Billing System Optimization

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#1
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1)I have "retail " income tax return clients ....

When they come in to the office, they give me a check or a card.

When they are electronic, I send them a PayPal invoice, they can call with a card number, or they can mail a check.

This works pretty well, but is there a more efficient way?

2) I have business clients requiring various bundles of services and I bill them (usually the same amount) monthly, though some are quarterly.

Here's where I need the most help.

Some clients have a card on file, which we have to run. Some clients require permission to charge their card. Some prefer to pay quarterly. Some mail a check. Some are always late. Some have cards that are often hacked. Some prefer a pay pal invoice. Its a LOT to manage.

Obviously, a fix was to require a card on file for all new clients, billed monthly, without asking each time. We require this now for new clients only. We use chase paymentech and the price seems reasonable. Though nothing is automated.

But I still have 30 mish mosh clients when it comes to billing.

Any ideas? What do you do? Any good services or software out there?
 

#2
ATSMAN  
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If you have walk in clients and they want to pay with a Debit or Credit card you MUST have a card reader to run the card! No calling in to PayPal with the card. I tried that years back and is not workable IMHO.

You need to decide what method you will use for habitually late clients. I would either disengage or change them to card on file. You are not in the business of chasing payments.

I have used PayPal invoice with a small group of out of state clients that I can trust to pay. Same with Zelle.
 

#3
CathysTaxes  
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Personalized invoicing is a major PITA. One client, even though I would invoice for my services, would wait until he received a statement and then he would decide to pay the whole amount or partial. I then had to continuously send statements. Emailing the statement got no results, I had to FAX them. I'm retiring the business clients because I don't want to deal with this anymore. Individual tax clients get a choice of online payments with PayPal or give me or mail me a check. I trust the long-term clients with mailing in the checks. Their returns are efiled when the checks are in transit. I no longer give hard copies or pdf copies until payment is received.
Cathy
CathysTaxes
 

#4
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There are a few posts on this issue. You can use the yellow box.

What you need is something more automated and something that integrates with your bookkeeping software. Your current system involves you and your staff too much. There's too much opportunity for mistakes, finger pointing, and, I would think, data leaks because someone saw client CC info that they weren't supposed to see.

I use the built-in invoicing module for QuickBooks Online. It works well enough for me.

After I prepare an invoice and press send, the client gets an invoice email. The payment is generally due 15 days from receipt. They can pay online via debit card, credit card, EFT, or Apple Pay, or they can pay by mailing in a check. If they pay by one of the former four, everything is automated and I'm not involved in the process. They enter their info online via one of their devices, and I just match everything correctly in QuickBooks once it comes through.

If they pay by check, I deposit using mobile deposit at my desk, and match once it comes through.

One can customize QB invoicing system to send automatic reminder emails, add interest, etc. I don't use these features, but they're available. Clients who consistently pay invoices late and require me to chase them find themselves on the chopping block...they usually don't last long.
 

#5
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Ditch PayPal and do not even mention it to clients. It is not a way to manage electronic payments for a service company.

What software do you use for your firm's invoicing? Bill.com can integrate with some and can automate, as can Bill & Pay. Biller Genie is another option.

I still use Quickbooks despite lack of automation of capturing payments on a defined date. It doesn't take me that long and all clients are sent invoices electronically, and all but one or two pay electronically via the link in the e-mail body. Average cost is around 3%, more than content paying that because it does save me a lot of time from ever having to go to the bank.
 

#6
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I'll definitely use the search field, thanks.

My processor is Chase Paymentech, and they recommend "FuseBill". Which for less than 1 million is sales, costs $300/month.

For that I can pay someone $15 an hour for 20 hours a month to handle it which is more than is needed. Doesn't seem worth it.

Though I admit that I can't seem to find a $15 an hour worker who I can trust to handle it.

We use QB desktop for the bookkeeping of our practice, and for clients that demand an invoice and to mail a check, I use the free version on invoice-generator.com.
 

#7
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ItDepends wrote:We use QB desktop for the bookkeeping of our practice, and for clients that demand an invoice and to mail a check, I use the free version on invoice-generator.com.


Why not send invoices out of QB desktop?
 

#8
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ItDepends wrote:We use QB desktop for the bookkeeping of our practice, and for clients that demand an invoice and to mail a check, I use the free version on invoice-generator.com.


Respectfully, it sounds like you're all over the place with billing practices and you do something different for X, Y, or Z client.

You need to have one protocol for billing and stick to it, otherwise you're inviting inefficiencies and opportunities for mistakes into your practice. It's best to simplify and to have standard procedures in place for your staff. They will be happier.

Again, my process is simple and the exact same for each client. It takes me 1 minute, give or take, to prepare and send an invoice if the client is already in my QBO system. If the client pays online, the process is almost completely automated and I'm barely involved. The client and Intuit's systems do most of the work. If the client pays by check, I'm more involved but the billing process leading up to the check is the exact same.

Don't let a small contingent dictate how you bill them and collect. Be flexible with payment options but firm with your protocol.

I don't know if QB desktop will allow you to invoice and collect payments like QBO, but if it does, like missingdonut, I don't see why you'd spend $3,600 per year for something new that you're already paying for with QB desktop but don't utilize. You should seek to understand what features your software provides then proceed to extract maximum value from it.
 

#9
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Yes, QBD allows invoicing and electronic payments. It has automation as long as you go to the "Make Merchant Services Deposits" under Banking menu, where it tends to be done automatically in QBO based on a live feed. I find QBD's system to be more reliable, I have had QBO pull in duplicates way too many times.

