Is your business still using spreadsheets to track weekly or monthly revenue? Is your team having to create, send, and follow up with paper invoices with every client you work with? If your team is relying on manual invoicing to make a profit, it could be costing your small business time and money. Manual invoicing is a time-consuming, tedious process of the past. If you still require your team to complete manual invoicing tasks, you risk falling behind in a digital age.
Is your business still relying on manual invoicing in 2026? Here’s what it could be costing your business.
What are the Hidden Costs of Manual Invoicing?
Studies suggest that creating, tracking, and sending manual invoices typically cost a company anywhere between $12 and $25 per invoice. The more invoices your company has to send, the higher the associated cost is.
Errors and inaccuracies can also lead to disruptions in cash flow and impact profits. It could lead to overpayments, which can incur fees. Recreating and resending invoices also takes more time and labor. Some believe that one small human error can cost a company anywhere from $40 and $60 per invoice.
7 Reasons Why Manual Invoices Cost Small Businesses Time and Money
If you’re still relying on manual processes to get your invoices paid, you could be wasting time, money, and resources. Here are seven reasons why you should ditch your manual invoicing processes for good.
1. Time-Consuming
Creating paper invoices, tracking data in spreadsheets, and sending manual email invoices are all time-consuming, tedious processes. On average, it can take someone anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes to create, review, and send an invoice to each client they work with. With automation tools, this process is reduced to one to two minutes. If you have one person dedicated to creating and sending these invoices, the repetitive nature of the task could increase the risk of human error and employee burnout.
2. Inefficient Workflows
With manual invoicing, your team sends and tracks invoices themselves. If you have a large accounting or sales team, your company may be working in multiple spreadsheets, making it challenging to track data. This can cause delays in the payment process and make tracking payments and approvals more challenging. With automated tools, you can develop streamlined workflows. This will improve the process for both your clients and employees.
3. Risk of Human Error
When your employees are required to create, send, and track invoices, it increases the risk of human error. They could accidentally type the wrong billing addresses or make a small math mistake. The formatting could also be off-brand or unprofessional.
When you replace the manual invoicing process with automated tools, you can streamline the executive process. These tools use automated data entry to ensure that all information is correct. You can also create custom templates with the correct information, so all invoices will always look the same and complement your branding.
4. Payment or Processing Delays
It takes time to create and review manual invoices before sending them to the client. Since the process is more time-consuming and tedious, your employees might put off the tasks until the end of the day or the end of the week. This can result in payment and processing delays, which may negatively impact the customer experience over time.
5. Harder to Track Payment Data
When you work in spreadsheets, it’s harder to track payment data. You’ll need to review the data regularly to know who’s paid, past due, or pending. This makes it more challenging to track accounting-related KPIs. It could also lead to your team members sending accidental follow-ups or marking invoices as paid that aren’t paid.
6. Staff Burnout and Turnover
Manual invoicing can lead to staff burnout or even high turnover rates. These manual tasks distract your team from high-value work. If your team is required to dedicate half their day to manual tasks that can be easily automated with the right tools, they may start to explore other opportunities with your competitors.
7. Impacts the Customer Experience
Manual invoicing increases the risk of human error or data inaccuracies, which can impact the customer experience. Every small mistake can impact your brand’s image, causing top-paying customers to explore pricing with your competitors. With automated tools, you can rest assured knowing everything is accurate. This can enhance the customer experience and help you retain customers.
How Automation Improves Cash Flow and Efficiency
Automation tools are a must-have in today’s digital age. This software is designed to track financial data and send invoices more easily and more streamlined. With the right automation tools, you can easily:
- Improve workplace processes and accounting workflows
- Reduce the risk of human error and automate manual tasks
- Track invoicing data and set KPIs for your team
- Analyze cash flow in real-time
Most software also seamlessly integrates with your CRM or email marketing tools, which helps with automated data entry. It also ensures you have a centralized place to track all your client information.
Upgrade Your Invoicing System With Townsquare Interactive
If you’re still relying on manual invoicing to get things done in the workplace, you’re risking missed payments and lost revenue. With platforms like Townsquare Interactive, you can automate your invoicing and improve your processes. Our business management platform has built-in tools to create, track, and send invoices. You can also easily track the data and know who is paid, pending, and past due, all in one place.
Ready to upgrade your invoicing system?