The Use of E-mail Invoicing and Online Invoicing in B2B Relations

E-mail invoicing and online invoicing are web invoicing methods which provide an extremely effective way to carry out B2B interactions. E-mail and online invoicing is fast, secure and cost effective, allowing you to maximize profit and spend time improving other areas of your business.

E-mail Invoicing

E-mail invoicing is where a client statement is sent directly to their e-mail inbox. The statement sent using e-mail invoicing will contain only their client invoice, and no personal details on them or their account with your company. When the client wishes to pay their invoice they will be able to follow a link attached to their invoice by the e-mail invoicing system. Following this link will take the client to a secure payment page, which they can only access after answering a series of security questions. As e-mail invoicing does not send a client their private account information, it is expected that they will be able to access their account details via your business website.

Online Invoicing

Online invoicing is used in the sending of more confidential documents. The client must follow a secure e-mail link to their invoice or statement, and as with e-mail invoicing, this will be guarded with security questions. A particularly high profile client may even require additional security with their online invoicing, such as an electronic signature or a personal account card with a code generator machine.

What should be used: E-mail Invoicing, Online Invoicing, or an Alternative Method?

The additional security of online invoicing does not necessarily make it superior to e-mail invoicing. A customer who prioritizes data security would certainly prefer online invoicing. However, one who enjoys ease of transaction and simplicity would prefer e-mail invoicing.

The alternative to online and e-mail invoicing is to send clients their invoices through the post or using a fax machine. These are both satisfactory way to send a client their statement, but are a less secure method of document distribution. Also compared with online invoicing and e-mail invoicing, fax and post are static delivery methods. This means that they are sent to a certain location, where they will remain until moved. If the client is not able to access that location for any reason, they risk missing an invoice payment and receiving a fine.

You may choose to find a specialist company to satisfy your document distribution needs. Corcentric, for example, are practiced document distributors who could be called upon to take over your email and online invoicing, as well as postal and fax needs. This often will lead to you company offering a more reliable and professional service.