This week we’re releasing a brand new look for your Debitoor mobile app. The update marks one of the most significant design changes we’ve ever done, with the aim of creating an app that is more accessible, more attractive, and more intuitive than ever.

Our team of UX designers and developers have been working hard to bring this new version to light in time for autumn. The changes are part of our larger goal of creating an app designed to make invoicing & accounting simple and professional for all businesses.

To learn more about the ideas and motivations behind the changes, we spoke directly with our UX Lead and Chief Designer, Hugo Corzo, who gave us some insights into the update and more details about the new look you’ll find in the app. So let’s take a closer look at the latest in the Debitoor iPhone and Android mobile app...

With deliveries quickly jumping from a popular option to now the only option for some, many businesses are looking at ways to transition to providing delivery or looking into ways to make the delivery process more efficient and professional.

While there might be some aspects that are ultimately out of the control of suppliers (transit times and parcel handling, as well as weather), there are a number of ways to ensure a positive process for your customers when it comes to deliveries.

Getting started with a business is an exciting experience. From setting out on your own, leaving the commute and the workday hours behind, it’s easy to get caught up in the process and enjoy the freedom. And you should.

But for many who make the move to becoming self-employed, something that comes up eventually is cash flow. It can prove a challenge for many small businesses just starting out. It’s not an uncommon obstacle that appears for new businesses of any size, in fact.

Even businesses that require relatively low capital to get started can find themselves forced to shoulder large sums to keep the business going until they find the next client. So the question arises: is there a way to prevent this? And in the absence of a solution, how can new businesses be better prepared for cash flow issues?

As part of our goal to continue to improve the software based on the feedback and needs of our users, we’re excited to share the latest update in the design of Debitoor: a new, dark background for the navigation menu bar.

This change does not affect how the menu works or any of the features available on your plan. It’s purely an aesthetic update that our designers have spent time researching and testing.

Let’s take a closer look at the change and how it ties in to some other updates you might have noticed over the last few months in your invoicing & accounting software.

Making the decision to finally pursue that business idea that you’ve been rolling around in your head for years, or even expanding something you already do occasionally on the side of full time employment can certainly be intimidating.

Becoming a freelancer or sole trader means taking on an entirely new approach to business, to work, to finances, and can have a major effect on your personal life. Your business is entirely in your hands, often for better or worse.

But the benefits can far outweigh the risks if you have done your research, have set clear paths to your goals, and have the right tools to help you get there.

Most self employed are familiar with Word and Excel. After all, these two programs are arguably ‘tried and true’ having been around a long time and many people having worked with them previously whether as a student or in other jobs.

When you start your own business, it can seem to make sense that you stick with what you know. However, are they really the best options for running your business easily and reliably from anywhere?

At the end of the day, if you were to compare them to online invoicing software, they will come up short. Mainly because of the most obvious of reasons: neither Word nor Excel were created with the express purpose of creating legal, professional invoices.

As easy as it is to create invoices from anywhere with online invoicing software like Debitoor, freelancers, sole traders, and small business owners still face challenges when it comes to arguably one of the most important parts of running a business: getting paid.

But there are things you can do to make it as easy as possible for your customers to make payments. Primarily, offering different payment options. Just as your customers are likely all different with different orders, they might well prefer different payment methods as well.

While most people today might consider online payment the fastest and easiest method, there are certainly those who would disagree with this or might just feel comfortable making payments a different way. In any case, being flexible in how customers can pay can significantly increase your chances of receiving prompt payment for invoices.

There are a lot of different ways to start a business. Whether it begins as a side hustle, or is a planned, full-time transition. Sole traders who grow a business to a size that requires a little more help can mean finding a part-time intern to hiring employees for different roles.

Hiring is a time-consuming process that can be considerably more difficult than many might anticipate. Finding the right person or people to help to grow and develop a business you have launched can be sensitive and difficult.

