Accounts receivable is the heartbeat of your business. It allows you to keep your doors open while you keep your customers happy. If your system is in disarray, the money won’t come in regularly. If you don’t bill your customers properly, they’re not aware of how much they owe, or they may feel they can put off paying you until the last minute, if ever at all. That’s why businesses of any size should look into using accounting software similar to Chaser, Credit Control Automation for Xero, QBO and Sage. Chaser can be integrated into some of the major accounting software packages, allowing you to better chase late payments and invoices to keep the heart of your business beating.

It’s easy to ignore things such as accounts receivable because it’s just one more thing that must be done in an already short work day. But if you want your business to be healthy, making use of things like Accounts Receivable Software to keep up with your income streams is going to be super-important. Here are some tips to help you streamline your accounts receivable process while saving time and money.

Use Invoice Software

Image via Flickr by Alan Cleaver

A program like Quickbooks lets you create invoices. All you have to do is some quick data entry to get the invoice set up, save it to the hard drive, and put the invoice in the mail. Quickbooks has the added benefit of tracking the invoice when it’s paid, saving you time and effort later.

Accounting programs gives you the opportunity to create a professional document that won’t be ignored by the customer. It also boosts the image of your business in a subtle way. Your customer sees that you took the time to make a clean and streamlined invoice. This says to the customer that you are a professional operation.

Accept Credit Cards as a Safeguard

Many customers prefer to use a credit card to pay for their product as it’s easier for them to track purchases every month. You can take advantage of this fact by getting a merchant account that allows you to accept credit cards. You also gain a layer of protection from fraud as it’s easier to bounce a check than it is to dispute a credit card purchase.

If you’re selling a product that has a high risk of chargebacks, consider Bill Pro as a merchant services provider. A high-risk merchant services provider works diligently to make sure that you don’t suffer losses from fraudulent transactions.

Bring in Outside Help

If you find that you’re falling behind on the accounting due to a lack of time, look to an outside person or service for help. Again, it’s an additional cost, but consider the cost of your time to do the work in the first place. Your time is valuable, and it’s better spent getting your product or service to the customer.

Bill on the Same Day Every Week

Set aside one day of the week to send out bills to customers instead of billing them as the work is done. It saves you time and conditions your customers to expect a bill as opposed to wondering when one is going to come in.

Taking care of your accounts receivable is an important part of running your business. Putting effort into streamlining your billing process means less time spent on keeping money coming in and more time for the business itself.