4 Tips to Invoicing

September 26, 2013 By Bill4Time Staff Leave a Comment

Invoicing is an important part of your business. Not only is it how you collect payment for your services, but it’s also another form of communication between you and your client. How you present yourself before, during and after a transaction all reflect your level of professionalism. Poor billing practices can lead to a lack of trust or even make a client question your competence. So, how can you be sure that your expertise is represented through these important exchanges?

Employ a time tracking software to accurately capture time entries. People want to know exactly how much they’re spending and on what. The more accurate your entries, the more credible your statement and less likely you’ll find yourself in an uncomfortable situation with a client. Bill4Time makes sure you to never miss a beat with our mobile applications, desktop widget, and web-based platform. You can keep track of your time easily no matter where you are.
Use consistent descriptions. It’s important to use consistent terms when adding in descriptions of time entries. Using consistent phrasing when referring to billable time will make the billing process easier for your client to follow, and help them understand where their money is going, whether it’s for research, review or a meeting. This also holds true for expenses – which can be captured and organized with the Bill4Time software as well.
Create professional invoices. Let’s face it, we all make judgments based on appearance. And the same holds true when it comes to correspondence. Any piece of correspondence (invoices included) between you and your clients is a reflection of you and the quality of service you provide. A clean, professional invoice will enhance your client’s perception of you and give you more credibility. Bill4Time allows you to easily create branded and custom invoices. An added tip: bill consistently at the same time of the month. Experience shows that you will get paid faster if they are expecting it.
Add a Cover Letter. Adding a cover letter to your invoices adds personal touch. Rather than receiving an invoice that says “pay me”, a cover letter gives you the chance to thank your client, give them an update, or maybe highlight time or expenses you wrote off which creates added value to the client.

Remember, an invoice is a marketing tool!

What are your invoicing tips? Share them below.

3 Keys of Customer Service

July 25, 2013 By Bill4Time Staff Leave a Comment

Whether you’re a B2B or B2C, large Fortune 500 Company or a small startup, one thing remains the same – good customer service is key and can ultimately make or break your business. In today’s digital age, sites like Yelp, Angie’s List and Google Reviews, make it easy for customers to share their experiences. And because people remember negative events more than positive ones, they are more likely to share bad experiences – making positive reviews even more valuable.

So how do you deliver experiences that are so great, your customers want to shout from the mountain tops that they’re in love with your company? By delivering a fantastic customer experience through customer service. And what’s the recipe for fantastic customer service, you ask? Read on.

For the sake of length and time, let’s focus on three core pillars.

1. Under Promise, Over Deliver

Sounds easy enough. Set expectations at a reasonable level, and then over deliver on your promise. For example, I’m a customer at a clothing retailer, and a suit I need for a speech I’m giving at a big conference in a few days isn’t in stock in my size. The retailer tells me they can ship it to my house – overnight. I opt for the overnight, but know that if something goes wrong I’ll have no time to find an alternative. You can image my surprise when a salesperson shows up at my door and hand delivers the suit (that she personally picked up from their other location) that very same evening. You think I want to share that experience? You bet I do.

On a non-retail front, under promising, over delivering can mean setting easily attainable goals for a client – set realistic goals when a higher outcome is readily achievable. Once you surpass the goals originally promised for your client, they are going to remember you as the (insert: lawyer, contractor, consultant…) that helped their company achieve 125% of their quota or beat their deadline by 2 weeks. Other ways to over deliver? Give your customers access to special features or previews of new features, go above and beyond to deliver an unforgettable customer experience.

The key to this pillar is to be realistic – never promise something you know you can’t achieve – it will only end it let down and you may lose a good customer or client.

2. Communicate. Communicate. Communicate.

I cannot stress the importance of communication in business relationships. Whether you’re a customer wanting to know the status of a project, or a client of a lawyer in a legal case, getting a constant information flow is imperative. It is important that you establish guidelines with your clients/customers from the beginning and then follow through. Some clients will require more attention than others. I suggest that even if a client says that they only want updates once a week, update them at least twice a week – they will ultimately be grateful.

Good communication also means following up with your customers. Respond to emails and texts. Don’t brush them aside – even if you don’t have any new updates on the status of their project, tell them that. It shows that you care about your client and the outcome of the business transaction and that you are professional and reliable. They want to feel important. Make sure you are always leading and in control of the transaction, your client/customer should never be doing more work than you to see it through.

3. And lastly, say thank you.

Always show your appreciation. This is quite simple, folks. After a deal or transaction is done, say thank you. Make it personal. Send them a note, an email, pick up the phone and call them, or better yet, take them out to coffee. Show the customer you value their business and relationship – even if the outcome of the deal/trial/etc. wasn’t what you had wanted. This little gesture goes a long way and will earn you repeat business and potential valuable word of mouth referrals. You want to make a lasting impression that will make someone a customer or client for life – and even earn you a coveted positive online review.

