What are the benefits, processes, and best practices of outsourcing your invoice management process? Our Outsourcing Guide will empower you with practical advice, highlight potential pitfalls, and present a compelling case for why outsourcing can be a strategic decision for businesses.
If you are a small to medium-sized business owner, finance manager, accounting professional, or operations manager, our guide is for you. Read on and take control of your business’s future!
Understanding the Basics
What is the invoice management process, and why is it important? The invoice management process, or invoice management, is a systematic approach that helps you to track and settle invoices efficiently. First, these invoices need to be forwarded to your client. Next, the payment needs to be collected. Getting paid is of primary importance in any business. However, without a robust process in place, challenges such as errors and missed payments can arise.
Managing invoices in-house can be time-consuming, with numerous challenges and standard errors. Invoices can slip through the cracks, clients may not be billed for products or services, and following up on overdue invoices becomes increasingly time-consuming. However, outsourcing your invoice management process can liberate you from these tasks, allowing you to focus on more productive and efficient aspects of your business.
Why Outsource Invoice Management
There are numerous compelling reasons to outsource your invoice management process. These include significant cost savings, access to specialized expertise, enhanced efficiency and accuracy, scalability, flexibility, and more time to focus on your core business. Let’s delve into these benefits.
Cost Savings
When it comes to your business’s economy, outsourcing your invoice management process cuts costs. With a virtual assistant from a reputable company, you’ll have a competent worker who only works the hours you require to accomplish tasks. This eliminates the hassles of finding a part-time worker or bearing the financial weight of hiring someone full-time.
Access to Specialized Expertise
A virtual assistant that specializes in the invoice management process is capable of not only sending but also creating invoices for you by building out templates. Everything is recorded once invoices are sent on an individual or recurring schedule. From here, your Virtual Assistant will send reminders to your clients as the payment date approaches and red flag anything past due. The final step includes your VA securing these late payments for you.
Enhanced Efficiency and Accuracy
Your company will enjoy enhanced efficiency once time-consuming invoice management is outsourced. This will also give you peace of mind, knowing your clients are being billed accurately and on time. Moreover, you’ll be paid for your business efforts much more quickly.
Scalability and Flexibility
Outsourcing your invoice management process allows you the flexibility to only employ your Virtual Assistant during the hours needed. Your VA may start part-time, but as you scale, so too can the number of hours your VA works. This is flexibility at its best.
More Focus on Core Business
This new distributed workforce allows you and your team to focus on other tasks and goals, such as meeting Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and deadlines, while increasing profits. It’s incredible what you can accomplish through outsourcing your invoice management process.
Many companies make the mistake of not outsourcing their invoice management process because they see it as an expense. If you plan to generate over $100,00 in revenue, you won’t hit your goals by spending your time doing $20 tasks.
Invoice Management Outsourcing Process
What are the steps involved in the invoice management outsourcing process? From the initial assessment of what you need to selecting a service provider, the transition phase, and through to VA management, we have you covered. Read on for a detailed guide!
1. Initial Assessment
The first step is to identify your needs. Which tasks do you want outsourced? What specific tasks would you like your VA to handle? What are the hard and soft skills you require your VA to have? Think about language proficiency, technical skills, and industry knowledge. Write everything down. Remember, when hiring a VA, you hire a new team member. Ensure a good fit for your company by taking the time to assess your needs fully.
Create A Job Description
Create a job description for the role. Include a backgrounder on your company. Next, outline the education, work experience, and skills required. Identify the tasks and duties needed on the job and any apps, tools, and software your company uses. A job description will also help define the work scope required.
2. Select A Service Provider
When looking for a Virtual Assistant to outsource your invoice management process, a quick online search will give you many possibilities. There are several key factors to consider when narrowing down your choice. These include experience, technology, security, and customer service support.
Experience Matters
Look for a service provider with many years of experience and glowing testimonials to back them up. Note the criteria they use when selecting a VA. With this in mind, build a short list of potential service providers.
Technology for Teams
Technology helps make the workplace and work culture easier. Check out your service provider’s technology and see if it integrates with the software packages you currently use. Some service providers have their own easy-to-use software. For example, Wing has introduced the Wing Workplace app to help you manage your day-to-day operations.
The Wing Chat feature allows you to communicate directly with your VA. The Wink Screen Recorder helps you effectively train your assistant on standard operation procedures by easily making videos. The Wing Workplace app allows you to delegate and manage tasks easily. What’s more, you will enjoy unlimited cloud storage for all of your content needs.
Consider Security Issues
Make sure the service provider is familiar with security measures and best practices. Do their employees need to sign non-disclosure and data security agreements? How do they monitor their software and access logs? Where are the files stored, and do they use private key encryption?
