounting service provider FreshBooks, having the right solution in place will help you identify the mistakes before you click send.
For small businesses unable to afford the delay in getting an invoice paid, this can be invaluable. Cloud accounting applications provide real-time services for all of your employees no matter where they are. This allows them to issue invoices out in the field to your customers without making simple and trivial mistakes.
Avoid these Accounting Mistakes With a Cloud Solution
Here are some of the mistakes your business can avoid with a cloud solution:
Failing to Specify Due Dates for Payments
This is a surefire way to ensure you will not get paid on time. While your regular customers may recognize the mistake and pay on time, others won’t.
By customizing the due dates, you can make sure to get paid on time.
Not Updating the Dateline
Once again, the problem with dates shows up. Sending an invoice with the wrong date is as bad as or worse than sending one without any dates.
The app can make sure you have the right date by issuing updates automatically.
Not Updating the Invoice Number
Invoice numbers serve a purpose, especially come tax time. If you can’t remember what the last invoice number was, make sure to get an application capable of generating sequential invoice numbers.
Miscalculating Taxes
Miscalculating taxes not only creates problems for you but also your customers. If it continues with many invoices, the wrong amount can result in penalties for both of you.
An application that can calculate tax percentage and fill out the results will solve this problem.
Not Following Up
If for whatever reason you don’t receive a payment, you should follow up until you do. By creating customized reminders, you can send them on set dates automatically from your application.
You can see the other mistakes a cloud accounting software can help you avoid in the infographic below.
Accounting Photo via Shutterstock
This article, “12 Examples of Invoicing Mistakes – and How Cloud Services Help Avoid Them (INFOGRAPHIC)” was first published on Small Business Trends