We’ve done it the same way for decades. We receive a paper invoice in the mail, we write a check (hopefully before the due date), we place the check and invoice in an envelope, address, stamp and mail. This process is familiar. It is comfortable. “Paying the bills.” It provides a certain satisfaction that comes with keeping things in order, like folding laundry, cleaning up your toddler’s toys, or scrubbing the bathroom. I admit that it took some time, even for me, a modern, technology-minded woman, to change this old habit and move to online payments. But in doing so, life has been so simplified that I wanted to share a few of my revelations as it relates to OUR online billing system.
Enter, “Ubersmith.” “Uber” …“Smith,” you might say? Really? Just to clear things up, we are not so pretentious as to choose software simply because it touts our family name. That just happens to be its name, and it’s really just a great piece of software!
First – let us address 5 key benefits of online billing and payments:
- Save a tree! No need for paper invoices or checks.
- Save money! No more increasingly expensive postage.
- Save time! Enter your information only once, and at the click of a button you can pay invoices by credit card, debit card, or paypal.
- Easy to track. No need for scanning and excel spreadsheets – all of your payments are securely tracked and backed up, with records accessible at a moment’s notice.
- Safe and Secure. Security is a priority for us. With the threat of identity theft coupled with the world economic crisis, it is essential that your money change hands flawlessly. Our billing system is located on a secure server (look for the closed “lock” icon on the upper or bottom right of your browser and “https” in the url). Your bank and credit card information is only accessible to you. All account numbers are encrypted. Our administrators can only see the last 4 digits of a credit card on file, and an expiration date where applicable. Comforting, isn’t it?
Next – a little bit about the system.
Ubersmith is a comprehensive system that allows you to effortlessly control your online payments. Each client is assigned a login name and password. (If you never received this, or have lost track of your welcome email, just give a holler and we’ll send it promptly.) The login page is easily accessible by clicking the “Client Tools” tab at the top of the Whiteboard Media website. From here, simply click on the “Launch Billing System” button on the right.
After you login, you’ll see your name or your company name in the upper left hand corner. From here you can add a credit card to keep on file, make a one-time payment on a credit or debit card, or pay your invoice via paypal. You can also browse your services or invoices, or change your password.
By entering your credit card, you also secure the option of recurring billing, which means that for ongoing services like hosting, maintenance, SEO, or consulting retainers (services that have the same or nearly the same charge each month), you can be “auto-charged” on the same day each month, so you don’t even have to think about it until your credit card expires. Many of our clients love this feature, as they can review their invoices at their leisure but don’t have to remember to login each month. Truth be told, we love it too. Efficiency is king (or queen if you’d rather).
Billing and other changes you can expect in the coming months…
Whiteboard Media is expanding. We love what we do, and we love serving our clients, so growth is inevitable! With this in mind, we’re also refining our systems and want to keep you, our dear clients, informed.
Hello again, billing system: As you may have surmised (ahem), part of the reason for this post is to re-introduce our fantastic billing system, and hopefully make it a more comfortable option for making payments. We encourage you to login (again - just shoot us an email if you need login info), take a look around, and make yourself at home!
Email Invoices: Beginning in June 2009, all of our invoices will be sent via email unless a special arrangement is made. (Some of you will experience this transition in May) First off, it’s the “greener” way to go, and this is important to us. Also, we have a lean staff and the current process of paper invoicing takes away from time that would be better spent serving YOU.
Credit card on file required for all clients: Unfortunately, we have learned the hard way that clients don’t always pay their invoices. As a result of this unfortunate occurrence, we are requiring that all clients keep a valid card on file with us. We have a staff that is paid to serve you. When invoices aren’t paid, our whole company suffers and when our company suffers, so do our clients. We ask that all clients keep a current card on file (regardless of how you choose to pay your invoices) so that we have some protection in the rare instance that a “last resort” measure is needed. Not to worry, your card will never be charged without your knowledge. And, of course, I’m sure that the majority of readers will never fall into the “delinquent” category to begin with! All this being said, please don’t be offended if we ask you to enter or update your credit card information. It’s not personal.
Support tickets: Email boxes are inundated, staff and responsibilities change, and this makes it difficult to keep track of all the support and maintenance requests that come through the door. While we’ve kept up until now, we want to improve our process. Beginning in May 2009 we will introduce a ticketing system where you can submit your requests to a “department-specific” repository. This makes it easy for any one of our staff members to access and respond to inquiries. Look for more info about the ticketing system in a few weeks!
If you’ve made it this far, congratulations! You are now fully informed. Check back monthly for more updates “From the Trenches.”
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