Features Archives - Invoiceasap

Organizing Small Business and its Expenses

When thinking about, or actually launching, a small business, a lot of weighty duties fall on your shoulders. Keeping tabs on and reporting your company's financial outgoings is one such duty. The profit and loss of a company can be gauged with the help of meticulous record-keeping of all business expenditures. For this reason, it's crucial for a small business owner to keep close tabs on the company's finances, including keeping detailed records of all expenditures, keeping track of revenue and expenses, and, most crucially, assessing wasteful spending. Prepare a Startup Fund to Cover Expenses In order to get your new small business up and running, you'll need a substantial amount of money. A way to get a handle on such outlays is to monitor your spending habits. I suggest categorizing them according to their nature. The costs associated with launching a business can be broken down into two broad classes: ongoing costs and one-off charges. Expenses like rent, utilities, and employee pay fall into the category of "recurring expenses," which are expected to be paid on a regular basis. Start-up costs include things like government fees, furniture, equipment, licenses, and permits. Digitize; Make Sure You Have a Supply Of Your Hard Copies Managing a mountain of paper is a boring chore. It follows that digitizing is the most effective method of arranging: Estimations and invoicing on paper Documents from the Bank Leasuring and Purchasing Contracts Submissions for Patents and Trademarks Applicable Authorizations and Licenses for Operations Personnel Files Having these records digitized ensures that you can get them from any computer, at any time. In addition to that, it helps you declutter your workplace and retrieve any file with just a few mouse clicks. It's also wise to keep your digital backups in separate locations from your primary computer. To avoid this problem, you should consider putting your data in the cloud. Create a Spreadsheet A spreadsheet is a low-tech solution to the problem of keeping track of business spending, which is especially useful for a fledgling company's early stages. As your company expands, you'll need more sophisticated methods of monitoring, such as accounting software. If you're starting with a blank spreadsheet, you'll have to enter each and every company expense you incur by hand. It's also important to sort and classify your costs in accordance with what's best for your company. Both Excel and Google Sheets are compatible with a wide variety of bookkeeping programs. Get in the Habit of Using Financial Management Software Spreadsheets are a useful tool for managing a company's finances, especially in the beginning when things are still relatively simple. As your company expands, however, dealing with manual entry of transactions gets more difficult. All of your reports—daily, weekly, monthly, and annually—are auto-generated mechanically. Keeping track of invoices, bills, and regular payments can be a headache, but with a solid accounting solution, you can rest easy knowing that your business is financially stable. You can import transactions from your bank account directly into your accounting software. If you use the right accounting software, you should be able to link your business bank account with your books. Your company's bank and credit card statements may need to be downloaded as CSV (Excel) files and imported into the system manually. There is a digital bridge between your bank account and your accounting software thanks to the connectivity plug-in offered by many accounting programs. This paves the way for everyday real-time bank transactions and the convenient downloading of bank statements wherever you may be. In addition, some accounting systems provide for seamless interaction with the bank, allowing business owners to handle all banking activities without ever leaving the accounting program. Maintain Files in Many Places and Sort Them The crucial piece of advice you can follow when managing your business is to categorize your documents and receipts. Cloud Storage from Google: It's a cloud-based archive perfect for storing important documents and receipts for your company. It's compatible with a wide variety of Google products that make it easier to create and share documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Set up file folders: Make filing cabinets in line with your company's needs. You can organize your business expenditures by creating subfolders and labeling them with descriptive terms. Incorporate Evernote: It's a mobile application that allows you to retrieve data from any location. Digital receipts allow you to make and store notes about purchases. Protect Your Company's Interests It's not enough to know the ins and outs of corporate organization. You, too, must be familiar with commercial security practices. Any business owner worth his or her salt will make protecting the company a top priority. One way to do this is to get company insurance, or to incorporate as an LLC or an S-Corp. A limited liability company (LLC) or (S-Corp) allows its owners to keep their commercial and personal funds distinct. Therefore, in the event of legal complications, neither your personal property nor your assets will be at risk. If you need to renew any important certificates or licenses to be in compliance, it's best to put doing so on your schedule. In order to avoid financial difficulties, it is necessary to take precautions to safeguard your organization. Get a bookkeeper It's not uncommon to struggle with the intricacies of accounting software. In that instance, it's best to employ a professional who specializes in corporate accounting and can handle your needs swiftly. If you hire a bookkeeper, they will handle practically all of your business's financial matters and money habits and also keep you on top of your financial records. Also, they'll help you out when you're stuck in accounting software, allowing you to better your finances and be prepared for any challenges or chances that may come your way. In addition, a bookkeeper may assist you in generating weekly and monthly reports that can be used to spot trends and take corrective action. In addition to a full-time employee, you can also use a freelance bookkeeper or a business that charges by the hour. Organizing expenses for a small business is crucial for financial management and success. By using accounting software, setting up a system for organizing receipts, categorizing expenses, tracking mileage, reconciling accounts regularly, and creating a budget, you can gain valuable insights into your business's financial health and make informed decisions about its future. Learn more about InvoiceASAP’s invoicing software. Try us today for FREE.

