When you think of electronic billing, the first thing that comes to mind may be a big office. And it's true that Onsharp's SmartPay electronic billing system will readily accomodate companies sending out hundreds of invoices a month -- or more. Analysts look at such businesses and calculate the pounds of paper they use, the gallons of ink, the hours of time file clerks and bookkeepers spend, and it's easy to conclude that such businesses can save a lot of time, money, and resources by switching to electronic billing.

Does that mean that electronic billing isn't suited to an individual doing business independently, such as an artist or musician or consultant, or to a mom-and-pop store, or to a small salon or bakery? Is online invoicing unnecessary for a private practice with one optometrist or a daycare center or an interior designer working out of a home office?

Not at all. 

In some ways, the smallest businesses need electronic billing even more than an established firm.

Consider these facts:

• A small private medical practice or day care center may already be required to have secure online record-keeping. Requirements of the new stimulus package legislation, new HIPAA requirements, and updated rules for day care agencies receiving grants all contain requirements for security measures that are most easily and inexpensively met with online billing. With Smartpay, you aren't required to provide locks and secure premises for computers, because the sensitive information is online, under the control of your patients or customers.
• The musicians in the picture above spend hours every day practicing, taking lessons, caring for their instruments, and auditioning for the gigs that pay the bills. How many of their invoices go unpaid because they don't keep careful records or follow up strictly on payments? People who make a living as independent artists or consultants often find that office tasks are the last jobs to get done. SmartPay is less expensive than hiring an accountant to get your invoices out on time.
  
• People working from a home office and sending out a few invoices every month worry about making a professional impression -- and they should. Freelance workers find that their clients view putting a check in the mail as an extra, unusual step when they're accustomed to doing most of their transactions online, through electronic banking, or with credit cards. Payments to individuals may even be looked on as less important than payments to larger comapnies, and delayed. SmartPay allows every business, large or small, to present a professional face, with a customized portal and multiple options for payment. Many small businesses find that the turnaround for payment is much faster with electronic bill presentment and payment than with paper invoices.