There are some great guides available out there for help with hiring. Take a look at our article ‘Hiring - the right way!’ for some great tips on everything from the job ad and reviewing applicants to interviews and making the right choice for your business.

We’re starting off 2020 with a little update already. Our developers have delivered once again, adding to the Debitoor design facelift you probably noticed at the end of 2019 (if you missed this, check out our article on the new navigation bar design).

If you prefer the short version: we’re updating the design bit by bit, based on user feedback and better understanding of how you work with the software.

Small businesses today have many options to expand and grow. This often means a customer base that is located outside the country in which your business is based. This brings a new set of added complexities, but they’re easily navigable with the right software.

Creating invoices in foreign currencies is one of the many ways that using online invoice software like Debitoor can simplify the billing process. But as easy as it is to create an invoice in another language or currency, you might be asking - what about the payment side?

This article will help clarify how to manage payments with exchange rate differences for invoices in foreign currencies in your Debitoor account.

If one of your new year resolutions is to start improving your time management skills, or if you’re interested in optimising your productivity, read on! In a world where our attention is constantly torn not only between people and projects but also devices, is time management really what we should be focusing on?

Arguably considered a cornerstone of a good work ethic, time management helps you to establish a routine, to set goals and track your progress over a work day. But does it prevent you from getting distracted by that juicy news article with celeb gossip or the incoming call from your friend on holiday?

In other words, is it your time or attention that is in the most jeopardy in today’s world? We take a look at an alternative to time management, focusing instead on where your attention is going.

Another year is coming to a close. It’s only natural to take a moment to reflect on how 2019 has gone before looking ahead to the coming year. A lot has happened in a year, and yes, we’re only talking about in your invoicing software.

It has been a big year at Debitoor, with some important new features introduced to improve localisation, adhere to governmental regulations, but most of all to continue to provide users with intuitive software for managing the invoicing and accounting for their business.

Here are just a few of the things that were updated or added in 2019 to Debitoor...

If you’ve already started invoicing with Debitoor, you’ve likely noticed a few additional fields beyond the entirely necessary details that must be included in an invoice. These fields are there to provide you with extra customisation options for every invoice you send to a customer.

We understand that every sale is different. Maybe your most recent sale is to a loyal customer, maybe you have a seasonal discount or are encouraging referrals. In any case, Debitoor invoicing software is built with these needs in mind, so in this article we’ll take a closer look at two useful fields in the invoice form: notes and payment terms.

We’re excited to release a new look for Debitoor: a small change that we’re hoping will make a big impact on how you work with the software and how we can continue to grow and develop based on your feedback.

The change? We’ve moved the navigation bar from the top to the left side of the page. While this might not seem so small, it is only a design change. You’ll still find all of the features and functions of your Debitoor account available now from the left.

Once again, the development wizards have worked their magic (or, have worked hard to understand the needs of Debitoor users, researched the best way to implement a frequently requested feature, and spent time building and testing that feature to all users, depending on how you look at it).

In this case, as part of the ongoing improvements to our accounting and financial reports, there’s an exciting and fun new feature that gives you even more understanding of your business numbers and makes it easier to see exactly where your income and expenses are coming from - all from the profit & loss itself.

This update allows you to click on elements in the P&L to see exactly how each line breaks down - which costs have contributed to that particular category.

If your happy place is working on a car, grease on your hands, tools lining your walls, it’s likely been a dream of yours to run your own car services shop. However, there are parts of running a business that might not be quite as enjoyable for you - the paperwork and finances.

Luckily, the tech world of today has made it easier than ever for anyone to stay on top of the invoicing and accounting side of their business. But what about your business? In this article, we outline what you need to consider when looking for bookkeeping software for your garage.

If you’re the type of user who likes to check the overall numbers often and make sure they’re on track, you might have noticed some recent changes to a few aspects of your financial reports. Primarily: the balance sheet and the profit & loss statement.