auto-generated reports for small businesses

How InvoiceASAP’s Auto-Generated Reports Help You Manage Your Field Service Business

When you choose InvoiceASAP for your business, you get more than just invoicing; you get vital tools that are necessary to manage a successful business. Creating an account with InvoiceASAP gives you access to real-time auto-generated reports that are easy to access, easy to understand, and provide critical KPI's (Key Performance Indicators). These auto-generated reports allow you to track and engage with your most valuable customers, manage outstanding invoices, and understand which products or services are performing the best. They can also help you manage employee performance, restock inventory, and make critical business decisions. All of our reports are managed through designated administrator privileges, enabling you to control who can and can't view and use of the information. Your administrator, which depending on the size of your business, could be you, will be able to easily grant or restrict access to your company's auto-generated reports. Valuable Auto-Generated InvoiceASAP Reports You Need to Start Using Today InvoiceASAP's auto-generated reports make managing your business easier than ever, and when it comes to an understanding of how well your business is running, knowing real-time information can help you make crucial decisions that can increase your bottom line. Here are some of the valuable reporting tools InvoiceASAP offers for your business: Top Consumer Sales Reports The Top Customer Sales Reports will show you which customers are your best customers now, and which ones are the most valuable to your business long-term. The best type of customer for most businesses is a returning customer. You need to be able to identify who these returning customers are and build a strong relationship with them so you can keep them coming back. Customer loyalty can drive the success of your business. Along with the Top Customer Sales Report is your A/Receivable Report, where you will also see unpaid customer metrics, so you can see what customers may have outstanding invoices and how much revenue you have tied up. Knowing who has outstanding invoices, and being able to connect with them through the InvoiceASAP app quickly, makes it easier to get paid for the products or services you provide. Top Item Sales Reports Do you know what your best selling products or services are? Or how well each of your products or services are selling, and how much you are making from them? If you don't already know this information backward and forward, you should. And this report makes it easy to have the information accessible at any time. With a Top Items Sales Report, you can see total sales, average cost, and the number sold regarding your products or services. This critical information can help you make strategic decisions about your products and services. The more you know about the turnover of your products or the services costing you the most money to deliver, the better grounded your decisions will be concerning a given product or service going forward. Payment Reports Keeping track of how your business is accepting payments is essential for understanding your customer and your business. Are you taking payments by check? Credit card? Cash? Know how your customers are paying and how much you are bringing in through each method of payment. Knowing how your customers prefer to pay empowers you to make payment easier. Now, with InvoiceASAP, your customers can make a payment with fees as low as 1%. User Reports With User Reports, you can monitor and manage the people who are working for you. Manage user and employee performance and activity in real-time. This insight allows you to track and enhance productivity going forward. User Reports can be especially useful if you are managing a mobile team who must go out into the field to provide services. These reports allow you to see employees with the top sales, and those who have outstanding invoices. Inventory Reports Your Inventory Reports are vital. These real-time reports generate how much product you have left to sell, so you know when you need to restock. Not knowing how much inventory you have in stock places your company in a vulnerable position. If your inventory is too low, you run the risk of selling out. When you sell out of inventory, customers can't make purchases, and this can significantly impact your bottom line. If you are an InvoiceASAP user and are not already taking advantage of these valuable resources, we encourage you to start using them to manage your business. If you don't already have an account with InvoiceASAP, be sure to sign up for free so you, too, can take advantage of the many services we offer. Take a look at some of the other valuable auto-generated reports available through InvoiceASAP: Invoice Reports Payment Reports Customer Reports User Reports Estimate Reports Sales Reports Item Reports Profitability Reports Tax Reports Auto-Generated Reports Benefit Your Business and Your Customers Upgrade your business management with auto-generated reports. Merchants will have quick access to vital data related to sales, customers, profitability, inventory, and employees using the InvoiceASAP dashboard. There is no more need to work with complicated accounting software or complicated, messy spreadsheets. Now, you can have all of your valuable information auto-generated in a centralized location. From your dashboard, managers can easily track customer and employee performance, employees can better manage their relationships with their customers through easy access to A/R Reporting, and your accountants can easily access and manage Tax Reports for your business. Your customers also benefit from auto-generated reports provided by InvoiceASAP. These reports help strengthen customer relationships through better communication and increased efficiency. Easily manage your Customer Relationships and view Customer History, so you can quickly identify and anticipate each customer's needs. All of this increases customer experience and satisfaction. Learn more about how InvoiceASAP's auto-generated reports can help you manage your business by creating a free account.

