Over the last few decades, technological advancements have drastically changed how businesses conduct day-to-day activities and make crucial decisions. The billing and invoicing process is no exception.
Today, one of the most common concerns for small businesses is whether they should invest in off-the-shelf software products or build their own billing software. Read on to find the perfect solution. The answer might surprise you!
Buying vs. Building: Should Small Businesses Buy or Build Billing Tools?
For years, the general rule of thumb has dictated that if the in-house developers can build and the IT team can support in-house billing tools, then there’s no need to spend money on buying invoicing and billing software. However, times have changed.
Today, business software has primarily moved from on-premise to cloud – and for the right reasons. Plus, 24/7 support is generally available for SaaS, making it a feasible option for small businesses. However, many companies still consider whether building or buying is better when it comes to billing tools. This is especially true for tech companies and businesses with solid in-house development teams.
If you are also stuck in the buying vs. building predicament, consider the following factors to reach the right decision and maximize the cash flow.
Financial Costs
Building software from scratch may seem like a cost-effective solution. However, building costs cannot be ignored. They generally include the cost of server space, engineering resources, IT support staff-hours, and the costs to maintain it over time. Furthermore, ensuring security measures, such as PSD2/SCA compliant compliance and complex integration with other platforms, is also costly.
On the other hand, powerful yet affordable off-the-shelf billing software solutions for small businesses are readily available in the market. Comparing the total costs, you might find ready-made solutions to be more affordable in the long run.
Customization Options & Data Accessibility
One of the biggest drawbacks of buying invoice billing software is that they usually come with limited customization options. While you may be able to customize a few things, off-the-shelf solutions often lack the liberty to include and exclude features and functionalities that come with developing your own software. Restricted data access is another primary concern when working with these off-the-shelf vendors.
Developing software in-house can help you overcome these issues. However, it might cost you more and your developers’ time might be better spent elsewhere.
Can You Enjoy the Best of Both Worlds?
What if there was a way to leverage the numerous features and customization options of in-house software while cutting the cost of developing from scratch? Well, you can make the best of both worlds by opting for open-source billing software, such as Kill Bill.
You can also disable the functionalities you don’t need and write plug-ins to extend the functionality you need for your specific business. Furthermore, it enables you to be the master of your customer data. The biggest advantage of opting for Kill Bill is that it is FREE and includes all the basic billing and payment features.
Even if you make customizations, it is still highly affordable as compared to building software from scratch. Other features that make Kill Bill the best billing software for small businesses include the following.
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- Highly Adaptable: You can test several billing models to find the best one for you.
- Completely Controllable: You choose where to run Kill Bill: cloud and on-premise options.
- Very Efficient: You can manage high volumes of transactions and data.
- Extensible: You can use plug-ins to implement/improve any functionalities.
- Easily Scalable: You can scale as your business grows. Multi-tenancy to support multiple stores/ locations at once.
- Helpful Insights: Provides real-time analytics and financial reports to help take business decisions.
- Support Offerings: Whether you have questions or need ongoing billing and payment platform support, Kill Bill has got you covered.
- There’s more, of course. Check out more of our features.
In conclusion, Kill Bill is the ultimate billing software for small businesses. Stop by the Kill Bill Community to ask a question, or try out a free sandbox version of Kill Bill.