I cannot fathom not utilizing an accounting system to its fullest extent, including time tracking (even if you use the T-Sheets integration instead of Quickbooks' own time tracking), invoicing, and payments of some sort (does not have to be Intuit's system, there are others that integrate very well, which I named in my prior post). Do not let clients drive your business processes.
 

#10
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Qbo with merchant services is the best and it syncs with AR. Just use this.
 

#11
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I have to say that I'm not crazy about Intuit products - especially lately. Also, it is the automation that I'm looking for.

So I had a meeting with a bill.com representative, and I'm not so impressed with them either. Well, I mean, the system looks fine, but here are the things that I need to help me save time but that it doesn't do:

1) If an automated subscription is late in paying, it will remind them, but it won't add a late fee or interest. I still have to change the invoice. I want a program that does this for me (adds the late fee).

2) If a client has an automictic recurring payment, but their bank or card information changes or expires - I still need to manage it (chase down the client, enter the data, etc). The time costs for this task seems endless for some reason. I am looking for a way to make the client enter their payment information right into the system for changes to automated payments. (bill.com can have the client enter the info - but not for changes to 'automated recurring payments'. It only does this if I send the client a bill each time).

3) If I have a client for whom I wish to charge a monthly or quarterly amount, but that amount varies, it does not remind me to bill them for the period or run it automatically after I update the amount. I need a system that shows me who I need to bill, I enter an amount, and it charges their card on file automatically.

It doesn't seem like my systemization requests above appear to be that difficult or complex.

Does QB do these things? Does any service do these things?
Last edited by ItDepends on 16-Oct-2020 4:20pm, edited 1 time in total.
 

#12
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Regarding #1, QBO handles that flawlessly. You can set multiple reminders to automatically send X number of days before or after the due date. Can't say for QB Desktop.
 

#13
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I don't love Intuit either but I'll give them money when they have a cromulent system. I've never used bill.com before but my understanding is that QB syncs well with it. Couldn't you just automatically have QBD generate late fee/interest invoices to take care of #1, and set up your invoicing as memorized transactions in QB to send to bill.com so that they aren't considered automated recurring payments under #2?

For #3, I am confused on why you have monthly or quarterly charges that vary each time. Is this a situation where you bill by the hour but for some clients you will only send an invoice once every quarter? If so, you could look into using customer types in QuickBooks to track this information in QB. But it won't be automated... I don't know of any solution that could automate such a complex billing system.

Automated billing will not happen until you streamline your billing practices. You can have some clients on hourly billing and others on fixed fee arrangements if you want, but their options need to be on your terms. For example, if you have a client that only wants to be billed quarterly, you can accommodate that, but they have to agree to a fixed fee arrangement.
 

#14
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ItDepends wrote:
Does QB do these things? Does any service do these things?


You are asking too much for off-the-shelf software relative to merchant account rules/regulations. You need a custom solution/ERP to address what you mentioned, but will still encounter hurdles.

Intuit handles #1 very well, and is fantastic if integrated with something like Bill & Pay. #2 is difficult because of the regulations and rules concerning merchant accounts for merchants, so you're not really going to find it. #3 is a process issue, not software limitation. If the amount varies, how can your software possibly know? Yes, you can get customized software to remind you a variable fee client needs to be invoiced and the payment processed, but good luck getting full automation. I keep client payment info on record, in this case, and have signed authorization that I can process payments for any amount I determine to be due.
 

#15
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what's the update on the topic of choices for small firm that uses QBO to get paid and have the payment automatically record in QBO?

Low volume, but payments usually over 2k each.

Don't accept credit cards.

My small bank doesn't do Venmo or the other one.

I'm ok with paying a fixed 3 or 4 bucks per transaction, but not a percentage that everyone wants for credit cards.

Intuit QBO Merchant Services 1% max of $10 is tolerable. But can I prevent clients from selecting pay by credit card?

https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-sup ... 00/535052#

Don't an "ATM" choice.

Looked at Bill and Pay, but that looks like only an intermediary with a payment processor. So fees on top of fees?
 

#16
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There is not really any reputable merchant processor that is going to have a flat fee for debit or credit cards--they are always going to be percentages. Every single merchant company I have seen take a fixed-fee approach with clients typically does not retain the clients very long and has tremendous turnover because they ultimately cannot deliver what they promise.

I know in QBD, I can select which payment methods are available to each client. I believe you can in QBO, but I'll have to look at a client's setup to confirm.
 

#17
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i just spoke w Fattmerchant.com. They wern straight forward and said they're optimized for credit card transactions and competitive at 7,000/month sales per month and above. Otherwise their subscription model doesn't work.

Almost none of my clients would be using credit cards. So I'd have to pay their monthly subscription plus 1% on ACH.

BillandPay.com monthly is 30 bucks but the ACH cost is a fixed low.55 So that sounds like more matched to my needs of low volume higher dollar amount non credit card bills.

Wonder what the risks are going with any of the less well established payment processors? Still remember a local N California payroll processor of some years ago that went under. Quite a few companies, including some large ones, lost their withheld undepositied payroll taxes.
 

#18
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I ended up going with bill.com and I'm happy with it. I would recommend it.

I think that being worried about going with a smaller merchant is a valid concern. The time costs of having to switch again later are always more than you think.
 

#19
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just spoke w https://cpacharge.com/features/pricing/ . Salesguy was straightforward. He explained that the profit for them was in credit card processing, not ach. If anything ACH is higher risk for them if the payer bounces a payment.

For aicpa members, they'll waive monthly fee for six months, for calcpa members they'll waive for an additional 3 months plus give 200 credit towards fees.

Doesn't sound easy to prevent clients from paying by credit cards, which is what I want to do.
 

#20
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QBO has the same option as QBD to prevent clients from paying via credit/debit card. It can be eCheck only (similar to ACH).
 

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