There is no question that a healthy, positive cash flow is essential to your company’s profitability and growth. Inaccurate, late or lost invoicing can seriously put a squeeze on your cash flow and profits. That’s why it’s so important to stay on top of your company’s invoicing and billing cycle. The clock for service-to-cash starts ticking the moment the job is done, not when the customer is invoiced. The longer the delay between the service and invoice dates, the greater the cash flow crunch your business will deal with.
So how do you avoid a cash flow catastrophe? Stop relying on inefficient manual or outdated methods. Slash your invoicing and billing time in half by automating your field service processes. Using a comprehensive field service management software that connects the technician with the back office will help you improve and accelerate your invoicing and billing cycle, eliminate unnecessary errors and cut down on unbillable hours.
Here are some tips to improve your invoicing speed & accuracy:
- Invoice automation
Automate the work order process to achieve shorter service-to-cash cycles. Empower your techs to record and close work orders in real time while on-site, with the ability to generate invoices on their mobile devices. Your customers can sign-off electronically and approve the work done, parts used and labor time spent. With this information instantly captured in the system, your back office team can issue the invoice to the customer right away. No more time wasted waiting for paperwork or re-entering data.
- Access important information in the field
What labor rate does a particular customer pay? Which parts of the job are covered under warranty or service contract? When you equip technicians with instant access to the right customer information in the field, they can create service tickets that speed up, not slow down, the customer approval and billing process. Data can also be auto-populated so your information is consistent every time.
- Monitor cash flow
Once you have a system that can track invoices, you can also use it to monitor their statuses and easily track down the ones that are past due.
Long service-to-cash cycles negatively affect your bottom line hampering your ability to grow your business. The easiest way to solve cash flow problems is to get paid as quickly as possible. With the right technology, you can accelerate that cycle and get paid quickly and accurately every time. With a comprehensive field service management software, invoicing is easy, and so is getting paid!
Contact FIELDBOSS for more information.