Truck driver wearing a mask to protect against Covid19

Small Business Guide for Navigating COVID-19

The Impact of COVID-19 on Small Businesses Small businesses nationwide are already feeling the effects of the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic. With many states issuing shelter-in-place or stay-at-home orders, the closure of non-essential businesses has led to major financial interruptions. While some businesses, like restaurants, were able to modify services by providing take-out or delivery orders to meet regulations, other businesses are cutting hours, moving operations entirely online or closing altogether. Currently, there is no set time when social distancing bans will be lifted, and until we have an effective strategy for COVID-19 testing and research, we could see more waves of social distancing in the future until a vaccine is available to the public. So what does this mean for your business? How do you manage operations and keep your business afloat during a global health and financial crisis? This short guide will help you create a business management plan of action, to help you manage today, and prepare for a future of unknowns. Your First Step: Create a COVID-19 Plan The very first step for your small business during the coronavirus outbreak is to create a plan by taking inventory of your services, your expenses, and your community of customers. Here are some basic financial and social steps to take in 2020. Assess Your Financial Situation What worked well for your business prior to the COVID-19 social distancing orders may no longer be reasonable. The first thing you should do as a small business owner is to assess your current finances. Get a clear picture of your current inventory, expenses and staffing. Review money coming in and going out. Prioritize immediate needs and mitigate waste or unnecessary expenses now. Take this time to review your financial resources and emergency funds, and assess your insurance policies to see if you qualify for additional support or benefits. File Your 2019 Taxes If you haven't already filed your taxes this year, the IRS has now extended the 2019 filing deadline from April 15 to July 15. The Treasury Department is hoping this extension will offer some relief for small businesses and individuals who may owe money upon filing. The deadline also applies to quarterly taxes that would have been due on April 15. However, if you can do them now, go ahead and file your taxes sooner rather than later. You may receive a refund that could provide some relief for your small business now. Be sure to check your state's deadline requirements for filing, as not all states have followed these extended federal deadlines. Develop a Marketing Plan to Retain Customers Creating an adaptable marketing plan as part of your management strategy will be vital to how you retain existing customers and find new customers as well. Social media posts, blogging, and email newsletters are just a few ways to reinforce ongoing dialogue with your customers. How to Interact With Customers During COVID-19 When communicating digitally with your customers, it’s important to be genuine. Be honest and transparent in your posts and messaging about what services or products you can offer at this time. Make customers aware of how to make purchases. Provide realistic expectations and explain what steps you're taking to guarantee the safety and health of your employees and customers. Remember to preserve sensitivity and be careful with your messaging, as some people may be directly affected by this crisis. Sending too many emails, using fear or hard-sell tactics can come across as opportunistic and insincere. Finally, remember to remind customers why they are important to your business and how much you appreciate them. Right now, people want to support local, small businesses. Tell your story while offering your customers reassurance that you’re open and here to stay. Tune Up Your Online Presence If you don't already have a website (or if yours is outdated), now is a great time to create one that represents your small business digitally. Keep operating hours, contact information, shipping or service delays and other critical messaging up to date and accurate. Along with posting updates about your business, your strategy may include ways for customers to make purchases online or over the phone. Think outside the box to discover what services or work products you can sell online. For example, a home repair company may consider providing “how-to” videos or guides to help people DIY. If it makes sense, allow customers to purchase gift cards for future services. Event planners can provide virtual tours and meetings to plan future events. If you haven't already, consider moving all purchasing and invoice paperwork, customer reports, and other paper management systems to a digital platform you can access remotely. Mobile invoicing solutions not only streamline your business to save you time and money, but allow you to better function and operate remotely. Remember, business will pick up again once this is over. All of these strategies can help you stay at the forefront of your customers’ minds, once they are able and ready to purchase. Set Your Company's Tone Setting the tone for your brand is just as important as having a modified marketing plan - and both go hand in hand. When talking about COVID-19, it's recommended you focus on facts and continuing developments that are relevant to your company, and within your control. Keeping an appropriate and calm tone that reflects your customers' needs will help humanize your brand and deepen connections with your