A blog about our services

Important Information Needed to Make Your Invoices Look Professional

A professional looking (and professional feeling) invoice can definitely go a long way in planting a seed of trust and comfort with your clientele.  In fact, a neat, legible, one-page invoice can make the difference between receiving a payment and your invoice winding up in someone’s trash can.  In addition, the professionalism displayed by your invoice can be a factor in whether or not you get another order/sale/request for service from that customer.  In other words, every little detail makes an impression.  Many times, the last thing your customer sees as a representation of your business is when they are paying the invoice what impression do you want to make?

So other than using Abakoos Invoicing Software how can you make sure your invoices mean business and succeed in delivering payment? 

1. Neat, legible, well organized format - a nice header, easy to read, and consistent font types, and black on white type is the best way to go for a proper looking invoice.  Don’t make your invoice’s formatting sloppy, using mismatched fonts and colors, or crumbled up, dirty, or torn printouts. The person opening up the invoice needs to feel that some time was put into creating the invoice, not being underneath a couple of boxes of pizza from your office party.

2. Use only one piece of paper - don’t send a 20 page long printout of every item purchased, or service rendered, or some shipping order off of the factory floor condense everything into a few line items and send it off. This saves aggravation for your customer and it also saves a couple of bucks.  The easier it is for your customer to identify the bill, the products and services they are being billed for, the easier it will be for them to process payment.

3. Invoices are to be typed, not hand-written - Hand-written notes should be saved for doctor’s prescriptions, not an official document requesting payment. Hand-writing is often sloppy, messy, and sends the message that you rushed to get something on the invoice that you almost forgot about, or that you just ran out of printer ink. If you need to send a client something in hand-writing, use a Hallmark card.

4. Use a white envelope with clear mailing address front - Don’t use a small, personal envelope with an I Love Lucy stamp from the post office to remind someone that they owe you money. Use the standard #10 window envelope with your corporate logo and letterhead to handle this task.

For those of you already using Abakoos’s Invoicing Software, you don’t need to worry about whether your invoice is going to look professional or not. Our invoices are clear, easy to understand, and to the point, representing your business extremely well.  For those who haven’t tried our invoicing software, we welcome you to give us a try and follow some of the simple, yet effective, steps outlined above.

Is there a difference between an Invoice and a Purchase Order?

In the very large and sometimes treacherous world of accounting, there are many terms, software programs, bills and receipts to keep track of - ask any accountant or billing department, and they’ll nod their head in agreement.

So why then are we going to spend time talking about something as trivial as an invoice or a purchase order? Well, believe it or not, these two terms are quite possibly the most mistakenly interchangeable terms in the entire industry. There is a large difference between an invoice and a purchase order, and it basically comes down to this - an invoice is a document issued by a seller to a buyer, and a purchase order is a document issued by a buyer to a seller.

Normally, invoices are sent as ‘after the fact’ documents for money that someone owes someone else in return of goods or services provided. The exchange of goods for services has already taken place, or services have already been performed, and now, money must be collected. Invoices aren’t negotiations or requests - they are requests for payment for services rendered.

On the other hand, Purchase Orders are ‘before the fact’ documents for products, services, or quantity that the seller of a good or service will provide to a buyer. When a purchase order is sent out, no money is owed to anyone and no services have been performed. The buyer must first agree to the price and terms of the Purchase Order before anything happens. Unlike an invoice, a purchase order resembles a stage in the negotiation process.

As we mentioned earlier, these two very different types of documents - Invoices and Purchase Orders - are very often used as one in the same by many individual contractors and businesses. A lot of times, invoices are sent out as estimate requests, and purchase orders are sent out to collect money. It may not seem like a big deal - that is, until you haven’t received your payment or your products or services! Normally, invoices and purchase orders are legally binding documents, and the absence or mixed use of said documents can prevent you from collecting your hard-earned money. We can’t think of a better reason to use Abakoos Invoicing Software, for this reason as well as many others. Our software solutions ensure you send out the right document in a professional manner so you can get paid for your hard work.

SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS - What does it all mean?

There are a lot of terms that you may have heard about or read about online that have to do with the computer industry.  Many of them may leave you scratching your head.  Here at Abakoos Invoicing, we try to simplify things for you so that you don’t have to worry about being bogged down with tech-speak and you have more time to focus on running your business.

However, it’s always good to add knowledge, and continuing (or starting) your education in areas of technology can be beneficial for any business owner.  Let’s face it; just about every business relies on computers in some way to conduct their business.  Today, let’s break down three popular terms in computer programming, that you may have come across at one time or another - SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS.  Do not let the acronyms deter you from learning more, they are actually quite straightforward.

SaaS - this stands for ‘Software as a Service’, and is usually associated with a low-cost way for business people to interact with applications over the internet, without having to install programs or obtain license codes on their own computer.  SaaS has become very popular, mainly because of maintenance costs being very low, but also due to its ease of use and ease of distribution.

PaaS - PaaS is the four-letter acronym for ‘Platform as a Service’.  It’s the grand-daddy to SaaS, because instead of being able to access a single program or single application, you are able to access and work on an entire environment. Platforms bring an entirely different level of complexity to development and applications, making PaaS very attractive for power developers.

IaaS - If PaaS was the grand-daddy to SaaS, then IaaS - ‘Infrastructure as a Service’ - is the grand-daddy of them all! IaaS is also known as ‘Everything as a Service’, because servers, software, data center space and network equipment is all made accessible over the internet, without having to rent space and lease servers. These are really attractive for mid-size and even some large-sized companies, looking to save a lot of money and maintenance costs.

Just for the record, Abakoos Invoicing Software is considered as a ‘SaaS’, because instead of installing software on your computer, you can log-in via our secure portals and do everything that you need right over the comfort of your favorite browser (no installations or multiple licenses per user needed!)

