Field Service Invoicing: How Software Can Ease Billing & Payment Processes

52% of small field service business owners worry about unpaid invoices. While 44% describe how late payments are the biggest pain points when issuing invoices to customers.

Time spent chasing payments has a negative knock-on effect. This results in a loss of revenue and creates a backlog of work.

Businesses see a 37% drop in workplace productivity when payments are delayed or invoices are unpaid.

A full order book and a steady cash flow are two areas that define the success of a field service operation, but they’re also the two areas that are most affected when field service invoicing troubles occur.

Challenges are common in businesses that opt for a manual, paper-based approach to billing and payment processes. This is why the e-invoicing market share (20.4%) continues to grow through the adoption of digital and automated service invoice systems.

What Does It Mean to Digitise Your Field Service Invoicing?

Field service invoicing is the process of creating and issuing invoices to customers through the use of a digital or online invoice system – like field service invoicing software. For field service companies, digital invoicing solutions are found in Field Service Management Software solutions and help businesses to:

• Process and issue customer payments faster
• Instantly and easily generate invoice templates
• Provide accurate work order descriptions on invoices (including the price, job comments, technician details, date, etc.)
• Avoid errors in information
• Reduce delays between job completion and invoicing
• Set up batch and recurring invoice payments

Automated invoicing is also a form of digital invoicing, the difference being each invoice is generated automatically. This means a field service invoice can be automatically constructed to include all the details of a job as soon as a job is completed on-site.

How Does Field Service Invoicing Software Work?

Field Service Invoicing Software – and e-invoicing tools – digitise the manual process of creating and sending field service invoices. This allows technicians, engineers, and contractors to generate invoices on a mobile device while at a job and issue them directly to the customer.

In 2022 on-time customer payments fell to 41.5% in the UK, which correlated with an uptick in the adoption of digital invoicing tools and a forecasted 80% growth rate.

Field service invoicing systems aim to replace the long-winded approach of manual invoicing with tools that encourage the use of e-invoicing processes. Typically, the manual task of billing goes something like this:

1. A field worker completes a job at an off-site location
2. They drive back to the office where they input all details regarding the job into a spreadsheet
3. Once complete, the invoice is printed out
4. The invoice is then sealed in an envelope and posted to the customer, once received the customer settles the amount (this could take days, weeks, or even months)

Instead, with Field Service Invoicing Software, this process is completely digitalised. Now, the digital task of invoicing goes like this:

1. A field worker completes the job at an off-site location
2. An invoice template is filled out using both auto-generated and manual data entry
3. The invoice is sent to the customer then and there via email, with a digital signature and payment details being taken

Why Field Service Invoicing Software Is Essential For Small Businesses

For self-employed and small field service operations, receiving payments on time is a factor prioritised higher than anything else. Without payment, purchasing supplies are restricted, pending jobs build up, and cash flow problems mount. Remarkably, all of these risks can be kept under control by digitising billing and payment processes with a field service invoicing system.

There are three signs that your service operation requires digital intervention;

• Prolonged wait time for customer payments
• An increase in DSO (days’ sales outstanding)
• A build-up of billing errors

By utilising mobile features, service businesses such as home service businesses, utility service providers, and construction companies can improve the delivery of their services. Digitising billing and payments is just one of several benefits that small businesses reap when using a field service management system.

Collect Payment On-Site With Integrated Apps

With mobile access to a field service invoicing system, workers can generate invoices on the job. Whereas time would be wasted filling out forms and taking them back to the office, invoices can be generated with the click of a button, allowing customer details to be picked from the original work order. Once presented to the customer, instant payment is taken via a card reader and a digital signature is collected on a touchscreen device.

Automate Customer Payments

If a customer’s payment details are already stored on file, you can automatically take payment when a service has been agreed upon. This reduces the need to chase payments. If you have a client’s PayPal or credit card details, invoices are paid within minutes of a job being completed.

Utilise Batch Invoicing

Whether you’ve fallen behind on invoicing or prefer to send them all at once, batch invoicing can help. Having a batch invoicing option allows you to select the jobs that need billing and effortlessly send an invoice to all clients in just a few clicks. With customer and job details pre-loaded into your field service invoicing system, multiple invoices are ready within minutes.

Reduce Paperwork

An effective way to reduce billing and invoicing errors is by going paperless. Instead of sending payment forms back to the office to be filed and sorted, data is instead stored electronically. This essentially creates a digital trail that is accessible to all staff and customers. A digital audit trail can save hours when having to search for customer payment history.

Use Templates to Build Brand & Speed

A key factor in speeding up the invoicing process is by using already-generated templates. Invoicing templates have the necessary fields and data already stored, meaning your field workers don’t have to waste time by filling out forms and information at the end of a job. Templates can also be customised to include company branding and disclaimer messages. This makes the payment process both professional and consistent across all jobs.