Are you new to accounting software? That’s OK, so am I. But there has never been a better time to leave the spreadsheets for a more efficient method than today.
In fact, things could probably be at least five times easier for your company if you started using software like ZipBooks. I’ll grant that this is my first introduction into the world of accounting, but here are 5 reasons why I love the software:
1. Zipbooks is absolutely free
And although I don’t have experience with paid software, I can tell you that I haven’t run into a single limitation in ZipBooks. They’ve ditched the monthly user fees, and haven’t added any hidden fees or ads to make up the loss. How do they make money? They provide invoice financing, which is actually a cool feature for those that need a cash advance on an invoice their customer hasn’t paid yet. If that isn’t something you need, it’s a non-issue.
2. ZipBooks is completely intuitive and easy to use
Opening an account with Zipbooks only requires an email and a password, and once inside, you can start using the software instantly. There are helpful tutorials that walk you through additional account settings, but if you want to get straight to sending invoices and getting paid, you can! Just click “Invoices” on the the left hand side of the screen, and click “+ New Invoice” in the top right, and you’re good to go.
Once you’ve opened a new invoice, you’ll see the following:
I’ve circled my favorite feature of this page, the “Select or Add Customer” button. To bill customers in your existing customer list, all you have to do is enter the customer’s name and ZipBooks automatically inserts the relevant information for you. But ZipBooks doesn’t even require you to create a customer list before you start billing. If you want to send an invoice to someone for the first time, just insert the name of the customer and click “add.” Information lines will pop up that you can fill out, and the information you enter is automatically saved to your existing customer list.
Notice the little green box in the bottom right? That’s a chat box. For new users, it automatically pulls up tutorial steps when you use a feature for the first time. If you have any questions, you can type in the box and jump into a live chat with a ZipBooks representative about that specific task.
In short, I’ve found that ZipBooks will run alongside its users as they work through their day. It doesn’t make me go back and set things up before starting the task that’s on my mind. Instead, it just prompts me
3. ZipBooks allows you to set up recurring profiles
The next three points have to do with features you may be unaware of if you haven’t used accounting software before. A recurring profile is pretty much a way to charge a customer on a consistent basis, and it’s usually a premium feature that costs money. ZipBooks allows you to set this up for free, and once you have, it will automatically send invoices to your customers according to your specifications. Monthly, yearly, quarterly, it’s your choice, ZipBooks can do it.
4. ZipBooks can automatically turns estimates into invoices
If you provide project services for your customers, you know that prices vary based on how much work you put in. In ZipBooks, you can send project estimates to your customers with projected time and costs. When they accept your proposals, ZipBooks will automatically turn the estimates into invoices. That means you fill out the information once, and you’re done.
5. ZipBooks does the math for you
ZipBooks eliminates the need to calculate what to charge your customers. The time tracking feature combines with your custom hourly rate to do the math for you. When you pull up an invoice and enter in a customer’s name, ZipBooks will notify you if you’ve done work for that customer that hasn’t been billed. You can instantly add that cost to your invoice with just one click: “Add to Invoice”.
This feature even works with recurring profiles, so you don’t have to do anything but provide your services and wait for the money to come in.
Conclusion
No doubt about it, spread sheets are outdated, and ZipBooks is the best online invoice maker I’ve ever used. I’m not too tech savvy, but this one was a no-brainer for even me. And if you want to go mobile, they’ve even got a ZipBooks iOS app that I’ve written about here.
