You opened your own catering business because you love to cook. You went into the bakery business to sell cookies and cakes. You didn’t open your own landscaping company because you love paperwork. Yet to be a prosperous small business owner, you can’t ignore the financial side of your business, and this means that you have to make sure that you properly invoice your clients. Neglecting to invoice your clients can leave you with a serious cash flow problem, one which, if left unchecked, could put you out of business.

Invoicing help online

Using a web-based invoicing service is a viable option for business owners who need a quicker, more reliable way, and often-automatic ways to invoice their clients. There are a large number of available online options to choose from that can take that tiresome task of paperwork off your plate. Below we’ll examine just 3 of the options out there:

A free but powerful invoicing service

BillingBoss has a big advantage: It’s free. This online tool allows you to set up automatic invoicing of repeat customers and send out once-off invoices to those customers who aren’t regular. Do not be deceived because this service is free. It should be plenty powerful enough for the majority of small business owners.

A power tool

Next let’s examine AcceptPay. Developed and run by American Express, AcceptPay is a very impressive service that connects with QuickBooks, allows online payments, and has a wider variety of invoicing options. At the reasonably low monthly price of $30, this is a great choice for those businesses that desire a more robust service.

Invoicing for the tech-savvy

Lastly we’ll consider the most customizable option of the bunch, BambooInvoice. This open source program is hosted on your own servers and can be easily customized for your business’ needs. So if you need more control and are a little tech-savvy, BambooInvoice could be your best choice.

The best news for business owners is that these services are only a small sample of the many online invoicing services available, most of them free or low-cost. Those business owners who wish to quickly gain control over their invoicing process should check them out.