While Debitoor is focused on providing tools that make it easy to manage your quotes and invoicing, record expenses, and work easily with your accountant, it’s also important that the software continues to grow and develop, just like our users’ businesses.

That in mind, it’s always our goal to create solutions that simplify rather than complicate your experience in running your business. So every change we make goes through a process to ensure that it is the most intuitive it can be - granted, there are some features that by their nature are slightly more complex. There are also features that are more useful for some users than others, which is why we base our plans on features for growing businesses.

Our developers have been busy. After gathering feedback from you, our users, we wanted to give you what you’ve asked for and make it easier to get started with Debitoor to manage your business accounting.

So the developers have worked their magic and made it possible for users to enter starting balances from their business bookkeeping directly in the P&L.

New users who switch to Debitoor from another software, or if you’re already using Debitoor invoicing and want to start using the accounting side, can start at any time from any point in their accounting and pick up where their previous record-keeping left off.

You already know that the numbers matter. They give you the opportunity to accurately see how well your business is doing or whether some changes need to be made to help things along. Instead of relying on a gut feeling, they provide concrete, clear indications of how things are going.

However, many small business owners tend to focus only on the main numbers: income and expenses. They let their accountant (if they’re working with an accountant) take care of the more complex, detailed numbers.

Yet when running a business, better knowledge of just what those numbers mean can help you understand the financial health of your business, what the road ahead looks like, how you compare to competitors, and more.

When it comes to sales and fulfilling orders, there are a series of steps that need to be followed - both to ensure that you’re meeting all the local regulations and to provide a smooth and clear process for your customers.

Online invoicing software makes it that much easier to follow these steps each and every time and feel confident in knowing that your invoices look professional and are legally-compliant.

In this article we’ll take a closer look at each of the steps to keep in mind from the beginning of the invoicing process to sending your shipment on its way to your customer.

The life of a small business owner is busy. It’s as demanding as it is rewarding, and not always in equal measure. You likely often find yourself pulled in many different directions simultaneously.

From keeping documents organised to ensuring your payments are all on track to finding out about the latest regulation changes and following up on late payments from customers...and those are just the tedious administrative tasks.

You need time to actually run your business and do the work. But if you’ve been depending on folders or boxes full of papers, or even in antiquated CD-rom-installed accounting software, it might be time to take back control of your schedule. Accounting & invoicing software can help make that happen.

If you run a business, there are many things that are simply unavoidable. But there’s one in particular that inspires many to want to turn tail and run: accounting. Maybe accountants enjoy the tedious number crunching, but for most freelancers and small business owners, it’s not something on which you’d choose to spend your time.

This is when it pays off to find and invest in accounting software. While that may sound intimidating, the accounting programs today are a far cry from the CD download install versions of even a decade ago.

Today the focus is on automation, ease-of-use, and portability - even for those without any experience managing business finances. Online accounting software makes it easy.

If you work in fitness, it’s likely that you’re not particularly inclined towards sitting in the office. Just an assumption, but when it comes to personal training, the work and passion that you put not only into your own fitness but also into that of your clients means that you are more likely to be found in the gym or outdoors.

Unless you’re employed directly by a gym, you’re self-employed. You’re setting your own hours and rates, and it’s a fantastic feeling to be able to do what you love, when you want, and help people pursue health and see results.

And yet there are some things that come with the territory of being self-employed that will take time away from the parts you love about being a personal trainer. Accounting. Invoicing. Following up on late payments.

Balancing the books. Does the thought of it make you cringe? Or do you suddenly realise that you really should clean the kitchen today? It’s also been ages since you organised your desk...

While these things are important, managing the bookkeeping for your business is also incredibly important. We know you know that. But it doesn’t make it any easier to sit down and get it done.

If you’ve ever let those expenses pile up day after day, or even week after week, you’re certainly not alone. From our experience, self-employed who record each transaction as it occurs are truly the exception, not the rule. But what if it were easy to become one of them? And to avoid the tedious task of sitting down to spend hours catching up on bookkeeping.

