Accounting Best Practices, Fifth Edition

Summary

This chapter focused on improving the speed and accuracy of invoice preparation and delivery. There are several ways to achieve these goals. One is to increase the accuracy of invoicing information reaching the accounting department, which calls for changes in the shipping department, as well as the method for transferring shipping information to the accounting department.

Another set of methods involve how invoices are transmitted to customers. New technologies allow one to do so electronically or at the point of delivery, so that customers receive more accurate invoices more quickly than ever before. Finally, invoices can be completely eliminated in a limited number of cases, resulting in direct cash transfers from customer bank accounts to the company. When used together, these best practices result in a significant improvement in the efficiency of the billing function.

For more information about billing best practices, please refer to Billing and Collections Best Practices by the author (Wiley, 2005).