Companies that bill clients and customers for products or services require a different type of billing software than do professional offices that invoice clients or patients for time and expertise. Invoices for purchases or services require places for part numbers, catalog numbers, quantity, and sometimes color, style, pattern, or size. Some businesses prefer to have their billing software created specifically for them by a programmer, but others purchase billing software from the mass market that is then tailored to fit their business needs.
Even though this type of billing software is different than that of a professional office, construction company, or architectural firm, there are still some properties within a billing software program that all businesses can use effectively, such as debt collection and accounts receivable. Combining these common properties into a single, customizable package makes it possible for billing software programmers to make their software work for many different kinds of businesses.
However, stores, catalog retailers, and online stores all have similar needs. These types of businesses need a billing program that allows for many different types of products, returns, payments, and account credits. These businesses also need a way to keep up with which customers have paid and which have not and a way to collect payments from customers without losing them as a future customer.