How service professionals can save time, maximize revenue and streamline workflows through invoice automation

If you’re a service professional working in the field, you’re probably not following the progress of payment processing technology for a very simple reason — you’re busy completing projects to gain deposits to your bank account. You’ve also got back-office work like billing and scheduling that eat up valuable hours with no financial gain.

Wondering how a new payments or invoicing solution might help? Maybe even a little skeptical of the value for your small business? Luckily, we’ll show you how to maximize revenue, offer flexible and faster payment methods and streamline your workflow.

Here, we’ll give you a glimpse into the lives of three different small business owners using payment processing to do their best handywork in bathrooms, ballrooms and backyards.

Read on to learn how you can:

Meet Brian, the pool cleaner

A lifelong California resident, Brian has no lack of clientele for his pool cleaning business in sunny Santa Barbara. He spent years building up his pool service business through customer referrals.

In the past, even loyal customers were frustrated by his payment process. He couldn’t easily create an invoice or add products from his inventory to the bill, so taking in-person payments wasn’t an option. He had no choice but to wait until he got home, look up the item and its cost before manually adding it to the bill.

Now he lets technology do the heavy lifting. He can generate a work order anywhere (including any inventory he used) and take payments on the spot. His accounts receivable is crystal clear, and he’s able to track expenses from a mobile app. Payment reminders and invoice templates are built in, so he doesn’t have to chase down late payments.

So when Mrs. Rodriguez calls saying her pool water is green, he can instantly create an electronic estimate that he can send her. Once Mrs. Rodriguez approves the estimate, Brian can quickly convert that estimate into a customized invoice that he can then email or text to her. From there, Mrs. Rodriguez can pay her pool service invoice, and Brian can go onsite to complete the job.

He can even accept an in-person debit or credit card payment once he arrives with our handheld mobile POS. He can call up the invoice and then present it to Mrs. Rodriguez for payment.

The result? Faster payments at the start of a job and a smoother invoice-paying experience for Mrs. Rodriguez.

Meet Amelia, the landscaper

A graphic designer by trade and intuitive project manager, Amelia decided to re-design her own backyard just for fun. It’s been five years since she started her own landscaping business, and she can’t imagine doing anything else.

At first, she was a fully DIY operation. But her experience as a freelance graphic designer kicked in, reminding her just how much money could get tied up when clients don’t have a convenient way to get a landscaping estimate or pay their bill. Not getting the help she needed was costing her more money than she was saving.

Now her operational skill is unmatched. With invoicing software, Amelia can instantly send a landscaping invoice or estimate to her customers. From there, her customers can quickly pay from an email or SMS text message.

She can even send her customers to a hosted payment form where they can make online payments for their lawn care or set up recurring invoices. This web form reinforces her landscaping business’ branding, while providing a more convenient payment experience to her customers.

Amelia used to focus all her energy on finding new clients because she didn’t have the tools to efficiently manage repeat business. Now subscription lawn care plans are her most popular offering. After discussing their vision and problem areas like stubborn weeds or a patchy front lawn in need of fertilizer, she builds a lawn care subscription plan to fit.

With recurring payments, there’s no phone tag or endless follow ups to make sure the online invoice gets paid. Each invoice is paid automatically every month with the payment method of choice, and Amelia can focus on her customers’ lawns, knowing her invoice automation is busy working behind the scenes, increasing her profitability.

Meet Jonas, the handyman

Jonas inherited the family plumbing business from his dad. While he was proud of their handyman reputation for integrity, they were struggling to stay afloat in a very competitive market.

His father avoided modernizing their invoicing features and processes out of fear — he thought it would cost a fortune to automate. He also told Jonas there wasn’t a payment processor on the market that valued integrity and fairness the way he did.

And his customers were encouraging him to offer more payment methods like ACH, Apple Pay® or PayPal, as well as options for automatic payments. There had to be a better way to take and track payments.

With our payment processing and invoicing technology, Jonas knew he could grow his plumbing business and keep transactions synced no matter how, or where, his customers decided to pay.

Now business is booming. Customers choose how they pay, and reconciling transactions has never been easier — Jonas has a 24/7 web-based reporting dashboard to view all payment activity.

Before, he thought he’d have no choice but to open a brick-and-mortar location and hire an office manager to reconcile the books. But with all the money he saved from not needing either, he just upgraded his toolkit and truck.

Plus, Jonas uses QuickBooks® Online, syncing all his plumbing invoices, payments and customer data with our cloud-based invoicing solution. No more toggling between multiple systems to complete what should be simple tasks or hassling over manual reconciliation.

Level up your services with the right invoicing software and tech

Whether you’re a handyman, dog groomer, hairstylist or just need a flexible invoicing solution that accepts in-person payments, you want to offer a stellar experience to your customers. Why should you settle for a field service invoicing solution that does anything less?

With odds like that, it’s no wonder you need to consider all the options and obstacles before you adopt new technology.

You deserve invoicing software that keeps you organized, ready to take on new business and confident about taking all kinds of payments. That’s why we offer our products in every combination imaginable — to make sure you get exactly what you need for your particular field.

Digital payments and invoicing should offload tedious manual tasks like sorting paperwork or Excel files, writing up estimates by hand or chasing down late payments. That way, you can focus on what you do best and get paid faster.

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Heartland is the merchant services, point of sale and credit card payments solution of choice for business owners that need human-centered technology to sell more, keep customers coming back and spend less time in the back office. Nearly 1,000,000 businesses trust us to guide them through market changes and technology challenges, so they can stay competitive and focus on building remarkable businesses instead of managing the daily grind. Learn more at heartland.us.