Speed up internal processes and improve your cashflow by mastering these five invoicing tips with Xero.
Getting paid on time is crucial for businesses and not-for-profits to ensure they are in a strong cashflow position. Xero has many helpful features to save you time and money.
Organisations are now using e-invoicing for rapid, streamlined secure customer billing that results in faster, more reliable payments.
E-invoices are sent directly between accounting systems to a registered customer, using a secure network instead of sending a PDF or email.
Here our top five tips for making the most of invoicing with Xero:
Email templates for invoices
Invoicing is quicker to expedite with invoices based on prepared templates that can be updated rapidly and issued instantly to your customer via email. Customers can process the invoice while the goods or service they received are still top of mind.
Prepare a set of email templates so your responses are always consistent and quickly completed. Xero allows you to prepare up to 10 templates so you can also produce quotes, receipts, remittance advices, credit notes, purchase orders and statements this way, as well as invoices.
Xero’s default email templates are named ‘Basic’ in your Email Settings, and each contains a default subject, message text, and placeholders.
Key benefits: Using Xero’s templates for your invoicing system saves time as repetitive features are automated. It also ensures that invoices are consistent and include all the details. A timely and professional looking invoice is more likely to be authorised and paid promptly.
Find out how: https://central.xero.com/s/article/Add-email-templates
Customise your invoice template
You can still ensure that your invoice stands out from the crowd by customising your invoice template.
Xero templates allow you to display your logo, so customers can instantly recognise the sender. The logo you upload on a standard theme will appear on both emails sent and on PDF copies of invoices. Open the chosen template in Word, click on the logo and insert your company logo. Resize the logo if needed.
You don’t need to stick to the standard layout. Customise templates by editing the downloadable docx file and saving with different names. Follow Xero help instructions if you are working with merge fields.
Customisation options are really useful when you operate different brands within the same business. You will benefit from using customising tools to create a different template for each brand.
Key benefits: Customising Xero’s templates to display brand logos will draw attention to your organisation’s branding and make it quicker for customers to identify, authorise and process the payment. Customising the templates is also a cost-effective way to distinguish the different arms of the same organisation.
Find out how: https://central.xero.com/s/training-plan/a473m000000gz7sAAA/customise-invoices
Auto reminders pre and post due date
Take advantage of Xero’s invoice reminders to prompt customers automatically with an email about imminent or overdue payments.
With Xero you can create up to five automatic reminders, pre and post due date, to send out to your customers.
Key benefits: Save time spent chasing up forgetful customers and the money lost when payments are missed by using automatic invoice payment reminders.
Find out how: https://central.xero.com/s/article/Set-up-invoice-reminders
Set up a default due date for invoices
With Xero you can set up a default due date for your invoices, which will also save data entry time on each invoice. Default dates can easily be overridden and dates re-set if required.
Xero enters these dates each time you add an invoice, as long as the contact doesn’t have a due date set up in their contact record. However, you can set up exceptions on a customer basis.
Key benefits: Your organisation will be more consistent with terms and save data entry time on recurring invoices using the default due date.
Find out how: https://central.xero.com/s/article/Set-due-dates-and-payment-terms-for-invoices-quotes
Offering online payment options
Set up a payment service in Xero and your customers will be able to pay your invoices using credit cards and debit cards, as well as different options including IntegraPay, Pinch Payments, PayPal, Stripe & GoCardless.
Customers can respond to your e-invoice with an online payment via the invoice. The payment service provider will be responsible for the payment and depositing funds into your company’s bank account.
Some payment providers like IntegraPay offer direct debit payment solutions that are integrated with Xero.
Key benefits: Being able to pay invoices online immediately using a payment button increases the rates of customers paying promptly. Offering more payment options that are easy to use also makes a big difference to attracting customers.
Find out how: https://central.xero.com/s/article/About-payment-services
Contact Hopscotch today for more advice on automating your invoice systems with Xero.