consumers and followers. Model your tone for other employees and stay consistent in communication with both employees and clients. Seek Out Assistance You are not alone. Many businesses are fighting to stay open. Forbes estimates that 30 million small businesses are struggling all over the U.S. Fortunately, resources are offering financial support during this temporary period. What Resources are Available for Small Businesses? From loans to relief funds to grant programs, there are many resources available to small businesses right now. While some resources assist businesses in their direct communities, such as Amazon's fund to support Seattle businesses, other similar funds are available nationwide. GoFundMe's Small Business Relief Initiative is just one example. The U.S. Small Business Administration is also offering disaster assistance and providing low-interest rate loans to small business owners who need financial support for staffing, health insurance and more. Be sure to research additional fund programs in your home state and city. U.S. Chamber of Commerce Coronavirus Response Toolkit The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has compiled a coronavirus response toolkit with information and links to emergency loan applications, sample graphics to use on your social media pages, and sample messaging for workplace best practices. The toolkit also provides information about state and local government policies, as well as a digital form that helps you create a custom flyer for your small business. How to Keep Your Business Running Day-to-Day Even if you're no longer able to offer your full range of services, there are steps you can still take to keep your small business active and operational. Your plan will need to be personalized based on your company's size, structure, the products and services you offer, and whether your business is deemed essential by your state's government. Here's our advice for running your business during a pandemic. Set New COVID-19 Company Policies Along with setting an appropriate tone, you should issue new policies and protocols specific to the coronavirus outbreak, especially for your employees. You should include the steps you're actively taking to mitigate the spread of the virus and follow all local and federal social distancing recommendations. Be clear about work from home policies, sick leave, traveling to and from work, hygiene and sanitation best practices, and any additional measures that may require adjustments. Expand Your Sick-Leave Policy Remember, this is a global pandemic which means your employees might fall ill. Support sick employees who are self-isolating at home or sick in the hospital, by expanding upon your current sick-leave policy. If an employee contracts COVID-19, they will not be able to return to work until they've fully recovered and have been cleared by medical personnel, which is a minimum of 14 days. Some workers may require even more recovery time. If Possible, Work Remotely We know not everyone will be able to take their small business completely online, but if you can do so, now is the time to work remotely. Remote work might mean employees work from home and hold meetings virtually, or it might involve reaching customers online instead of at your physical business location. If your staff is working from home, create a new routine, set clear expectations and check in on their progress and stress levels. Give employees time to adjust and find ways to connect and establish a sense of normalcy. Limit or Eliminate In-Person Meetings and Travel Any required in-person meetings should be done remotely, even if your small business isn't working from home full-time. Set up video conferences in place of any regular in-person meetings to help minimize contact and adhere to guidelines set by the CDC. Almost all industry conventions and other work-related events have been canceled or postponed at this time, but if you do need to travel, be prepared with sanitation supplies and any necessary gear to stay hygienic and safe while traveling. Be Flexible with Your Employees A key theme here is to remember why we're all here in the first place. Be flexible and understanding of the individual situations your employees are facing at this time, especially with employees who are considered high-risk or who are caring for someone at home who is high-risk. Reevaluate any policies for individuals who may require special accommodations. Make Long-Term Plans COVID-19 is an ongoing situation that's currently without a definite end date. Though we may experience times in the future where social distancing guidelines are relaxed, we'll likely see new waves of cases throughout the year. Take this time not only to create a short-term plan but also to get procedures ready for quick shelter-in-place orders at a moment's notice. What If You Can't Operate Remotely? Remote work will not be an option for every small business. For essential businesses, many companies are still providing services face to face or in-home. Take these steps to protect both employees and customers and mitigate the spread of the COVID-19. Sanitize Your Workspace Frequently Stay updated on workplace sanitation guidelines released by the CDC and know how often items need to be wiped down and cleaned. Sanitize frequent-touch items, like door handles, tablets, registers, computers, and counters throughout the day, and well as employee break rooms and offices. Promote Positive Hygiene Protocols Again, along with having a business management plan for sanitation, you should provide multiple stations for self-sanitizing. Create cleaning protocols, wear gloves and