It’s a question we hear from time to time in Debitoor support. However, Debitoor does not actually handle any money that is paid between your customers and your business. Debitoor acts as an easy tool for creating and sending invoices in less than a minute as well as for adding expenses from anywhere, but it also allows you to give your customers the option of online payment.

Debitoor offers several options for making it easy for your customers to pay your invoices, but this money will not pass through your Debitoor account at any time.

While some ambitious entrepreneurs start a business solely with the aim of building it up to a point where it’s profitable and attractive to potential buyers, many small business owners have different motivations for setting out on their own.

Hearing the stories from many Debitoor users, it’s fair to say that the main impulse to start a business stems from one of several reasons: a passion for that type of work, a potential opportunity for becoming more independent, quitting the day job.

It’s one of those inevitabilities when it comes to running a business. At some point, it’s more than likely that you’ll need to reimburse a customer. There are a few main situations that can lead to this, but the result is ultimately the same.

However, there are a number of things to consider and some steps to take depending on the particular situation and how you will be processing the refund.

One of the more important things to have in place even before you start making sales is a clear return policy. This will provide guidance not only to the customer but also to you in the event that a return is the cause for a refund request. More on this to come.

Now available in Debitoor: the flat rate scheme! Find out more about the flat rate VAT scheme and how it works in Debitoor:

Running a small business in the UK, there are many things to consider, to calculate, to evaluate. Once your business is over the VAT threshold, tax is one thing that is unavoidable. While it can cause headaches, there are easier ways to stay on top of tax and make your quarterly reporting (even under HMRC’s Making Tax Digital), just a little bit easier.

If you run a brick-and-mortar shop or set up a market stall on the weekends in the summer at your local markets, you’re likely already working with direct, face-to-face payments with your customers.

As a business, you need the right hardware and software to make the sales process fast and easy. A POS (Point of Sale) system refers to the cash register/computer/tablet/card reader that you use to register and accept payments.

If your business is a bit more mobile, it’s probable that you’re not porting around a bulky cash register but rather are making use of one of the significantly more convenient card readers that make it easy to accept payments from anywhere.

When you run a small business, it can be easy to get caught up in the day-to-day, in your work itself, and in building the business relationships that will help your business develop. It’s not uncommon to open that paper drawer at the end of the week (or month) and find all those receipts for business expenses as well as an email inbox full of replies from customers and notifications of payment.

While incoming cash flow is definitely preferred, keeping track of outgoing cash flow is of course, equally important. Understanding a balance between the two is an important yet easy way to maintain an idea of the financial health of your business.

Aside from keeping tedious accounting records, is there a way to do this easily, even in an age where we’re increasingly mobile for work and often take our tasks to go? As with most things today - there’s an app for that (Android or iOS)! But also an online browser version that syncs with your mobile while you’re on the go.

It happens. When you’re self-employed, even with a side hustle, it can be easy to put the wrong customer address, add the wrong quantity of products, or even mark the wrong invoice as ‘Paid’.

Traditionally, these types of small mistakes meant combing through old invoices, creating a credit note modified from a Word or Excel invoice template, or playing a game of swap-the-invoices between computer folders.

Thankfully, those days are in the past. With accounting & invoicing software like Debitoor, it’s easy to quickly remove payment from an invoice and make the other necessary changes (some are even made automatically).

In today’s digital age, the safety of data online is of constant concern. There seem to be new stories about hacked programs or breached databases. It’s only natural that when it comes to accounting for your business, you want to make sure that the software you choose has the proper security measures in place.

Your confidential information should stay exactly that: confidential. When you are working with online accounting software, the amount of information you store can seem concerning with the stories you hear every so often about data security breaches.

Beyond that, worries over potentially losing data gathered over months or years and saved in an online profile is a focus for some users, but one that can quickly be quelled with clear information about how data is backed up online.

