Good management of the billing process ensures good customer relations, healthy cash flow, and saves time and other administrative resources . However, many small and medium business owners neglect this task because they consider it tedious, bureaucratic and even minor.

For this reason, today we want to tell you how to create a strategy for generating , sending and monitoring electronic invoices that automates and facilitates the process. There are five practical tips that you cannot ignore. Let us begin!

#1. Use a good electronic invoicing platform

The first step is to have intelligent software , easy to use and capable of updating according to the latest provisions of the Tax Administration Service (SAT) . In addition, it allows precise monitoring of each stage of the process.

Also consider that today you no longer have to purchase a platform license and you can subscribe for a fixed payment per month. What will you get? Unlimited electronic invoices , technical support and updates at no extra cost.

Some useful features that we recommend when choosing between the different providers are:

• Issue credit notes, fee and lease receipts
• Issue CFDIs with tax supplements, such as the Carta Porte
• Relate CFDI and proof of payment automatically
• add discounts
• Define taxes such as VAT, ISR, IEPS, transfers or withholdings
• Create CFDI in pesos and in dollars, with payment complements authorized by the SAT
• Accept or reject the cancellation of an invoice
• Keep track of customers, products and third parties through catalogs
• Generate statistics of the most important customers and best-selling products
• Save a backup in the cloud of the CFDI generated.

#two. Agree a billing and payment protocol with each client

Unless your sector is of mass consumption, do not apply the same billing process for all your clients; especially if you provide highly specialized services. So, both when signing a contract and before generating the first CFDI, ask the following questions:

• Is it necessary to send a purchase order every month? On what date?
• Who will be the person in charge of signing that purchase order?
• To whom should the invoice be sent?
• What are the data that must be included in the CFDI? (RFC, product or service keys, use of CFDI, etc.)
• What are the data that must be included in the CFDI payment complement?
• How long will the bill be paid?
• Will the invoice be covered in a single payment or through several payments?

Keep in mind that you can agree on a billing protocol for each client; But never go against the interests of the business or accept, for example, 90-day payments if it will affect cash flow and the ability of the company to meet its commitments.

#3. Avoid common delays

The first step in removing cash flow bottlenecks is to submit invoices on time. So, once the schedule is defined with each client, make sure to comply each month with the generation and sending of purchase orders, CFDIs and payment supplements as agreed.

If you won’t be handling invoices yourself, ask your accounting staff to:

• Load the correct information of each client in the system and save it to generate it automatically each time a CFDI is made.
• Send the invoice to the indicated person.
• Make sure you receive an email or notice confirming the receipt and acceptance of the CFDI.
• The corresponding payment CFDIs are generated and sent in order to avoid future accounting problems.

#4. Take advantage of mobility

Mistakes can happen: perhaps a client alerts you to a problem while you’re on the road visiting a client or on vacation. Fortunately, there are mobile billing platforms, even for 30 days at no cost, that allow you to cancel a CFDI and send the new receipt from anywhere and at any time through an application installed on a smartphone or tablet.

#5. Offers various payment options

Finally, make life easier for your clients by giving them several options so that they can comply with the payment of invoices ; for example, deposits and bank transfers, credit and debit cards, and payment links through platforms such as Mercado Pago or Paypal .

As your business grows and has a greater financial back, it also offers the option of payments in installments and without interest, so you will significantly boost the purchase decision of your customers.