Cloud Computing Revisited

As we recently discussed, Cloud Computing is technology that allows users to access programs over the internet, without installation.  Cloud computing technology is used by Adobe, Google, Yahoo, Intel, and other global technology companies.  We here at Abakoos also are firm believers that Cloud Computing is the future, and believe in its ease of implementation, flexibility, and cost.  We feel it is the best solution for all types of clients who want to leverage robust and powerful software tools without expensive, complicated, or technical installations or implementations on company wide computers.

However, not everyone in the tech sector is on the bandwagon, which raises the debate of Cloud Computing’s security.  John Chambers, Cisco Systems’ Chairman / CEO, recently spoke during a keynote address at an annual security conference, and said [Cloud Computing] is a security nightmare and it can’t be handled in traditional ways.* Other conference speakers, such as MIT Computer Science Professor Ronald Rivest, were more cautiously optimistic, saying that it would takea lot of hard work to make it secure.  There will always be intelligent debate about all things internet and technical and we are constantly scouring different sources for the most up to date trends and information.  Our feeling is simple when some of the largest technology companies in the world buy in to new technologies, like cloud computing, they do not do so lightly.  There are tons of money and man hours spent on research and development before these large Fortune 500 companies adopt and utilize new technology and cloud computing is no different. 

Fortunately for you, we’ve put in tons of hard work here at Abakoos to make our software as secure as technologically possible.  The bottom line is your sensitive data stays completely encrypted and un-hackable. Your invoicing data is completely secure and safe with us - we guarantee it.  Try out our software today!  We are sure you will be more than pleased with the easy of use, the time and money you save, and the peace of mind your data is secure. 

*Source - http://www.csoonline.com/article/490368/Cisco_CEO_Cloud_Computing_a_Security_Nightmare_

Don’t Settle For Less When Preparing Your Company Invoices

You would be astonished if you knew just how many small and medium businesses use Word, Excel, and even PowerPoint for their invoicing needs.  They create spreadsheets, documents, presentations - anything and everything to get their clientele to pay their invoices on time.  But do these programs specialize in creating a professional looking invoice that properly represents their business?  Unfortunately, the answer to that question is No, and some businesses are probably still using handwritten invoicing! 

Why would you create bulky, ugly-looking spreadsheets and tables that hog up disk space and valuable time, when you can create an account with Abakoos Invoicing Software, and use our online software program? With Abakoos, you don’t have to worry about font sizes, type-faces, word-wrap, or spending hours meticulously designing a template. All you need with Abakoos is to log-in to our easy-to-use website, create an account, and you’ll see how simple life will be for you. Spend more time cultivating new business with the time you save by using our easy to use and powerful invoicing software.

That Access database or that Publisher file can get really big, and it can wind up costing you a lot of time and energy managing it. At Abakoos, you don’t have to worry about saving files and creating attachments. Everything is stored on our encrypted, 256-SSL authenticated servers, and you never have any software, patches, or updates to install on your computers ever. Our professional look and feel is a perfect upgrade to your system of using office products for your invoicing needs.  When conducting your business you probably use the best when servicing your clients, why would your invoicing after the sale be any different?

Learn how you can save time and produce a higher quality invoice that better represents your professionalism. If this sounds interesting to your business, visit our homepage where you can start a free trial of our software today!

The Pros and Cons of Standard Mail and Email Invoicing

When considering what to do and what to use to send out your invoices, it’s important to evaluate the pros and cons between the two most used types of delivery methods - regular mail (also known as snail mail) and email.  These invoicing options are used by almost every business on the planet by either mailing out their invoices in standard mail (or FedEx or UPS), or, they email their invoices out.

Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of each:

Standard Mail Invoices - Pros: Unlike Emails, it’s much tougher for Standard Mail to be eaten up by a Spam or Junk folder.  The recipient doesn’t need to add your email address to their trusted user list, and a standard invoice looks (and feels) official.  You can take it one step further by requiring a signature upon delivery to ensure that someone in the organization received the invoice.

Standard Mail Invoices -  Cons: Mail costs money, and as USPS Stamps continue to rise in price, sending letters continues to be more and more expensive.  To send a Standard Mail Invoice, you need to print out the invoice, put in an envelope, stamp / write / type the address label(s), and then put a stamp on it - all of which cost money.  Also, an invoice sent by mail will take 3-5 business days to arrive.  The bottom line is it costs more to send the invoice and takes longer for your invoice to arrive - which delays the time in which you get paid!

Email Invoices - Pros: Email Invoices cut down on printing and postage costs. In fact, they almost eliminate these costs entirely.  With email, you can send an invoice instantly, which is received instantly by your recipient.  Emails can’t get lost in the trash, eaten by the recipient’s dog, or dropped in the wrong mail box by the postman.  You can set your outgoing email to request a read receipt to ensure the person assigned to receive the invoice actually opens the email and acknowledges receipt of the invoice.

Email Invoices - Cons: Email, still to this day, faces 2 challenges that go well beyond email invoices. Email can be mistaken as spam or junk mail and deleted by the recipient’s email program before they even get to look at it. Second, Email faces a credibility problem. An invoice via email can be dismissed as nonsense by its recipient much easier than a standard mail invoice with an official company letterhead.

Which one should you choose? Well, in this economy (and in this technological era), you would be wise to choose the option with the least possible cost and the most time efficient delivery method.  You might also want to consider the level of technical experience and overall preference of your clients who ultimately pay the invoices.  One possible solution is to use a hybrid method based on your customers choice for invoicing delivery send a regular mail invoice for those customers who must have a printed invoice sent by mail.  But send an email version as well, just as a back up to the printed version.  In this way you accommodate your customer’s preference and at the same time get them used to receiving email versions of the invoice.