Invoice Payment Services
An invoice or bill is a commercial document issued by a seller to the buyer, indicating the products, quantities and agreed upon prices between the parties.
DID YOU KNOW
Invoicing payment methods can provide merchants with an ability to choose their preferred payment method while protecting the consumer's personal information and offering a form of payment the customer is familiar and comfortable with.
In general invoice alternative payment services are a quick, easy and cheap way to bill consumers for eCommerce transactions. Invoicing is more typically associated with higher cost or recurring transactions. In these instances the merchant may desire to receive a check or wire payment because of the processing fees associated with credit cards. Merchants may also not possess a merchant account and would prefer to invoice and receive payment.
There are no clear market leaders for the invoicing sector of alternative payments. As recurring billing becomes more automated and adopted there will be less need for invoicing. The market share and mind share of this service is severely limited, but it will not disappear, and its overall importance will continue to decrease.
Pros and Cons of Invoice Alternative Payments Include:
Traditional and familiar with the older demographic
Widespread use
Low cost for payment processing
Increased bad debt risk
Decreasing market share and utilization rates
KEY NOTES
Alternative Solutions - Payment aggregators, ACH payment and credit cards are the most popular form of alternative payment solutions to invoicing services. There are numerous substitutes to invoicing methods because of its simple nature. Viable alternatives can be found for free on numerous web sites and in many software bundles such as Microsoft Office.
Estimated Cost - Costs may vary based on the vendor you select. However, the fees that are charged for invoicing services are always cheaper than credit cards and payment aggregators. In some markets, and for some verticals, this may be a viable alternative and invoicing should be considered despite its long-term decline.
Vendors - Intuit Billing Manager, Bill My Clients, AceFlex and many others.
An invoice or bill is a commercial document, issued by a seller to the buyer, indicating the products, quantities and agreed upon prices between the parties. Many invoices are no longer paper-based but transmitted electronically over the Internet. Standards for these invoicing services vary widely from country to country and should be evaluated thoroughly before implementation.
Key considerations when implementing or buying this functionality include:
These services represent a new spin on an old concept. Invoicing has been around forever and it has evolved somewhat with technology. However, the long-term prospects of this service remain dismal and companies based upon this technology will struggle to survive as invoicing becomes bundled into more and more software packages. Invoicing companies do still provide value to merchants, but with increased capabilities by applications such as Quickbooks software the need for a third party service is limited.
If your a B2B merchant or work with government or non-profit organizations, the expectation is that you support some form of invoicing.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Invoicing is a straight-forward concept that is based on an old technique. Invoicing involves the distribution of a commercial bill from the seller to the buyer. The invoice will contain and indicate the products, quantities, payment terms and agreed upon prices for the products or services. The invoicing merchant will send the invoice to the buyer and wait for payment.