masks when necessary, limit patrons inside your building, and create floor markers to mark appropriate spacing, six feet apart. Set up visual reminders for increased hand-washing to improve the hygiene habits of your employees and customers, while also making everyone who interacts with your small business feel safer. If you're a home contractor, advertise and practice any sanitation changes you've implemented to keep customers safe while you work in their home. Proper hygiene and sanitation routines will play a critical role in your ability to keep your small business running. Check with your state and local guidelines for recommendations about providing gloves and masks for employees, and whether customers are required to wear a non-medical mask. Encourage Employees to Stay Home If Sick Because coronavirus spreads from person to person, it is crucial for employees who feel sick to stay at home and self-quarantine until they are symptom-free and able to determine that they do not have COVID-19. This is tricky because of the high volume of asymptomatic carriers with this particular virus. If you have multiple office locations, consider keeping people separate to avoid your staff from all getting infected at a central location. Make sure employees know it’s safe to stay home and don’t feel pressured to work while ill. Have a Backup Plan When Employees are Out Your COVID-19 business plan should account for time employees may be out sick. Create a list of your employees who can cover shifts beyond their typical work schedule. Establish a clear communication line to reach those staff members who would need to come in and cover for the person who is out. If the backup staff member is working a different shift for the first time, or taking on new duties, be prepared with instructions and expectations for that person to jump in and help. Start cross-training employees in different roles now in anticipation of sick time. If an employee feels okay but can't work because of a doctor-ordered self-quarantine, consider ways to allow this person to work remotely. Connect Daily and Offer Positive Reassurance As a manager, you should actively check in with your employees to get the latest updates about their circumstances, as well as physical and mental health. Your staff should feel comfortable reaching out to you. Make employees feel reassured during this stressful time. Offer support, thank employees daily, and remind them of why their work is valued and important. While this is an unprecedented time with policies and guidelines that are rapidly and constantly changing, remind yourself that this is temporary. It can feel overwhelming, but it's essential to stay positive for yourself, your employees, and your customers because your attitude and outlook will affect others who work directly with you. How InvoiceASAP Keeps Your Business Going As a small business owner, this global health crisis could be one of the toughest, most challenging obstacles your company faces during this lifetime. How you prepare now can impact your transition with employees and customers during periodic times of lockdowns, and even once this is over. Right now is the ideal time to get your technology in order and focus on the small details that have been holding your business back. From inefficient accounting and billing systems to lacking overall customer management, implementing a single solution can help streamline the critical functions of your business while saving you money. InvoiceASAP offers a multi-platform app and dashboard to help you easily manage invoicing, accounting, estimates, payments, sales, customers and more. Here’s how it works. Real-Time Business Insights Online reporting helps you know exactly how your business is doing at all times. Get daily, weekly, and monthly reports to forecast expenses and inform better business decisions. Types of Online Reports Available Invoice Reports Payment Reports Customer Reports User Reports Sales Reports Item Reports Profitability Reports Jobs/Location Reports Tax Reports Automated Accounting and Finance Records Unlike most invoicing platforms, InvoiceASAP is designed to fully integrate with QuickBooks Desktop. No need to start over or retrain employees on new accounting software. Just integrate your existing data for seamless processing and accounts management. Save time and money with a view of all paid and unpaid invoices and customer management summaries. Easy Online and In-Person Business Transactions Many of our clients work in the field and need access to clean and simple estimation and invoicing creation-software. You can easily create a professional-looking invoice, attach photos, and capture customer signatures. You get paid faster by accepting credit cards and allowing customers to pay in-person from your phone or tablet. Integrate all this data with your accounting software for clean and seamless day-to-day operations. Online Training Tools Take advantage of this time to dig deep into platform functionality and ensure employees are fully versed in best practices. Review our resource library and get help integrating your current systems with InvoiceASAP’s platform. Future-Proof Your Small Business With InvoiceASAP As you create COVID-19 company policies, business backup plans, and online marketing strategies, remember to reevaluate inefficiencies and get your invoicing and accounting technology up to speed. Save money, make employees’ lives easier, and attract customers with streamlined technology built for small businesses. Find out how InvoiceASAP can help you manage your business during stressful times. Sign up to create a free account today!

