FreshBooks calls itself the “Fastest Way to Invoice Your Clients.” It’s clear from their website that they’re trying to make the invoicing process simple, intuitive and highly functional without adding undue complexity.

FreshBooks lets you create, send and manage client invoicing via their website. You can also track time on a project, generate invoices to be sent via US mail or email, accept payment online (via PayPal and others), automatically issue late notices, import and export data, upload your logo for branding purposes, and have it walk your dog. Well, it does so much, I figured the latter was within the realm of possibility!

FreshBooks is free for a 30-day trial, then free for up to three active clients, $14.99/month for up to 25 clients, and similar increases for more robust needs. They’ve also put some thought into site security and you can read about their efforts at Security Safeguards.

In their FreshBooks Manifesto, they make these commitments to users: [Read more...]

Still invoicing by paper or asking for a check at the start or end of your mediation session? Online invoicing is a simple alternative if you want to automate your process and receive payments in advance or more promptly.

I’ve been using PayPal’s merchant tools for several years and have been very satisfied with the service and ease of use, both for my clients and me. I’ve used these tools to bill clients and receive payments I can then just have transferred directly to my business bank account. My clients benefit by being able to pay by credit/debit card or direct bank transfer simply and securely.

Here are some of the ways you can streamline and automate your invoicing via PayPal, with or without a website. Your clients do not need PayPal accounts to pay you using a credit or debit card with any of these tools:

• PayPal Invoicing. This free tool walks you through the creation of a professional-looking invoice containing a PayPal payment button. The invoice is emailed to your client, who simply clicks the button and follows the online instructions to pay you instantly.
• Request Money. A little less formal than the invoicing tool, you can use this free tool to send a simple email with the amount you’re requesting. Your client clicks on a link to make a payment instantly.
• Payment Request Wizard for QuickBooks. If you’re a QuickBooks user, you can automatically convert your invoices into emails that contain payment buttons. Like the others, this is a free tool. The invoice is emailed to your client, who clicks the button to pay securely online.
• Payment Request Wizard for Outlook. This free download automatically inserts a button into your Microsoft Outlook program. When you want to generate an invoice, you enter your customer’s email address and the transaction amount, and the Wizard automatically creates a button to insert in an email to the client.
• Website Payments. If you have one or more websites, you can create a PayPal payment button or link to receive payments without having a separate shopping cart service. There are no fees for this tool, nor any annual contract.

If you set up a PayPal account that accepts credit or debit cards, there is a transaction fee. For a schedule of those fees, visit PayPal’s US Transactions page; there’s a link on the page to view cross-border fees.

On a side note: If you do have a PayPal account, never login to your account via an email you receive that looks like it came from PayPal. Fake PayPal emails are common phishing schemes and you could end up providing your login information to a scammer. If you get an email that seems legit, just open your browser, type in the PayPal URL (do not copy and paste) and login from there. Phishing emails are looking more and more legitimate with every passing day.

Making Mediation Your Day Job by Tammy Lenski is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Based on a work at MakingMediationYourDayJob.com.