Imagine this scenario: a business will be collecting payments from a certain individual. The money will be used by the business to pay its tax obligations to the government.
The business, in this case, chose to go by the conventional practice of issuing a paper invoice. In this process, the business will have to print out the said invoice and send it by post.
Unfortunately, the manually-processed invoice has the wrong purchase order number. For that reason, it has to be reissued. The whole process will have to be repeated. A new set of resources will have to be used.
Needless to say, the business will have to delay settling its tax dues.
Break Free from the Old Habit
The example above is just one of the many issues tied to the conventional, manual practice of issuing paper invoices. Businesses who still apply this practice need to acknowledge that it hurts their cause regardless of whether or not they admit that it does.
According to an article published in The Sydney Morning Herald, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) noted that “20 percent of Australia’s $26 billion worth of annual invoices are paid late.” Human errors in the conventional manual entry process are to blame. The ATO cited sending invoices to the wrong person and erroneous invoices as examples.
Time to Go Digital
Save valuable time and limited resources by issuing digital invoices instead. This will allow you to collect payments faster and more efficiently. This kind of improvement to your cash flow lets you accomplish more than settling your dues on time (or even earlier). It can likewise enable your staff to attend to other important business matters and increase their levels of productivity. Higher productivity leads to bigger profits too.
Take the First Step
Old habits are hard to break. However, change is good even if it usually makes us feel uncomfortable. It is only when we step out of our comfort zones can we expect substantial improvements. Since we need to start somewhere, we can transition from paper to digital invoices as a first concrete step towards improving our cash flow, profit, and reputation.
Build a Better Image
Finding ways to do things better is always a great idea. It is good for your business’ reputation as it gives the impression that you are grounded enough to acknowledge the need to improve. Make your business more valuable by displaying your ability to adapt to the times.
You can attract investors with your willingness to drop old practices to give way to new and better ones. This can be your edge if you decide to put your business on the market down the line. When that time comes, you can contact us to get expert advice on matters that include but are not limited to businesses for sale Australia. These lines are open: phone: 03 9226 9222, fax: 03 9078 6315, email: info@nationalbrokers.com.au.
