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Offline client invoicing, billing, etc what do you use?

by eyfohtik
15 replies
I'm starting the biz and would like to know what the more acceptable approach when taking payments from offline clients.

Do you use an invoicing service? Is Paypal or a Merchant account better?

Do you have recommendations on Merchant account service provider? I have to lead gen campaigns..

I either close the client directly over the phone or in person and send an invoice later after contract is signed. I also perform re-occurring services on a monthly basis and would like to know the best option.

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.
#billing #client #invoicing #offline
  • Profile picture of the author bareket57
    I use paypal for receiving payment from clients. I find it the easiest way. But I also have a postal bank account for receiving payment. Only it takes longer for a client to go to the post office and queue up to pay, than with paypal. So if I want to receive instant payment then paypal is much more convenient.
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  • Profile picture of the author k60mall
    Paypal is best, it saves chasing up your client for payment.
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  • Profile picture of the author Headfirst
    I use Curdbee, its awesome. It creates invoices and estimates, allows clients to approve an estimate online and allows you to send either paper or digital invoices. Clients can pay their invoice online with a bunch of different payment gateways and most of all for me it integrates smoothly with 2Checkout.

    No affiliate links, just a big recommendation from a user.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mark_Austin
    I use Paypal for payments and Freshbooks for invoices which is a great service. It's also free to use for your first 3 clients so you should give it a try. If you have more clients than that it is only $20pm for up to 25 clients and $30pm for unlimited clients.
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  • Profile picture of the author sandalwood
    Are you talking about clients to your specific locale? If so, why wouldn't collecting your retainer in the form of a check while in the business work?

    sandalwood
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    • Profile picture of the author Brandon Ellis
      Though I have mainly been meeting with customers in person and getting a check, somebody referred me to Cannybill.com. I highly recommend you check them out. You can integrate with paypal and get there card info over phone, you can track billing, rebills, deactivate people that don't pay recurring, and automate everything you need. They have a free trial and are really cheap anyways.

      I love it.
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    • Profile picture of the author eyfohtik
      Originally Posted by sandalwood View Post

      Are you talking about clients to your specific locale? If so, why wouldn't collecting your retainer in the form of a check while in the business work?

      sandalwood
      Some of my clients prefer using their business CC for re-occurring payments.
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  • Profile picture of the author windwhirl
    Since you're new to invoicing, i recommend you'd use paypal. it's easier to use. and as k60MALL said, "it saves chasing up your client for payment". but like any other payment options, always be careful and cautious. there are hackers or scammers who sends out mails pretending to be paypal, just to get your actual log in details and steal your money from your account.
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  • Profile picture of the author Quentin
    Lots of businesses pay wages and bills using Internet Banking these days so I just invoice with bank details on the invoice and offer paypal as an alternative.

    Quentin
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  • Profile picture of the author LasseKohau
    I use paypal for small clients, below 1K a month and fresh books for bigger clients, above 1 k a month.

    regards, LASSE
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  • Profile picture of the author cma01
    I have a merchant account and use Authorize.net to accept credit cards. I do also take Paypal, but the majority of my clients either pay by check or credit card.

    For invoicing, I use WHMCS. A license is included with Hostgator's reseller plans. It was originally designed as a billing program for hosting services, so the features and set up are geared towards that. Sometimes you have to massage the way you set up other services.
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    • Profile picture of the author LiquidSeo
      I use a merchant account from Intuit, the makers of Quickbooks. We also use Quickbooks for our accounting.

      I send invoices in .pdf format using an Excel template.
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  • Profile picture of the author jrod014
    If you are using wordpress, I would suggest looking into wp-invoice.

    WordPress › WP-Invoice - Web Invoice and Billing « WordPress Plugins

    It's AWESOME and works with wordpress.
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  • Profile picture of the author ELeadStudio
    FreshBooks is the best one by far from all the other services regards to send invoices and managing clients. Your offline clients wants something organize.. so even if PayPal is the "easiest" way to go and also being used by most of your competitors, take an extra step and put yourself in a higher position. trust me- it works.

    think about it, sometimes you're getting some extra points just because the way you look and/or being different.
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