Deliveryman Getting Signature on Package

5 Ways InvoiceASAP Boosts Your Customer’s Experience

InvoiceASAP is great for sending invoices on the go, but that isn’t the only reason our customers love us. Our customers love us because their customers love us. InvoiceASAP is one of the most popular mobile invoicing tools out there. It has a simple interface, syncs well with different accounting software, including Quickbooks and Quickbooks Desktop, and works across multiple devices. But scratch beneath the surface and you unlock so much more. The InvoiceASAP platform can double up as your biggest customer service ally, helping you to inject greatness into your interactions with clients. Here are five ways you can truly delight your customers with the power of InvoiceASAP… 1. Tailor Customer Experience Through Personalized Notes Isn’t it nice when someone provides you with a service and it really feels like they know you? Like when your Cleaner remembers how you like your fresh laundry folded, or when your Landscaper brings along doggy treats to mellow your 80lb German Shepherd pup in the backyard. Even something simple like your favorite restaurant knowing your name and remembering how you like your favorite meal. That warm fuzzy feeling – it’s great, and it’s what keeps customers coming back. What’s even greater is that with a little help from InvoiceASAP, it’s super easy to provide this kind of service to your customers. The Customer Notes feature on InvoiceASAP allows you to add private notes about your customers to share internally. Get familiar with it. If used right, it can really help to supercharge your customer interactions. Whether you use InvoiceASAP as a team or you’re just a one-man-band, this feature will allow you to store notes so that you can provide a more tailored service to each of your customers. Now, you and your whole team can personally get to know your customers and give them the personalized service that will keep them coming back and feeling like family. Here’s how to add customer notes on a mobile device:. https://vimeo.com/250376757 Check out our forum post on adding customer notes for more info. 2. Easily Download Customer Data and Send Exclusive Updates and Deals Did you know that you can download data from InvoiceASAP? Well, you can, and what’s more, you can do a ton of amazing things with this data to improve customer experience. If you have a company update or special offer you want to share directly with customers, you can easily pull contact data from InvoiceASAP to get in touch with your customers en masse. When you download data from InvoiceASAP it gets stored as a .csv file on your computer which you can then upload into an Excel spreadsheet. If you’re a bit of an Excel whizz you could even filter your customers by city or state or by the products or services they’ve purchased then send them targeted email or mail. A quick guide to downloading data: Head to the Manage Account website (www.invoiceasap.com) and log in Click on Reports Select the report category (i.e., Invoice Reports) and then the specific report you would like to view Here you’ll see a list of all the data in that report. Use the calendar to search for data within a specific timeframe Click Export 3. Attach Before and After Photos to Your Invoices If you fix, build, clean, create, paint or do anything that visually transforms something – start adding photo attachments to your invoices and estimates. This is a great tool for showing proof of work and demonstrating your incredible handiwork, giving customers another reason to keep coming back. One InvoiceASAP user we recently spoke with told us why he loved this feature. Working in the maintenance industry he was required to send out proof of work to clients after a job was completed as they were often not able to sign-off on the work in person. He’d send out an estimate with an image of what he was working on before the fix, then after the job, he’d attach an image to the invoice. Not only did it demonstrate his great work to clients, but it was also super easy to do. Check out our blog post on adding proof of work photos to invoices, to learn how. 4. Offer More Ways For Your Customers to Pay Make it easy for customers to do business with you and they’ll be more likely to come back. We’ve all been there before – you’re midway through an order at the local coffee shop to find they only accept cash and you are penniless aside from your bank card. What do you do? Go off in search of the nearest ATM? Maybe. Cancel your order and walk away? Probably. The same thinking can apply to any one of your customers at the point you make a sale. By limiting your payment options, you limit your customers. With InvoiceASAP it’s really easy to add new payment methods to your account. The payment services that we connect to include Square, PayPal, Authorize.net and WePay. By broadening your payment options, your client will not only be happier, you’re also more likely to get paid faster. After all, the hard part is getting customers. Accepting their money should be the easy part. Quick guide to adding a new payment method: Head to the Manage Account website (www.invoiceasap.com) and login Click on My Payment Methods Select the payment service you wish to connect your InvoiceASAP account to. If you want to add Square or PayPal, you will need to create an account with these services before you can connect. Click Save then follow the setup instructions. To add Square, PayPal or Authorize.net you will first need to be on a Base, Plus or Biz plan. If you’re not already, you can upgrade here. 5. Audio Notes Add a Personal Touch A little personal touch can go a long way. That’s why we decided to introduce audio notes for invoices. With this feature, you can record a short voice memo and attach it to a client’s invoice or estimate. Maybe you have further comments to share on the work carried out, or you just want to add a friendly greeting. Whatever you do, see it as an extension of your great customer service and make your customers smile. Learn how to add voice memos to your invoices. Boost Your Customer Experience with InvoiceASAP! So now you have the knowledge, what are you waiting for? Get delighting those customers! Get started with InvoiceASAP by signing up for your free account. We’ll make invoicing your customers easier, while also helping you personalize your invoices and boosting your customer interaction.