Have you ever tried to build your own invoice template? Maybe in Word or Excel (we’ve even seen invoices created in Paint! True story). But what purpose should an invoice template serve? In this article we take a closer look at templates for professional invoices, where to find them, how to use them, and whether there’s an easier option (hint: there is).

Plus: should you pay for an invoice template? Or download a free invoice template? What about if there’s a mistake or you want to change the template? Let’s take at the invoicing process and see how it can be improved.

How much has your business made this month? When you’ve launched a business, it is often a regular question - along with: are you covering your costs? Is your profit increasing each month?

While it can be easy to become preoccupied with the numbers, it is in fact important to have an idea of your current revenue. Thankfully, it’s easier than ever today with the help of online, cloud-based accounting & invoicing software like Debitoor.

It’s almost here. In less than a week, the April 1st Making Tax Digital deadline arrives. What does this mean for businesses? For some, it will mean that they will need to use HMRC-approved software to digitally keep track of their records and submit returns directly to HMRC online.

If you already know that your business falls under the requirements for using Making Tax Digital software and you’re a Debitoor user, then you’re already ahead of the game. But just in case you’re just getting started, here is a quick list of three things you can do now to get ready:

The start of Making Tax Digital for businesses over the taxable turnover threshold of £85,000 is just around the corner. With April 1st coming up quickly, VAT-registered businesses in the UK are looking for answers and solutions for managing VAT returns under the requirements laid out by this new regulation.

Here at Debitoor, we’ve also been hard at work preparing for the April 1st deadline, to ensure that the software offers the options necessary for our users to continue their invoicing and accounting needs and meet the requirements of Making Tax Digital software.

In this article we have a short set of questions and answers about MTD in general, plus specific information about Making Tax Digital and Debitoor.

You want your business to succeed. You put time, money, effort, and possibly a few sleepless nights into creating a business. But simply starting it, getting a logo, putting up a website, won’t automatically start reeling in the customers. For that, you need marketing.

For some, marketing might seem like a difficult nut to crack. How do you break into a market when just starting out? Is there a secret to getting the right message to the right potential customers? What’s the best medium? What if your business is already established and you’re looking to expand your reach?

There are plenty of questions because there are plenty of ways to go about marketing for your business. While the route you decide to take ultimately depends largely on your industry, market, competitors, and basically: just what works, there is some useful advice out there to help you find the best strategy for your business.

When running a business, it can seem like there is always something that pops up and needs your attention. But it’s still up to you to make the right decisions for the best impact on your business. However, this can be a bit difficult, especially if there are easier or cheaper options.

In this article, we look at a few common things that businesses do that can be changed and can have a positive impact on your business, stress levels, and even cash flow.

You’ve likely heard of it, but if you’ve worked with accountants and haven’t had as much of a hands-on approach to finances, bank reconciliation is the process of matching the transactions from your bank records with those in your business records. In other words, the incoming payments from customer match with the invoices you’ve created, and the outgoing payments match with your expenses.

Yes, it sounds a bit tedious, especially if you have to go through each payment one-by-one. But below we show you just how important it is as well as provide some tips for making bank reconciliation fast and simple.

Launching a small business often takes up a lot of time. And money. For many businesses just starting out, a loan can make sense. Loans can provide that little extra capital that is necessary to really get things off the ground, and often, favourable terms can be found.

But getting a loan also includes an added level of management from an accounting point of view. It’s one thing to receive the money, and make payments, but how do you ensure this appears correctly in your accounts and is reflected in your financial reports?

Accounting & invoicing software can provide a solution for managing these balances and regular payments.

When a business is growing, it often means that it become a bit too much work for one person to handle alone. Hiring talented, qualified individuals to help out with some of the daily tasks can take a lot off your plate.

Once you’ve found your team, you’ll likely be sharing many of the duties you were previously managing on your own. These can often include much of the administrative tasks, including invoicing and even accounting.

Do you own a gardening business? Whether you’re just starting out or already well-established, there are a few inevitable elements of the business that require some time behind a screen.

