Every marketing agency has a different revenue model. Some use project-based billing, some prefer retainer-based pricing, while others charge for their services through hourly billing.
But what do all those models have in common? They provide you with an unpredictable revenue stream.
They can make your revenue vary significantly from one month to the next, thus making it harder to grow your business.
So, what’s the best way for a marketing agency to seize more revenue opportunities? Recurring or subscription billing.
With a recurring revenue model, you can make sure you don’t leave money on the table. That’s why a growing number of marketing agencies are embracing it.
Whether you already offer subscription-based services or you’re thinking about making the switch, it’s vital to have a proper system for managing your online billing and invoice payments. That system is billing software.
What is a Billing Software?
Billing software is a system designed to streamline billing and online invoice payments. No matter what pricing model you use, billing software can help you send professional invoices to clients, get paid faster, and improve your IT expense management.
How does billing software help you do that?
- It handles employee time tracking and enables you to turn your hours, miles, and expenses into invoices.
- It records service usage for accurate subscription billing, tracks reimbursable expenses, helps manage projects, generates price estimates, and helps you create and send invoices to customers.
- It also generates expense reports to help you manage all your expenses effectively.
- The best part about most billing solutions? They’re cloud-based, which makes everything even more seamless.
- With a SaaS billing system, you can record and store all invoice payments in one place for efficient and effective bookkeeping and get real-time access to all your important metrics.
Top 4 Reasons to Invest in Billing Software
Now that you have a better idea of what a SaaS billing system can do for your marketing agency let’s see some of the top reasons why you should invest in invoicing software.
- It Helps Save Time
- It Saves Money
- Reporting Is a Lot Easier
- Everything Is Crystal Clear
It Helps Save Time
If you still rely on paper invoicing, you’re probably wasting a lot of precious time that you could invest in your core competencies. With an online billing system, you can save a great deal of time and focus on growing your business.
Billing software handles time tracking automatically and enables you to automate your IT service billing. It saves time on management accounting and managed services billing and helps you deliver all invoices on time.
With a cloud-based SaaS billing system, there’s no need for installing hardware or downloading software for on-premise use. That takes a huge load off of your IT project management team’s shoulders. They can focus on what matters and increase productivity and efficiency.
Billing software also comes with an invoice maker for creating custom invoices quickly. You can choose any invoice format that works for you and customize it to your needs.
But the best part is you can create professional invoices using a pre-built invoice template. That allows you to brand and personalize invoices and saves you tons of time, especially if you have lots of recurring clients.
It Saves Money
It goes without saying that switching to an online billing system can reduce your costs. It eliminates the need for purchasing stationery and adding to your total expenses.
Since SaaS billing software is based in the cloud, it doesn’t require any installation and maintenance. That saves you lots of money right off the bat, not to mention that cloud-based billing systems are available at more competitive prices than their on-premise counterparts.
Your provider will take care of all the software updates, upgrades, and data security measures, which will save you both time and money.
Last but not least, online billing and invoicing systems reduce the risk of human error. They come with automation features that allow them to produce accurate billing, thus saving you time and money on fixing potential mistakes.
Reporting Is a Lot Easier
Reporting features are some of the best benefits of billing software for marketing agencies. This software generates in-depth reports that can improve your IT expense management and provide your accountants with a clear view of your agency’s overall performance.
They can streamline accounting and bookkeeping and ensure there are no errors with time tracking and expense tracking, resulting in inaccurate billing.
You can also generate custom reports, filter out records, group them by currency or date, and export reports in various file formats.
Cloud-based billing solutions also give instant access to all your important metrics so that you can identify potential bottlenecks and stop problems in their tracks.
All your teams can access critical data anytime and anywhere, harnessing the power of detailed analytics to make data-driven decisions, improve your services, meet clients’ needs, and grow your business.
Everything Is Crystal Clear
With billing software, all your teams and clients can have a crystal-clear view of the projects and their due dates, tasks, deliverables, transactions, rates for specific projects for clients, and more.
Everything is in one centralized place for effortless project management, expense management, subscription billing, and online invoice payments.
Great SaaS billing solutions come with a portal for streamlining collaboration and communication with employees, accountants, and clients. They can share files, stay up-to-date with projects and payments, gather feedback, manage multiple accounts to reduce management time and costs, send billing reminders, and ultimately become more efficient.
The bottom line is that you can make your marketing agency more productive and effective, create a positive cash flow, and unlock new opportunities for a more predictable revenue stream.
How to Find a Good Billing Software?
Not all online billing solutions are created equal. Some are designed for merchant accounts, some to streamline transactions, while others are perfect for subscription billing.
Here are the key factors for choosing a SaaS billing system for your marketing agency.
- Ease of use.
- Third-party integrations
- Payment gateways
- Pricing models
- Invoicing and tax support
- Data security
- Reporting and analytics
- Customer support
Ease of use
Good billing software should be user-friendly so that you can streamline all your bookkeeping and accounting activities. A simple UI will help your teams and clients manage transactions quickly and accurately.
Third-party integrations
An effective financial ecosystem requires various tools to work together to eliminate disruptions and inefficiencies. Find a tool that can integrate with all those you’re already using, such as a CRM or ERP.
Payment gateways
Your billing software should support various payment methods, such as debit and credit cards, ACH payments, PayPal, and others. The more options you offer, the larger the customer base you’ll attract.
Pricing models
Your billing platform should support your agency’s pricing model, whether it’s project-based, fixed-rate, tiered, subscription-based, event-based, or any other.
Invoicing and tax support
Some billing systems support only billing, while others include invoicing and taxing as well. Managing both in one place will save you time and money.
Data security
To keep your customers’ data safe and secure, choose a billing platform with advanced security features that follows the latest security standards for processing payments.
Reporting and analytics
An intuitive platform with powerful reporting and analytics will give you insights into your overall performance. You can see where your money is coming from, where it’s going, and how to improve your billing processes and cash flow.
Customer support
Last but not least, make sure your vendor has a responsive team for ongoing support to assist you should you ever encounter a hiccup with the software.
Conclusion
SaaS billing solutions like VatPay can help you manage cash flows, automate billing and invoicing, and grow your business. Try our free invoice generator today to see how it can help you track time and invoices and revolutionize your industry.