{"id":2501,"date":"2017-07-11T13:26:48","date_gmt":"2017-07-11T13:26:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brightpearl20.wpengine.com\/how-and-why-should-you-automate-your-invoicing\/"},"modified":"2024-11-28T15:40:05","modified_gmt":"2024-11-28T15:40:05","slug":"how-and-why-should-you-automate-your-invoicing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brightpearl.com\/blog\/how-and-why-should-you-automate-your-invoicing","title":{"rendered":"How and Why Should You Automate Your Invoicing?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Once an order is shipped, typically, you will generate an invoice to send to your wholesale customers, or you will simply mark your order as invoiced for your retail customers. Invoicing is core to any retail business\u2019 accounting to correctly recognize revenue and manage customer and supplier debt. However, even the simple process of invoicing can lead to mistakes, if not done correctly, which quickly leads to incorrect financials. So, let\u2019s discuss how and why you should automate your invoicing through the use of an omnichannel retail system<\/a> to keep things slick and streamlined.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Why should you automate your invoicing?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Invoicing is a perfect process<\/a> for automating orders that should be invoiced based on a set of scenarios, and can even be automatically sent to customers where appropriate. A few benefits of automating your invoicing include:<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Access to a real-time income statement<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Automated invoicing ensures your profitability reporting are accurate and up to the minute. This allows you to make real-time data driven decisions<\/a> without needing to verify which orders have been invoiced and which have not, or even worse; having to wait for your accounting system to catch up with your sales.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Streamlined accounts receivable and payable<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Accounts payable and receivable management is key to maintaining positive customer and supplier relationships as well as getting paid on time and staying on top of your cash flow. Trying to manually track customer payment terms, age of invoices and payment status can quickly lead to missed bills and delinquent customers. Taking an automated approach to your invoice generation, fueled with CRM data tracking saves the time of switching between systems and correcting errors.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Get paid faster!<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Getting invoices out the moment an order is shipped increases the chances of early and on-time payment from customers. This can increase your short-term cash flow, allowing you to pay off your own suppliers sooner, purchase new products and react quickly to opportunities.<\/span><\/p>\n

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4. An improved customer experience<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Paper invoices, faxes and spreadsheets are quickly becoming a thing of the past. Modern retailers expect a streamlined ordering and invoice experience, or else they may seek new suppliers. An automated invoice process ensures that your customers receive a consistent experience every time they order.<\/span><\/p>\n

5. Expand into wholesale without unnecessary admin<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Managing wholesale customers can be a challenge for a retail business making the transition. Payment terms, accounts receivables and larger orders mean that the stakes are higher, and invoicing becomes even more important. An automated invoice process allows you to focus on the client relationship and subsequently increase sales, instead of incorrectly executing your administrative processes.<\/span><\/p>\n

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How do you automate your invoicing?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Hopefully you\u2019ve now been convinced that automating your invoicing can save you time and money. Let\u2019s explore how to implement this in your business.<\/span><\/p>\n

Step 1: Map out your current workflow<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

It can be helpful to use a tool like <\/span>Lucidchart<\/span><\/a> to map out your current order and invoice management workflows. This will help you determine exactly how and when orders should be invoiced, any special scenarios to consider and possibly even some easily corrected bottlenecks. Take a look at the examples below for both Retail and Wholesale<\/a> orders:<\/span><\/p>\n

Retail<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n