It can be extremely difficult to obtain payment for some invoices. This usually arises when the approval of a specific individual at a customer is required, and that person is either rarely available or so disorganized that the paperwork invariably disappears. Traditional approaches have been to attempt routing an invoice around the person in question, repeatedly mailing or faxing copies of it, or e-mailing reminders at regular intervals. Despite the variety of possible actions, this can become a frustrating impasse that may take months to resolve.
Of the approaches just noted, the one that works best is a reminder e-mail to the approving party, because that person can simply forward the e-mail to the accounting department with a note asking to expedite the payment. However, the problem with e-mails is that a perfect copy of the invoice cannot be included with the e-mail message, which could otherwise be forwarded straight to the accounting department with an approval notation by the approving party. Another problem is that the approving party may not have seen the invoice, and so may claim that he or she cannot approve it.
Adobe’s Acrobat software has eliminated these problems by creating a perfect copy of an invoice as printed by any accounting system into a PDF file that can be attached to an e-mail and forwarded straight to a customer’s accounting department where it can be opened, printed, and paid. By using this approach, one can create a completely electronic methodology for obtaining approval of invoices by customers.
Implementing the conversion of invoices into the Acrobat format is quite simple. First go to the Adobe web site (www.adobe.com) to order the Acrobat software. Once received and installed, go to your accounting software package and prepare to print an invoice. When the printing screen appears, change the assigned printer to Adobe PDF, which will appear as one of the available printers. The software will ask you where to store the resulting file and what to name it. After a few seconds, the conversion of the invoice into a picture-perfect PDF file will be complete.
The resulting PDF file can be easily incorporated into an e-mail message as a file attachment. However, do not assume that the recipient of the message has Adobe’s Acrobat Reader software available to open and view the invoice file. Instead, add a line in your e-mail message, noting where the recipient can download a free copy of the software. A sample message might read as follows:
I have not yet received payment for our invoice number 4762 for $12,500, dated April 12. It is somewhat overdue for payment. For your convenience, I have attached a PDF version of the invoice, which you may review with Adobe’s Acrobat Reader software. If you don’t already have this software, you can download it for free at www.adobe.com. Please contact me if you have any questions. Thanks!
Converting invoices to the PDF format can accelerate the receipt of cash from customers, reduce the collection efforts of the accounting staff, and allows customers to approve invoices electronically. This is a significant, inexpensive, and operationally elegant way to accelerate cash flow.