Some businesses are still doing billing the old way, meaning that they rely on statement printing and mailing each month, only to wait for days or weeks until their customers pay those invoices. This process is often slow and costly for businesses, plus it takes its toll environmentally with all that paper and postage. But thanks to technology today, there is a simpler way to speed up accounts receivable and keep customers happy: using online billing services.

Online billing allows customers the freedom to pay their bills anywhere, and money goes from one account to the other as soon as the credit card payments are processed. If your business could stand to speed up its billing, here are three vital reasons to begin offering online billing services to your customers:

1. Online billing costs less than paper billing. With paper billing, businesses have to pay for supplies and equipment in order to print their statements. Paper, postage, envelopes, toner, and ink all add up as regular expenses each month. Additionally, most of these offices pay for their own printers and other equipment to send out all of those bills. By using electronic billing systems instead, your company will only have one invoice to pay each month, and there won’t be any costs related to printing materials, either, which will save money in the long run.

2. Electronic invoicing is environmentally friendly. Paper bills are expensive to print. Switching to online billing can save the average business around 11.5 cents per statement. But what most companies don’t factor into those costs are the toll that they take on the environment, as well. All that paper adds up to thousands of trees cut down each year, especially when considering that customers will eventually throw those statements in the trash. Switching to paperless billing helps to save money and trees.

3. Your business will see greater customer satisfaction thanks to online billing services. When you allow customers to pay from anywhere at any time, they may appreciate this convenience a whole lot more. Conventional billing practices can be too time-consuming and costly for customers who have to write out checks and buy stamps and envelopes. By paying online, your eliminate the need to use checks for statement processing, and your customers won’t have to wait several days for money to be taken out of their accounts, either. Faster payments = happier customers.

Have more questions about how online billing works? Be sure to speak with a company that allows you to outsource billing or give you the tools to administer your own electronic billing system. You can also leave a comment below with any general questions.