With the ability to accept payments online, small businesses can improve cash flow and pass time savings on to other aspects of their business. QuickBooks for the Web users will also be able to take advantage of this service in version 2, which is expected to be released later this month.
According to the a press release, the average QuickBooks user sends almost 700 invoices to his/her customers each year. If businesses using this service could save even five minutes on each invoice by sending the invoice via email and enabling online payments, the result would be a savings to the business of approximately 58 hours of time each year.
QuickBooks Online Billing enables small businesses to eMail professional looking electronic invoices and estimates directly to customers from within QuickBooks 2001. Through a relationship with PayPal, the largest provider of Web-based payment services, users can payment-enable invoices sent by eMail, giving customers the option to pay with a credit card or transfer funds directly from their bank account. Once the payment is made, a confirmation is sent via eMail. An alert also appears in QuickBooks, so the payment record can be automatically downloaded and captured into QuickBooks 2001. The service is designed so small businesses never have to manually enter the data into the accounting system. This service will also become available to QuickBooks for the Web users when version 2.0 is released later this month.
QuickBooks Online Billing is also integrated with QuickBooks Site Solutions. If the user has a Web site built with QuickBooks Site Solutions, his or her customers can view and pay statements directly from the user’s Web site, which shows and promotes the user’s business brand.