Construction Workers Utilizing Ipad and other Mobile Business Solutions

Mega-Trend: How Mobile Business Solutions are Revolutionizing Construction

From smartphones to tablets – technology is not only changing how businesses communicate, connect and discover, it is disrupting entire industries. The construction industry is by no means isolated from this revolution. Early adopters are investing now in more innovative mobile solutions to outperform their peers and become more efficient in every way. The mobile mega-trend is driving business innovation at a rapid pace as more and more construction businesses are reaping the rewards every day – don’t get left behind! Thinking strategically about an approach to on-site estimate and invoice management is one element of this shift. It is no longer necessary to be tied to a desk in order to carry out administrative or back-office tasks. A Site Manager can be onsite responding to emails, checking in on the latest project updates and creating customer estimates and invoices on the spot. Mobile invoicing specifically is a small step that goes a long way in helping businesses to increase efficiency, reduce payment errors and drastically improve their cashflow. What is mobile invoicing all about, and what are the fundamental benefits for those in the construction industry? 1. Create invoices, estimates and sales orders from the construction site Mobile invoicing solutions transform mobile devices into powerful business management tools, increasing the efficiency of teams in the field enabling them to effectively take their office with them, wherever they go. 2. Instant billing and faster payment Unsurprisingly, the faster an invoice is sent, the quicker a business will receive payment. Mobile invoicing enables businesses to create and send an invoice the second the job is done, thus cutting out the need for the customer to wait days for this to (hopefully) turn up in the mail. 3. Cloud storage – one central location for all information that can be accessed on any device. By storing all estimates and invoices in the cloud, every single document can be accessed and edited on a mobile device or computer whether staff are out in the field or back at the office. Using a mobile platform also means that staff working onsite are able to input customer data directly into the invoicing software using their phone or tablet, and it will update everywhere. 4. Integration with accounting software A mobile invoicing solution is great as a standalone but it also needs to work in sync with accounting software. Thankfully, there are some great mobile invoicing solutions out there that integrate fully with major accounting platforms which eliminate the risk of double entries, enabling smoother and more accurate financial management. 5. Capture signatures With touchscreen technology, clients can sign with a finger or stylus on a mobile device. This can be especially useful for receiving approval on an estimate or for businesses who need to add a signature to an invoice before sending to the client for payment. Signature capture on mobile devices can also be cloud-stored securely with the signed document. 6. Attach photos easily to show proof of work Showing proof of work is a common requirement for construction pros. Using a mobile invoicing app, means businesses can easily attach before and after photos to estimates and invoices without the need to be switching between devices or sending photos as separate attachments. 7. Big cost savings By cutting out manual payment processes, and speeding up the payment cycle, businesses are realizing big cost savings. A 2012 global e-invoicing study stated that 56 percent of businesses experience a reduced cost of invoice processing when using more sophisticated technology in comparison to using more rudimentary processes. Finally… Cloud-computing and mobile technology are transforming construction, period. When it comes to accounting technology, it’s not a question of ‘if’ businesses in the sector will adopt, but ‘when’. The forward thinking-companies who adopt these new ways of financial management will be the ones who get ahead. Photo credit: © TommL, istockphoto.com About the Author Paul Hoeper is CEO and Founder of InvoiceASAP, the first fully integrated mobile invoicing and payments platform. He is an industry expert in mobile commerce and business software solutions. Learn more about InvoiceASAP

New! Card on File is Now Available

Today, we are excited to announce a highly anticipated update: Card on File is now available for our credit card and bank users! Our new Card on File feature lets you securely store your customers’ credit card information, making it easier for you and your customer when you have an invoice that needs to be paid. Collecting a customer’s credit card information is very simple: You can send your customers a request from the InvoiceASAP Web Dashboard, and they complete a secure form with their credit card information. Your customer can opt to have their credit card stored when they pay an InvoiceASAP web invoice. You can enter your customer’s credit card information securely from the InvoiceASAP Web Dashboard. You can store up to 3 different credit cards for each customer, and when it’s time to pay an invoice, select the credit card you need. And, of course, you still have the other payment options, like cash, check or draft, to choose from. Card on File is the first of many features that InvoiceASAP plans to offer as part of our growing technology partnerships. If you’d like to find out more about Card on File, please click here.

InvoiceASAP mobile app echeck and credit card payment graphic

Product Update: Accept Payments via Square, New App Icon and More…

This month we have brought a few major updates to InvoiceASAP along with some smaller tweaks and bug fixes. In this month’s update: Accept invoice payments via Square New app icon Upgrade your account directly within the iOS app Easily filter and find documents based on their status Redesigned customer notes Payments via Square on Apple devices The biggest (and most exciting) update over the past month has been our integration with Square. With this update, you’re now able to… Take swipe payments on your iOS mobile device (using their free Square Reader) Display Square as a payment option on invoices for web payments We know that a lot of our customers already love using Square so it seemed like a no-brainer for us to connect the two platforms. Since launching the integration, we’ve had a lot of really positive feedback from customers. If you’re interested in adding Square as a payment method for your invoices, check out our guide to connecting your InvoiceASAP account with Square. A new look for InvoiceASAP From time to time it’s good to have a bit of a refresh. At InvoiceASAP we felt we needed to inject a little spark into our brand and in doing so, have redesigned our app icon. You may have noticed the update already, but if not, the next time you update the InvoiceASAP app you’ll see the new icon will have replaced our old one. This is all part of a phased approach to refreshing our brand. Upgrade your account directly within the iOS app If you use InvoiceASAP on an iPhone or iPad, you can now change your subscription directly through the app. Previously the only way to manage your subscription would be by logging into your account on the InvoiceASAP website (which is not so great if you’re on the go!). To update your subscription on your iOS device, simply login to the app, select Manage App > Subscription. Here you can select which plan you’d like to subscribe to, or if you’re already subscribed to one of our paid plans, you can tap this screen to manage your subscription through the App Store. Improved document filtering We’ve updated the Invoice and Estimate List screens on the mobile app so that you can easily filter and find documents based on their status. When you tap on Invoice List or Estimate List in the mobile app, you’ll see there are now three tabs at the top of the screen. On the Invoice List screen, you can view ‘All Invoices’, ‘Paid Invoices’ or ‘Unpaid Invoices’. On the Estimate List screen, you can view ‘All Estimates’, ‘Open Estimates’ or ‘Approved Estimates’. Redesigned Customer Notes We’ve made the customer notes part of the app much cleaner so that you can see the most important information at a quick glance. If you haven’t used customer notes on the app before, you should! It’s a super helpful part of the product that allows you to add internal notes about customers. For instance, you may want to warn your co-workers that one of your customers has a big dog in their backyard or keep a note of the building access code for another customer. To add a customer note, simply tap on Customers when you are on home screen of the app, select a customer, then select View Notes. To add a new note, simply tap on the ‘+’ symbol in the top right of the screen.

