As the title implies, a digital nomad is either always on the move, even if you’re spending several months in the same place, it’s probably not your hometown (or even home country!). Working as a digital nomad means considerable flexibility...but when it comes to managing your invoicing and accounts, you’ll need to stick to the requirements in your place of origin.
You have some options. You can create invoices by hand, using an old-reliable like Word or Excel invoice templates, and struggle with spreadsheets, or you can find online, cloud-based invoicing and accounting software that can be accessed anywhere, from any device.
Online invoicing & accounting software vs. Word and Excel
Word and Excel are usually the first option that most freelancers and entrepreneurs turn to when it’s time to create invoices for their work. After all, if they’re already installed on your computer, you can use invoice templates, and they certainly seem more professional than a handwritten invoice.
Payments and expenses? Sure, you can create a spreadsheet and enter every transaction in there, add in the correct calculations to apply to the proper column and cell, apply this to the row, and...ok, that’s enough of that. Are Word and Excel really the best solution for managing your invoicing and accounting?
Let’s look at some of the main functions:
Creating invoices It’s possible to create invoices in Word and Excel relatively easily. But they often require extra work on your part in the form of manual calculations of VAT, if applicable, subtotals, totals, and any discounts applied. Not to mention ensuring that you enter the correct invoice number each time and somehow keep all your invoices organised in a folder on your computer and never forget to move them once they’re paid.
In online invoice software like Debitoor, creating an invoice is as quick as entering the necessary customer and product details and...well that’s it because invoicing software does the calculations for you, as well as automatically updating each new invoice number according to your sequence.
Sending invoices With Word or Excel, you’ll need to save it to your computer, convert the invoice to PDF, sign into your email, write out an email, attach the invoice and send it on it’s way, hoping it reaches your customer.
With online invoice software, your invoices are saved with a click, and can be sent directly from your account in just a few more clicks. In addition, the software tracks the status of your sent invoices, notifying you as soon as your customer has viewed it.
Invoice organisation With Word or Excel, you’ll need to figure out a system of folders to keep track of which invoices are draft, sent, paid, overdue, or bad debt. Oh! And you’ll need to remember where to find them and to move them as soon as their status changes.
Invoicing software like Debitoor allows you to view your list by status, date, customer, and more in order to find the invoice you need in moments by applying our useful filters and search bar.
Benefits of online invoice software for digital nomads
When managing a business as a digital nomad, imagine having access to your invoices, payments, expenses, and more, from any device, no matter whether you’re in Bangkok or Timbuktu. That’s what invoicing software can do for you.
It allows you to:
- Create invoices quickly and easily
- Send your invoices directly from the software
- Integrate directly with online payment methods to offer your customers
- Automatically match transactions in your bank statement, balancing your accounts in seconds
- Access your account from any computer, tablet, or smartphone
- Snap a pic and upload your expenses from your mobile
- Maintain an overview of your business finances at all times
Simplifying the tedious parts of managing your business and giving you more time to enjoy your journey.
