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Sending and receiving invoices varies around the world with each country having its own system in place that governs invoicing standards. However, general trends are followed among member states in the EU (for the most part), or states in the U.S. It is when we have to send invoices across farther geographical regions that we start running into barriers or real differences in the invoicing process.

An example of this is paying sales tax in the United States vs VAT rates in Europe and the United Kingdom. Another example is whether we pay the invoice based on the tax rate of the supplier vs customer, which can vary in different parts of the world. Finally, there are differences in what needs to be included on an actual invoice for it to be considered legitimate.

Digital invoicing has its quirks like every other form of digital transaction. Sometimes we may send an invoice to the wrong recipient through pressing the wrong buttons on our keyboards and thus the wrong e-mail address gets entered. If we click too often without thinking through repetition, we may be making small mistakes along the way that can cost us big in the long term.

What can be quite troubling is if we make mistakes with financial data. We may enter the wrong bank number and our payee will either not be able to send us payments or in the worst case scenario, it will be sent somewhere else. More often it is the small mistakes that can cost us big financially.

You may be asking yourself if you are a small business owner: do I really need robust invoicing software or really even care much about the invoicing process as a whole? Well, you should care and take invoicing seriously. Not just in case of government audits of your taxes and invoices you've been sending out and receiving, but for your own benefit.

When you invoice, you have a transaction record of interacting with other businesses and customers. You can use robust invoice software such as ours at InvoiceOcean to track these sales and look at itemized invoices to see where your growth lies and where your revenue comes from to keep expanding.

There are various market solutions available for businesses to tap into when it comes to invoicing. They all come with their own perks, upsides and downsides. Each also usually comes in the form of various payment plans available and price points per plan. Here is a comparison of InvoiceOcean UK’s pricing structure with that of some of our biggest competitors

Invoicing is a process that takes some effort and standardization in order for companies to function effectively for the long term. It is good to stick with one standard in terms of what is expected on an invoice, the payment to be delivered by the due date, and for companies to be able to follow their invoices (knowing which were paid and when for instance) for the long term with their clients.