Advanced tax features and document retrieval

Product Update: Introducing Advanced Tax Settings, Document Retrieval Updates and More…

In this month’s update: Choose which documents can be viewed on the mobile app Edit the Quantity and Unit Price column titles Set tax and payment terms for individual customers and jobs Automated accounting sync error reporting Document Retrieval settings: choose which invoices/estimates you see on your mobile device In the past, we’ve downloaded the most recent 500 invoices onto the mobile app. However, we’ve had a number of requests from customers who would like access to all of their invoices, or they want their team in the field to see current invoices only. To handle all of these requests, we have added a new setting called ‘Document Retrieval’. You can update this setting via the Manage Account website (www.invoiceasap.com) > Login > Settings. Your options are: Most Recent 500 (default) Last 1 Day Last 7 Days Last 30 Days Last 60 Days Last 90 Days Last 120 Days Last 365 Days Last 18 Months Last 2 Years All Documents Additionally, if you have team members, the Company Admin can now change the document retrieval settings so that users can view all invoices/estimates created by the company or just the ones that they’ve created Once logged into the Manage Account website, head to ‘Manage users’ on the left and click on the key icon next to a user to edit them. Here you’ll see the setting ‘View all company invoices’. If this is checked, then the user will see all invoices or estimates. If it’s not checked, then the user will only see their own invoices/estimates. Change the Quantity and Unit Price column titles on documents You can now customize the Unit Price and Quantity column headings on invoices and estimates. For example, instead of Unit Price, you can call this column ‘Hourly Rate’, and you can rename the Quantity heading to, ‘Hours Spent’. You can update this on the Manage Account website (www.invoiceasap.com) > Login > Settings. Set tax and payment terms for individual customers and jobs Note: For Plus and Biz users only We’ve updated the tax settings so that you can apply a default tax to a specific customer, job or location and also mark customers and jobs/locations as being ‘taxable’ or ‘non-taxable’. Previously, each customer and job/location would have the same default tax setting applied to them. If you work in places that have multiple tax rates, or you have customers with different tax rates, you’d need to change this every time you created an invoice. Now, if you edit a customer or job/location, you will see an ‘Advanced settings’ button. Click on this and you’ll be able to do the following: Mark a customer as Taxable or Non-Taxable Set a default tax rate for each customer and job/location Set a default payment term for each customer and job/location For a step-by-step guide on how to do this, check out our forum post on Advanced tax settings Automated Sync Error Reporting Note: For QuickBooks Online and Xero customers only We now get notified immediately if you get a sync error on QuickBooks Online or Xero. This means we’re able to start digging into the issue for you (if you haven’t been able to resolve it yourself) and either fix it on our end or send you instructions for fixing it yourself. This update will help us to provide you with a better customer service and improve the accounting sync.

Invoice ASAP Mobile App Working With Square Graphic

InvoiceASAP Now Accepts Payments via Square on Apple Devices!

We’re super pleased to announce that we’ve teamed up with our friends (and neighbors) at Square to make it even easier for you to take invoice payments. You’re now able to… Take swipe payments on your iOS mobile device (using their free Square Reader) Display Square as a payment option on invoices for web payments **Note:** Square as a payment option is only currently available within our iOS app. How to get set up – 4 easy steps 1. **Login to the InvoiceASAP Manage Account website**(www.invoiceasap.com > Login) 2. Select ‘My Payment Methods’ 3. Create a Square Account OR Connect an existing Square Account Select Square from the drop down. If you don’t already have a Square account, click ‘Sign up for Square’. If you do have a Square account, hit ‘Save’ and you’ll be directed to a Square login page. Login to Square and follow the setup instructions on screen. 4. Install the latest InvoiceASAP iOS app Download the latest version of InvoiceASAP - available on the Apple App store. Unfortunately Square isn’t currently available on Android. **Once set up, Square will display as a payment option to customers when you send them invoices and take payments on your mobile.** For more detailed setup instructions, check out our forum article on How to Accept Payments with Square.