Start to Manage Your Payments Faster With an Automated Billing System

Have you ever wanted to make your billing processes straightforward and flexible? Perhaps your customer base has recently grown, and now your software lacks specific payment functions? Or maybe your finance department is having a hard time using outdated tools while your customers continue to complain about the speed and security of maintenance?

According to Bottomline, the majority of companies (53%) implement advanced payment solutions for better integration with the core business systems. 26% of respondents are looking to unify several tools into a single solution. While only a few companies (16%) seek an alternative solution because they are unsatisfied with current software.

If you are facing similar problems, you might be losing the potential for growing your business and taking it to the next level. Introducing an automated billing system can address these challenges, increase productivity and efficiency of your company.

Some of the most frequently asked questions in this topic are:

We will get you through in this article.

The automated billing system helps to generate and send bills or invoices without significant human interventions. Clients are charged automatically according to their payment models, discounts, fees, bonuses, and loyalty programs.

Automated solutions successfully replace paper billing systems. They save you hours of reviewing payment documents for accuracy and compliance and prevent manual errors while typing data and adding it to the ERP system. Automated billing is a more robust and advanced option than a simple accounting system. While the latter is used only to record and document financial transactions, the former enables optimizing payment processes and managing daily invoicing.

The automated billing system as a standalone web or mobile software offers easy maintenance, accessibility, and convenience of online transactions in remote areas. Mobile versions are especially gaining importance and becoming one of the crucial drivers of the global e-invoicing market.

Technavio anticipates average annual growth of 19% in this industry from 2020 to 2024.

Automated software has become extremely popular among companies that work through a subscription or retainer model. For example, companies in the banking, telecommunication, travel, and utility industries often charge clients a recurring amount. The solution is a must-have for any healthcare practice where medical staff fills out thousands of forms and manage loads of paperwork. Medical billing systems can successfully automate invoice processing, tracking claims or underpayments, and compliance ensuring (HIPAA-related). For a transportation company billing software helps to control carrier, vendor, and customer invoices.

Although payment software can vary from industry to industry and from one company to another, some features remain fundamental.

Key Features

In the long term, payment solutions help companies to:

Let's get the lowdown on some benefits you may notice in a shorter period.

E-invoicing makes financial transactions faster than ever. It can help your employees save time and resources and focus on the company's strategic plans. With total control and transparency, the software helps to minimize operational errors.

According to Deloitte, businesses could save up to 70% in processing costs compared to manual invoice processing by implementing automated billing software.

Working every day with sensitive clients’ data – a tidbit for scammers and cybercriminals – companies are looking for a way to mitigate security risks. Automated billing systems protect data from stealing due to multi-factor authentication and data encryption.

The SENLA team had the experience of developing a system with secure internet payments for a large financial institution. To perform seamless payments and facilitate 3D-Secure verification, we integrated Merchant Plug-In (MPI) into the system. We also developed a hosted payment page to prevent non-compliant merchants from credit card fraud. All these measures allowed the Client’s customers to complete transactions securely. Additionally, we enhanced the platform with notifications, reports, and various payment methods.

Lastly, billing systems provide companies with structured and organized payment insights.

As you can see, companies greatly benefit from implementing automated payment solutions. However, a potential user may ask: 'Can all businesses introduce e-billing to their workflows? And what are the options for small, medium, and large companies?'

To address these issues, we defined two types of automated billing systems.

If you are looking for ways to structure billing processes in your company, these are the two options: to buy out-of-the-box software or develop a custom one. Each of them has its pros and cons.

1. Out-of-the-box. Many ready-made options provide basic features for billing and invoicing. Generally, they have an affordable price and short-term setup. You can search for reviews on the internet to see if consumers are happy with the purchase and make a considered decision.

On the other hand, out-of-the-box solutions have a low level of customization and can’t fully meet the requirements of every business. You can try to find niche-oriented billing systems which provide you with extensive opportunities, but it's half-measures. Eventually, it will be hard for a company to boost financial processes and improve overall performance.

