Invoicing is far from being ideal. Sharing an invoice is complex and mostly done by email or by paper format. Then the recipient usually pays late as the invoice has generally to be validated by several parties and to be paid (still time consuming to pay as nothing is automated). Finally, you never know if an customer invoice has been paid as the reconciliation between payments and invoices is manual, and not instant. We can only imagine the time needed to manage thousands of email invoices when no software can verify if the payment was done.

Business owners can take actions to get paid on time such as to send invoices quicker, remind clients to pay, shorten the payment terms and do online invoicing. And they can do even more by using the Request invoicing system built on the Blockchain.

Invoicing with Request

Here are the ways the Blockchain and Request speed up the payment of invoices:

Late payments : always be paid on time thanks to a reputation system for good and bad payers (see our explanation below).

: always be paid on time thanks to a reputation system for good and bad payers (see our explanation below). Ease of payment : the payer doesn’t need to initiate a payment from his bank anymore. It improves the user experience.

: the payer doesn’t need to initiate a payment from his bank anymore. It improves the user experience. Validation : you send an instant request and the recipient is immediately notified. You know when your request has been validated by the recipient right away.

: you send an instant request and the recipient is immediately notified. You know when your request has been validated by the recipient right away. Cost : paying with Request (fees between 0.05% and 0.5% of the transaction amount) is cheaper than paying with credit card or Paypal (fees between 1% and 7% of the transaction amount).

: paying with Request (fees between 0.05% and 0.5% of the transaction amount) is cheaper than paying with credit card or Paypal (fees between 1% and 7% of the transaction amount). Escrow and downpayment : you can easily add payment options from a catalogue.

: you can easily add payment options from a catalogue. Multi-currency : Request accepts fiat currencies and crypto currencies.

: Request accepts fiat currencies and crypto currencies. Invoice management: you don’t need to manage your customer invoices by email anymore, but through our application. With this app, you can choose the date of payment (on the due date for example).

Request Network also facilitates your accounting:

by sharing your bills via a ledger : your books are automatically updated as invoices are issued and paid. This means no more invoice duplication between two parties, and no risk of invoices loss.

: your books are automatically updated as invoices are issued and paid. This means no more invoice duplication between two parties, and no risk of invoices loss. by connecting your sales invoices to the payment (today your invoicing software is disconnected from the payment of your customer invoices). With Request, the invoice is the transaction.

The reputation system developed by Request

With a reputation system for good and bad payers it’s easier for SMBs to get paid because there is an incentive for customers to pay their invoices on time. It also allows companies to improve their credit score. This results in an easier access to investment and financing. Finally, the finance department can better detect the unreliable customers.

Company A sends a Request to company B. The date of payment is recorded into the reputation system.

Request takes into account several criteria: the effective payment, the timing of payment (on time or late), the number of requests issued and the status of the requests (accepted or declined).

Each year, thousands of SMBs get bankrupt while waiting for their payments. With this system, a provider has a way to know if a client is reliable. He is able to verify its clients’ reputation before agreeing on a contract.

If you’re interested in being among the first to create and manage your payment requests through Request, feel free to subscribe here!

Note: Invoicing are one of the 5 main use cases of the Request Protocol along with online payments, accounting, auditing, IoT and transparency.

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