Big things are happening with online billing for small business. As consumer and B-to-B customers alike continue to embrace electronic payment, the prospect of a simple online service for electronic billing and payment receipt has suddenly become real.

A bevy of new e-billing services for small biz have just launched. It’s a terrific time to consider billing and collecting your cash electronically, even if you’ve never thought about it before.

Why e-bill? It’s easy, for one thing, and will cut your costs. More and more customers prefer, and even demand online billing and payment, so you will gain loyalty. It’s also a great way to improve cash flow and set your business apart as a leader.

The new online services let you:·
→ Create, send and manage invoices electronically, by email and/or online.
→ Receive payments from customers, by credit card, debit card or e-check.
→ Automatically reconcile invoices with customer payments.
→ Receive and pay your own bills electronically and view payment histories.
→ Set billing reminders and alerts.

Business.com's "What Works for Business" blog is a great way to keep up with the latest solutions, trends and strategies for small and medium business.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

See what your bank is offering

Banks and other financial institutions are lining up to offer online billing and payment collection services for their small business customers.

I recommend: CheckFree Small Business, offered through banks and other financial institutions, lets you bill and collect from customers with a single Web-based service. Check the list of financial institutions offering this service. Some major banks are introducing their own small business services that let you send invoices and receive payments online. Bank of America, for example, has just added this feature to its Online Business Suite for small business customers.

Discover easy online billing services

CheckFree and BofA are hardly alone. Smaller, independent web-based services have also jumped in to serve small business.

I recommend: FreshBooks – whose slogan is “painless billing” – is a new Web-based service that aims to offer small business owners and professionals fast and simple invoicing and time tracking services. FreshBooks already claims over 100,000 small business customers, and it’s so different they call it “un-accounting.” Sign up for a free trial. Another option is Transcepta, which just launched a Web-based service that lets you send electronic invoices and receive electronic payments.

Go with a trusted name

QuickBooks, the most popular small business accounting software, also offers e-billing services.

I recommend: Through QuickBooks Merchant Services, you can email invoices, see exactly when they are opened and receive payments online. Data can be automatically integrated with QuickBooks to better manage your finances.

Stay flexible with more scale

If your business is a bit larger, growing fast or has a large number of customers, you may need a more specialized solution.

I recommend: Billtrust is a major billing service provider in the U.S. that handles both paper billing and e-billing via email or the Internet. Solutions include bill design, bill marketing, document archive and retrieval, Web billing and electronic payments.

Help your customers pay the same day

If a customer wants to pay you TODAY, you should have a solution in place.

I recommend: BankServ's SameDayPay service lets them pay from their home or office either online or by phone. With SameDayPay, your customers can click a “Pay Now” button on your Web site and BankServ will complete the transaction either by credit card or a checking account debit. The service is great for handling late payments, recurring bills or perhaps donations and is an inexpensive way to collect your payments. It does the heavy lifting behind the scenes, and you don’t have to wonder if “the check is in the mail.”

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  One early user of the Transcepta service was Multi Visual Products, a small digital photofinishing lab. 'We were struggling with the high cost of postage and man hours to process invoices and paper checks,' says James Clark, president. 'We didn't want to spend $50,000 and three months to develop a new invoicing solution. With the Transcepta service we were able to send invoices in less than a day with no upfront cost.'
• •  Many services offer a free trial and can get you up and running in less than a day. The cost per invoice and payment for e-billing is often less than the price of a stamp.