Additionally, simple software enables synchronization only with the leading third-party services – CRM, ERP, accounting systems, and customer portals. If you use unpopular or custom solutions, you won’t be able to exchange information between them and the billing system.

2. Custom. A more advanced and complex option is creating custom billing software with the help of in-house or outsourced teams.

As a rule, developed solutions successfully address the typical problems of purchased ones. They provide full functionality by integrating with all existing market solutions and internal company products. You have complete control of all your invoices and bills and can build more reliable connections with your clients. Choosing this automated billing system ensures high scalability and qualified support almost 24/7.

However, you have to be ready to spend much time and working resources on a project while planning, negotiating, controlling, and making adjustments. Based on the technical requirements and the complexity of the future invoicing system, the entire process can last several months.

The difference between out-of-the-box and custom billing software is drastic. Yet sometimes, choosing the former or the latter is not that obvious. You can take into account the following information.

1. If you want to “test it till you make it”. It is an excellent opportunity for a company that decided to build its software, but doesn’t know where to start. You can search for several existing solutions, choose one or two and make a test run. Find out what you like about them and what you don't. How can they be improved? Maybe there is something you want to obliterate? Take your time and try engaging as many stakeholders as possible to gather opinions.

2. If you want to start instantly. If your investors or lenders are craving early success, you can install the ready-made software. It is easy to use due to its simple functionality and lack of training. Anyway, not all your employees and clients will be happy to relearn when you decide to go for a custom billing system, so it’s better to think twice.

3. If you are a small company, you can use ready-made apps for organizing and automating your invoicing processes. A centralized database with client records, recurring billing, subscription management, reporting, and fraud detection are must-have features in this case. On the other hand, a small but ambitious company with quickly growing activities is likely to choose another option of developing custom automated billing software.

1. If you have a large customer base. The basic software can’t meet the needs of a company that processes large amounts of financial information. Developing your billing solution can help to handle a complex system of discounts and fees, manage clients’ accounts in different countries and deliver a top-notch customer experience.

2. If you have a wide range of products or services. The trend of personalization is getting popular in every industry. Companies pay more attention to their clients and offer tailored solutions or services, fulfilling every need and desire. As a result, the more comprehensive the product range, the more complicated business and financial operations are. Facing the dilemma of hiring more workers to process more payments or developing a single powerful tool, we recommend choosing the latter.

3. If you need unique features that existing applications lack. Entering global markets, companies can fail due to the lack of the required languages, currencies, and payment methods in their billing software. The willingness to remove dependence on third parties or enhance safety can be another reason for applying for financial software development services.

For one of the SENLA’s clients, the reason to switch to a new mobile banking application was simple. They had an app with limited functionality and legacy technologies that were impossible to expand. Our team made a replacement for the outdated system and included unique features like making payments in various categories and paying fines. A web version created for the customers enabled them to arrange money transfers and manage cards, accounts, loans, and deposits.

4. If you are a large company. Like people can be described “as you are what you eat”, companies are “what business products they use”. Advanced financial software solutions can help you perform better tracking and billing and build stronger relationships with your clients.

Keep in mind that the success of any billing system project depends on finding first-class specialists to assist you.

These are just the tips you can use to make the right decision when choosing out-of-the-box or custom billing systems. Every company has its own business goals, strategies, and operations. So, opt for ready-made options if you have limited budgets or time for training and setup. If you lack unique functionality or existing solutions don’t satisfy your needs, turn to qualified developers.

Automated billing systems are becoming an integral part of any business's large-scale digital transformation strategy. The competent introduction of e-invoicing can result in:

If you think of implementing an automated billing system, SENLA will be happy to help. We have versatile experience in developing financial software solutions for all types of businesses and complexity. Feel free to contact our BD team to get a personal consultation.