Customer Service Support
Then, there is reliable customer service. Some companies offer a dedicated customer service manager who is familiar with your business. This representative is there to quickly identify and solve quality issues efficiently. All you need to do is ask! What’s more, this support may be available around the clock, depending on your service provider; this ensures a smooth transition and ongoing quality supervision.
3. Transition Phase
Every new worker goes through a transition phase. Learning the ropes in a new work environment takes time. Let’s look at some of the ways to set up your VA for success.
The Set-Up Process
On the first day, help your new team member feel welcomed with an onboarding process. Introduce your VA to your company and some of the key players who are part of it. Let them know about the software and tools you want to use. Most importantly, make sure your new VA has access to any training materials you have to ensure success.
Data Migration
Your VA must have access to all the data needed to complete tasks. Select, prepare, and move all files needed to a shared file. Think Google Drive or DropBox. Your service provider may also have one they have created specifically for their clients.
Training
Initially, when working with a new VA, it is important to establish the scope of work for which they will be responsible. Setting up a process that includes a standard operating procedure will help VAs understand what is needed by you, along with a step-by-step guide on how to achieve this. You can use a written format such as a manual or a video tutorial. Use the method you feel most comfortable with.
Task Management and Tools
Create prioritized task lists and deadlines to ensure everything is completed efficiently. If you aren’t using these tools already, think about employing software management tools such as Monday, Asano, or Trello. This will allow your assistant to work autonomously while following the directions you have set up.
4. Ongoing Management
Management in business is an ongoing process for success. It involves regular communication, performance monitoring, and the opportunity for continuous improvement. Let’s take a closer look.
Regular Communication
Schedule regular check-ins with your VA at a set time that works for both of you. That way, any issues or concerns will be given your full attention. Encourage questions and feedback. Communication is a two-way street!
Performance Monitoring
Monitor the performance of your VA and give advice on what is working and what needs to be improved. This helps to reinforce guidelines.
Continuous Improvement
When you’ve hired the best VA for your invoice management process, you have a specialist on your team. Be open to tasks being performed differently to improve systems and accuracy continually.
Best Practices for Outsourcing Invoice Management
Let’s look at some of the best practices for outsourcing invoice management.
Establish Clear Communications and Expectations
Communicate with your VA regularly via email, video, or other communication methods to ensure your expectations are met. Give positive feedback for what is working while pointing out what needs improvement.
Regular Performance Reviews
Set up monthly performance reviews initially. After six months, consider moving this to three to six-month intervals. Your VA needs feedback.
Leveraging Technology
New technology can help streamline processes. AI makes a good editing tool for any written text. It can speed up basic writing tasks that many find hard to complete.
Building A Strong Relationship with Your Service Provider
Stay in contact with your service provider. The company is there to help. Express any concerns, but don’t forget to follow up with positive work experiences.
Potential Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
Pitfalls are part of business. This doesn’t mean you can’t look ahead and try your best to avoid them. Let’s hone in on some common mistakes as well as tips for ensuring a smooth transition and effective outgoing management.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
One of the biggest mistakes is micromanaging. Remember that you hired a VA to assist you. Once the training is complete, trust the process. Do not hinder their work.
On the other side of the coin is offering very little training or guidance. The VA will not be successful without these perimeters in place.
Tips for Effective Ongoing Management
Ask for weekly updates from your Virtual Assistant so they can report to you what they have accomplished and how much time was spent on each task. What were the challenges or problems that they faced? This is how you can troubleshoot additional training or help needed.
Create a culture of feedback. Let your VA know that they can ask questions and that their feedback is essential to the health of your business. This is an integral part of keeping teams engaged.
Conclusion
There are so many benefits when outsourcing invoice management. From cost savings, access to specialized expertise, enhanced efficiency and accuracy, scalability, and flexibility to more time to focus on your core business needs.
Many companies mistakenly avoid outsourcing their invoice management, viewing it as a cost. However, if your goal is to generate over $100,000 in revenue, spending time on $20 tasks will hinder your progress. Ask for the help you need.
What are you waiting for? Contact Wing today to get started.
Wing helps small to medium-sized business owners, finance managers, accounting professionals, or operations managers find the perfect VA to outsource invoice management.
Wing Assistant employs a highly-trained global workforce of college-educated professionals who speak fluent English and operate under the supervision of experienced managers.
When you hire a personal assistant through Wing Assistant, your dedicated VA focuses solely on your business, ensuring they grow with you. Additionally, your VA receives support from trainers and supervisors and benefits from a proprietary quality management system.
Get in touch with our team today to learn more!
Karen is a freelance journalist and content marketer writing in tech, retail, and hospitality. Her work has appeared in websites like Tech Times and the International Business Times, where she frequently writes about digital marketing and the SaaS industry. You can reach out to her through https://karenbarrwriter.com/.
