Introduction: from manual billing to full automation
Most business owners know they need to invoice their customers, but not everyone realises how much easier it can be with billing automation, or which invoicing software best fits their needs.
As your business grows, you’ll typically move through stages, from manual invoicing to full billing and payment automation. Each stage comes with its own trade-offs. Sometimes you’ll need to prioritise speed over design, or invest in a paid license to save time and effort in the long run. It all depends on your business priorities, resources, and growth goals.
Whether you’re a professional billing clients or an online store selling products, there’s almost always a smarter, faster way to manage payments (whether receiving them or making them). Fortunately, today’s cloud-based billing tools make it easy to create, send, and track invoices automatically, without needing complex systems or technical know-how.
In this post, we’ll explore five different invoicing methods, from manual billing to full automation, and review popular platforms like HubSpot, Ignition, Salesforce, Shopify, and Xero. We’ll also break down the pros and cons of each, helping you choose the right invoicing solution for your business’s growth stage.
1. Starting with manual invoicing
Creating beautiful, custom-designed invoices
Many growing businesses start with manual invoicing—creating (beautiful) invoices as Word documents, Google Docs, or PDFs. If you remember sending out your first invoice this way, you’re not alone! Manual invoicing is quick to set up and communicates the service provided and the amount due well.
Some businesses even create quotes in Word or Google Docs, then convert them into invoices once the job is complete.
Why manual invoicing works in the early stages
While manual invoicing is highly time-consuming compared to automated billing, it offers something unique: full creative control. Some businesses, especially those in design-based industries, value the ability to customise their invoice design to reflect their brand personality and create a memorable customer experience.
In fact, a beautifully designed invoice can be hard to replicate in most billing software (sad but true). That’s why manual invoicing can still be useful for businesses just starting out or for those sending only a few invoices a year.
It allows you to:
- Create a strong, customised first impression
- Learn what information and design elements you want to keep as you scale
- Build a blueprint for future automated invoice templates
The pros and cons of creating manual invoices in Word or other design programs
| ✅Pros: | ❌Cons: |
| Easy, quick, and cheap to produceFull control to customise the design and create professional-looking invoices (if you have design skills) | Very manual and time-consuming to create and sendDifficult to manage invoice numbers and maintain consistencyHard to track which invoices have been paid, leading to possible cash flow issues |
When the time comes to kill the manual bill
Although manual invoicing has its advantages early on, growing businesses will eventually need faster, more scalable billing systems to save time and avoid mistakes. Automation becomes essential as your client base expands and invoicing volume increases.
2. Scaling up with cloud-based accounting software
Using Xero to automate invoicing
As your business grows, switching to a cloud-based accounting system like Xero becomes essential for handling invoicing efficiently.
With Xero, you can easily create quotes, convert them into invoices, and send them digitally — either directly to a customer’s email address or, if they use Xero too, straight into their accounting system. Plus, e-invoicing is on the horizon in South Africa and the UK, making cloud-based invoicing even more valuable for future-proofing your business.
The benefits of Xero for growing businesses
Xero offers a good degree of customisation for invoice templates, including fonts and text fields. More importantly, it ensures that your invoices meet all mandatory requirements and automatically keeps track of invoice numbers.
One of the biggest advantages for scaling businesses is the ability to link payment methods like debit or credit cards directly to the invoice, allowing customers to pay immediately upon receipt.
Xero also supports features like repeating invoices, which automatically generate and send invoices on a set schedule, ideal for monthly retainers or projects that are invoiced in stages.
The pros and cons of using Xero for invoicing
| ✅Pros: | ❌Cons: |
| Simple to set up and send professional digital invoicesSupports online payments (debit and credit cards) and automatically marks invoices as paidAutomatically includes mandatory invoice fields and tracks invoice numbersIntegrates with your full accounting system for real-time revenue and cash flow reporting | Initial Xero setup requires an investment of time and money (but help is available) Ongoing monthly subscription costs mean the business must generate steady revenue to support it |
3: Selling online with an e-commerce platform
Using Shopify to automate sales and invoicing
If you decide to sell products online, platforms like Shopify can handle several key steps for you, including invoicing, order management, and payment collection.
Your customers can browse your site, view individual item prices (or quantity-based discounts), place orders, pay online, and automatically receive invoices, all without manual input from your team.
Shopify’s default website templates look polished and professional, and customers are familiar with receiving order confirmations and invoices through Shopify-powered stores. This familiarity helps build trust and makes transactions feel seamless.
How Shopify streamlines billing and payment collection
By using Shopify, you can fully automate the sales, invoicing, and cash collection processes, as long as you avoid offering a ‘pay via EFT’ option, which can create unnecessary manual admin work (and you don’t need more of that).
