Ask any small business owner to name the most frustrating cost of doing business and you can be pretty sure of their answer: billing and collecting payments."It's ironic and frustrating for many small business operators that gathering their earnings -- from billing to collections -- can actually cost them time and money," says John Jhong, chief executive officer of etransactus.com, an on-line service provider that helps small businesses trim billing and collection costs.
Software accounting programs make it somewhat easier for small business owners to keep track of their books and generate bills. But, says Jhong, businesses that use a program to generate paper bills that are mailed, or even electronic bills that are e-mailed, are still not maximizing their time if they continue to receive payments the old-fashioned way. Many small business owners find themselves using one program for book keeping, another for billing and still something else for receiving payments.
"Peak cost savings can only be realized through streamlining all systems -- from accepting orders to providing electronic payment options to customers," says Jhong. "Increasingly, online service providers like etransactus are offering full integration of key systems. It's a great way to maximize your cost savings, streamline all processes. You also avoid the expense of purchasing and operating multiple software programs, and having to purchase, operate and maintain data servers and bigger desktop PCs."
"This is what larger companies have been doing for years," Jhong notes. "Small businesses are catching on to the benefits and are cutting operating costs as much as 15 percent."
For example, etransactus' esuite product integrates automated order entry, billing, payment processing and inventory management components in a single online product. By using a system that links all these components, business owners eliminate the need to enter the same piece of data into multiple systems -- or into one system multiple times -- and thereby avoid costly errors. While Esuite is not an accounting program, it can communicate and share data with several popular accounting programs, like Quickbooks.
The system also empowers business owners to create and issue bills online, and receive payments electronically, eliminating much of the time and expense associated with billing and collection. Even if a business owner still practices manual book keeping, he or she can use etransactus' system to automate billing and payment receipt processes, says Jhong.
To learn more about streamlining your business and cutting costs, visit www.etransactus.com.
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