What does your firm do to deliver great customer service? Or share an experience you’ve had where you received great customer service.

Time Billing Just Got Easier – Bill4Time for iPad is Here!

June 14, 2013 By Bill4Time Staff 2 Comments

We’re excited to announce that Bill4Time for iPad is now available in the iTunes App store! We’ve made it even easier for you to stay connected and productive no matter where you are. Bill4Time for iPad allows you to manage your time and clients on the go.

Here is just some of what you can do with Bill4Time for iPad:

Create and edit time entries, internal time entries, and expense entries
View, edit, and create new clients and projects
View entries and client information even when you don’t have an internet connection -entries created while offline will be automatically uploaded next time you are online

Sound good so far? Let’s dig a little bit deeper.

Feature spotlight: Tracking Time on your iPad

One of the most important things you’ll need to know for billing and productivity is the time spent on projects. Tracking time on your iPad is simple with our sleek interface. The Entries Dashboard gives you a summary of your billable hours, total hours, and total expenses for the week. You can also browse for specific entries. When creating an entry you can save unfinished drafts for later, record labor time, travel time, and billable time, bill at your regular or overtime rate, and more.

If you’re an iPad user already using Bill4Time online or with our other apps, make sure you check out the new iPad app and get totally synced. If you’re not already using Bill4Time and you like what you’re seeing, maybe this is the reason to get started – we think you’ll be a fan!

Download the iPad App Today

Download Bill4Time’s iPad app now from the iTunes App Store and login with your Bill4Time account.

Did you know we also have mobile time billing apps for iPhone and Android devices?

Billing? There are Several Apps for That!

March 5, 2013 By Bill4Time Staff Leave a Comment

We have just released Bill4Time Desktop as a standalone application and for Google Chrome! But don’t you think for a second that’s all we’ve got for you. There’s an iPad app in development that we’re planning on releasing mid-March. And soon, Bill4Time Desktop (formerly known as the Bill4Time Widget, for all you classic users) will be available for Mac through the Mac App Store.

Let’s focus on the present for now: Bill4Time Desktop has a slick, new look that you’re gonna love. We’ve reduced the clutter to let you focus on what’s most important, as well as widened the layout to give you more space. But aesthetics are only one of many changes. Here are some of the biggest new features we’ve added:

Auto-text (Learn how to set auto-text shortcuts here)
ABA Codes (for law firms)	Creating and editing basic client and project information
Internal time tracking	Spellcheck

Excited yet? We are. Remember, Bill4Time Desktop is offline-capable – perfect if you’re traveling or if your internet connection is unavailable. All changes sync with your online Bill4Time account the next time you connect to the internet. Bill4Time Desktop comes in many forms: the Google Chrome app, the Android tablet app, and the soon-to-be-released iPad app. All three have a consistent look and feel. No matter your preferred platform, Bill4Time is there for you.

Flat Fee Projects Just Got Easier

February 15, 2013 By Bill4Time Staff Leave a Comment

We love to hear your suggestions. After all, we’re in the business of making your life easier. So what’s next from Bill4Time? Here’s a new feature to make your billing experience just a little bit smoother:

When it comes to invoicing a flat fee project, often the time entries are solely a method of tracking your progress internally. There’s no need for your client to see them as they don’t affect the final price. In the past, to hide your time entries, you would have to open each one and click “Exclude from Invoice.” To save you the tedium of manually hiding each time entry, we have now made it a one-click operation.

From the Project Details page, click on Edit Project. In the bottom-right, you will see the checkbox labeled “Hide Time from Invoices.” Click it, and all unbilled and future time entries will be hidden from the invoice for that project. Your client will only see the flat fee. Simple, right?

If you have any other suggestions, whether they may save a few clicks or a few hours, please let us know! Our Ideas & Feature Requests board is the place for you to submit, comment on, and vote on ideas from all of our users on how Bill4Time could be improved.

Bill4Time: Now Saving You Even More Time!

February 8, 2013 By Bill4Time Staff Leave a Comment

Your time is valuable. And here at Bill4Time, we know a thing or two about the importance of time management. We’ve got an update that is going to save you a significant amount of time. Time and time again.

Before you’re ready to send your invoices out, you typically review the pre-bill. When you click the “Create PDF” button for your pre-bill, Bill4Time gathers all of your activities, clients, and projects, and assembles them neatly in one document for you. Depending on the size of the batch of invoices, this process could potentially take a while.

But not anymore. In our latest patch, we redesigned the process behind creating PDFs, and the result is nothing short of stunning. Creating PDF files for a batch of invoices now takes only a small fraction of the time it once required. We would even go so far as to say you can create PDFs alarmingly fast. Have to see it to believe it? Go ahead, experience the difference yourself.

It’s time. Time to have your invoicing changed forever.