Shopify supports a wide range of automatic payment methods, including:
- Debit and credit cards
- Instant EFT
- Crypto payments
- “Buy now, pay later” credit facilities
This makes for easier, faster transactions for your customers and less work for your team.
The pros and cons of using Shopify for invoicing
| ✅Pros: | ❌Cons: |
| Customers can browse, order, pay, and receive invoices automatically with no manual effort requiredA well-structured website answers many customer questions, reducing team workloadAutomatically tracks invoice numbers and records paymentsCan integrate with your overall accounting system for seamless revenue and cash flow reporting | Initial setup costs can be high if you customise beyond standard templatesMonthly subscription fees, plus additional costs for paid Shopify apps, can add up |
4. Running professional engagements with a billing platform
Using Ignition to streamline proposals, contracts and invoicing
If you run a professional services firm, such as a design studio, law firm, accountancy practice, or marketing consultancy, you’ll likely need to send clients a project brief and engagement letter to sign off digitally.
There are many software options for this, including big names like Salesforce and HubSpot. However, for small to mid-sized firms, platforms like Ignition offer a streamlined and affordable solution that covers all the basics (and then some).
Ignition allows you to build a product library with specific prices, set up engagements that bill upfront for some services and monthly for others, and either send invoices directly from the platform or feed them into accounting software like Xero for batch invoicing.
How Ignition supports professional billing and engagement
One of Ignition’s best features is the ability to send customers a clear, professional engagement overview. You can create a value proposition PDF on one side and a detailed service breakdown on the other, all tied together with a simple digital signature process to officially start the project.
Better yet, Ignition lets you link billing with the sign-off (UK version only, sorry RSA). In the UK version, customers are prompted to enter card or bank details when signing. In South Africa, you can pair Ignition with services like Billdozer to automate debit order collections through Xero, ensuring you get paid on time.
The pros and cons of using Ignition for invoicing and engagements
| ✅Pros: | ❌Cons: |
| Customers can receive professional proposals and digitally approve engagementsAbility to manage advanced job types: upfront deposits, monthly automated billing, and ‘invoice on completion’ setupsAutomated invoicing and seamless integration with accounting platforms like Xero In some regions, you can capture payment details as part of the sign-off process | Initial setup requires time and effort to map out products and pricingMonthly subscription costs can add up, especially when factoring in card transaction feesFor advanced CRM and client management needs, you may eventually need a larger (and more expensive) platform like Salesforce |
Stage 5: Exploring other invoicing and automation options
Choosing the right billing automation software
Beyond the major platforms we’ve covered, many other invoicing and billing tools are available. Most of them follow a similar flow – sign up digitally, receive automated invoices, authorise payments, and manage their subscriptions online.
To automate your billing (in way that doesn’t cause major headaches in the long run) you need to:
- Map your products and services: Define what you offer, how you price it, and common billing scenarios like upfront payments, monthly retainers, or completion-based invoicing.
- Choose payment methods: Set up options like cards, debit orders, or credit facilities.
- Build your workflows: Decide when invoices are triggered, when reminders are sent, and how payments are tracked.
- Pick scalable software: Choose a platform that fits your current needs but can grow with you.
- Prioritise customer experience: Make it as easy as possible for clients to sign, pay, and manage billing without needing any manual support.
- Look for accounting integrations: Seamless links to Xero or similar platforms save huge amounts of time.
Setup still matters, no matter what platform you choose
No matter what platform you choose, automation only works if you set it up properly and your team knows how to use it. You’ll still need to invest time upfront to structure your products, pricing, and processes clearly. And your team need to know how to use the platform. It’s all about tech for people, not in place of them.
And of course, no system replaces the need to deliver the great service your customers signed up for!
Conclusion: automating your invoicing as your business grows can set you up for success
As your business grows, manual invoicing quickly becomes a bottleneck. Scaling effectively means moving towards billing systems that save time, improve cash flow, and reduce the risk of errors, which ultimately frees you up to focus on what matters most – growing your business the right way.
At first, you’ll likely move from manual invoices to an accounting system like Xero, and eventually to more advanced automation through online stores or engagement platforms. At every stage, investing time to clean up your product data and pricing ensures you get the full benefit of your technology.
Automating your invoicing, especially when linked to signed contracts, doesn’t just save time. It improves data quality, customer experience, and payment reliability.
At Creative CFO, we help businesses map out their growth stages and implement technology and financial systems that streamline and automate their key financial processes.
Get in touch if you’d like to explore the best scalable tech for your business.
