Digital invoicing helps businesses stay on top of incoming payments, reduces the need to chase over-the-phone transactions, keeps tax records in check for HMRC and can strengthen you brand. For Dorset-based mobile coffee company, Taste the Bean, invoicing is an essential part of the day-to-day. Kept busy driving job-to-job, or sourcing coffee, milk and other produce from other local businesses, online invoices help the company manage clients and get paid for the versatile range of services it provides — from a weekday office coffee run, to pop-up catering at sports venues, weddings and charity events, to entertainment at private birthday parties.
Taste the Bean signed up as a Beta tester for the new Square Invoicing app, and the team were quickly impressed with how much it simplified, sped up and professionalised their approach. Owner James Carr said: “We were using Microsoft Word to create invoices previously. Square is better for ease of use, and you can make invoices look more professional. It’s made the whole process easier. I can do everything on my phone, anywhere in the world, including tracking payments (you get a notification when you’ve received money) or sending an invoice instantly when someone asks for it.”
Designed with small businesses in mind, the Square Invoices app helps them maintain positive relationships with clients when late or missed payments start to become a problem. “You can take deposits and send estimates. But the best thing is being able to see who’s read an invoice,” says James “This comes in handy when there are payment delays and I need to chase.”
Taste the Bean now uses the Square Invoices app alongside Square Reader and Square Point of Sale run on iPads. This compact setup works well for the business, which has limited space and is always on the go. After using another provider before Square, James now feels like he’s found a payments partner for the long-term: “We’re looking to franchise by 2020 in multiple areas across Dorset. We’ll be downsizing our vehicles but expanding our area, so we have to look into how product design can make that possible. Square is always releasing useful new products, so we’re interested in using more of them as we grow.”
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