But with the right software, you can keep the tedious bits up-to-date as you work - even onsite or on the way to your next location and minimise the time you spend at the end of the day or week. As with everything today: there’s an app for that.

So how exactly can you make it easy, fast, and efficient to manage your business invoicing and accounting even when on the go? Cloud-based software is a great option when you’re constantly moving from place to place for work, and don’t find yourself at a desk from 9-17.

As a small business owner, you’re possibly like many who work comfortably from a home office. At least when it comes to managing the invoicing and accounting sides of your business.

But thanks to apps and cloud-based software, it’s easy to mix it up and move locations. Maybe you’re looking for a little company, or you simply need a change of scenery. Or if you have a business meeting and decide to get there early to prepare. Fortunately, no matter the reason, the right software will work for you anywhere.

And not just at any location. But also on any device. With cloud-based software, you can log in to your account and access your data even if you choose to take your iPad instead of your laptop.

Whether you run a brick-and-mortar shop or run a market stall on weekends and holidays, finding the right solution for payments can be a challenge. While there seem to be an array of options these days, finding one that works well and makes sense ends up being more difficult.

If you want to be able to accept credit and debit card payments, there are handy card readers and apps that make this fast and painless. But what about online payments? And how do you manage your accounting at the end of the day?

In 2019, HMRC is introducing the newest regulations involving the digitisation of tax in Making Tax Digital for business. The new requirements will apply to any business with an annual turnover above the VAT threshold, as well as those that have voluntarily registered for VAT.

The new year has arrived and along with personal goals and ambitions, you likely also have a few New Year's resolutions for your business as well.

If you’re already on the way towards making those a reality, you’re ahead of the curve. If you’re still brainstorming about how to make your business even better in 2019, we’ve found a few to give you some ideas (plus some tips on how to make them happen).

The middle child of the Apple products enjoys a positive reputation for being not only functional but highly portable. With arguably greater capabilities than a smartphone (albeit less than a computer), iPads have become useful tools for many types of businesses.

While a computer used to be a requirement for managing the more complex aspects of running a business such as spreadsheets or Word & Excel invoice templates, many businesses find that with the right tools, an iPad is a useful device for managing the day-to-day.

Because an iPad gives you the option of accessing the web through a browser as you would on a computer, as well as having access to most mobile apps you’re used to on your phone, it’s quite versatile.

Running an equestrian centre involves constant care and attention. If you’re not coordinating delivery of bedding, then you’re following up with one of your customers or scheduling a new trainer.

The day-to-day tasks are demanding, often physically as well as mentally, and if you’re not already a bit tired at the end of the day, you certainly will be if you have to sit down and spend hours and hours on invoicing and managing the accounting.

If you’re looking for a solution for this time-consuming process so that you can relax at the end of the day, without having to sit down and spend even more time behind a computer screen.

Potentially the only topic that could elicit more yawns and convenient excuses to leave the room than accounting: insurance. Somewhat infamous for aggressive marketing, yet tedious red-tape ridden claims process, insurance is not a popular topic in any situation.

And yet it’s an aspect of running a business that should be considered early on. An added obstacle is that it can be challenging to determine exactly what type(s) of insurance your business will need and also what it means for your bottom line.

There are some types of insurance that are required if your business meets certain criteria such as having an employee or working with vehicles. While other types of insurance are not necessarily required, they are strongly recommended by authorities.

If you’re a freelancer or a small business owner in New Zealand, you’re likely familiar with the invoicing process. And how tedious and time-consuming it can be.

Creating, sending, and managing invoices is a crucial part of running a business but not often one that most self-employed look forward to. Yet, invoicing is directly connected to one of the main goals of having a business: getting paid.

An invoice is a required document for most sales, so understanding exactly what must be included is an important basic, as missing details can result in an invoice not being valid. From there, it’s about communication with your customer, promotion of your brand, and professionalism.