One of the biggest challenges and frustrations of running a small business is getting paid. Now Sage has announced a new monthly subscription-based invoicing service. Called Sage One Invoicing and costing $9 a month, it is targeting small businesses as its core customers.
The reasons for this seem to be pretty clear. According to the company, 57% of small businesses struggle to get paid quickly. About 71% of these businesses use Word or Excel to generate invoices. And 47% send their invoices in the mail.
So a more organized, more productive system is required. The new invoicing service is being promoted as a simple alternative to other billing methods.
What Makes Sage Simpler?
Well, consider this scenario which is probably very common to many small business owners. You make your own invoices in Word or Excel. Then, you either email them or mail them.
Afterwards it becomes extremely difficult to track the status of those invoices. Which ones have been paid? Which ones are still unpaid? Which ones are partially paid? Keeping on top of it all is a huge challenge. How do you remember to re-invoice late payers?
With Sage, those challenges are eased considerably, the company says. Once you send out your invoices from Sage, the customer can pay directly from the invoice into Sage’s credit card service or Paypal. If the payment is late, Sage One will tell you so you can send the invoice out again. Partial payments are also tracked, the company says.
Another plus is that, being online, Sage can be accessed from any computer with an online connection. Out of the office? No problem. Just sign into your account from another computer to see all of your invoices.
An official announcement from the company has more. Sage One Product Manager Mike Savory said:
“There are many choices in the market today for online invoicing solutions, but some are too complicated for a small business’ needs and others don’t offer enough functionality. Sage One Invoicing is just right for business owners who want to look professional, get paid faster, and get back to doing what they love.”
