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Overcoming Manual Billing Challenges: 7 Reasons to Improve Your Process

PayPal Editorial StaffPayPal Editorial Staff

10 November 2025

10 November 2025

4 mins read

The times have changed. Automation is no longer a dirty word. Indeed, it could be saving you a fortune in both time and money. Thousands of businesses, however, still choose to use manual billing processes.

This article includes tips, suggestions and general information. We recommend that you always do your own research and consider getting independent tax, financial and legal advice before making any important decision.

It’s a familiar but arguably antiquated practice that involves using word‑processing templates or spreadsheets to send invoices, manually copying in customer details, adding line items, and finally emailing PDFs (or even printing them to send by mail).

If you've spent hours hunched over your computer in Word or Excel, then you’ll know what a clunky and laborious process it can be.

Manual billing methods may work in a pinch (and there are probably a whole host of handy templates that came with your word processing software), but they can leave plenty of room for error, inefficiency, and cash flow delays.

That's why more UK small businesses are discovering the freedom of automation with simplified billing processes by integrating invoicing into tools like PayPal POS.

How automated and manual billing processes differ

With manual billing, you’re literally doing everything by hand: copying customer info, manually calculating totals, attaching VAT numbers, exporting to PDF, and waiting for the customer to scan, print, or pay. The process is slow, error-prone, and lacks visibility. There’s also the inevitable indignity of having to chase overdue payments.

Automated billing solutions, on the other hand, store customer data securely on the cloud. Invoices are generated with one tap and sent instantly via email or SMS. Payment buttons (via card, bank transfer, or wallet) are embedded directly into the message too, with no PDF downloading required.

You get real-time tracking on invoice status and automated reminders for overdue payments. Plus, everything integrates with your accounting tools or POS, meaning your books effectively keep themselves.

The difference is night and day: automation boosts accuracy, delivers invoices instantly, eliminates follow-up work, and keeps your cash flow flowing. In contrast, manual billing feels like running uphill with bricks in your pockets.

Benefits of fixing your manual invoicing

Automated billing eliminates the friction of template hunting, data entry mistakes, mailing costs, and payment follow-ups. It helps invoices to be professional, accurate, and delivered instantly. Plus, your customers benefit from clickable payment buttons that help them settle invoices quickly.

Below, you'll find seven compelling reasons why switching from manual billing to automation offers an elevated solution. A smart, simple, and fast way to get paid.

  1. Reduce time consumption

    Gone are the days of sitting down at your desktop late at night, looking for invoice templates and searching for names and addresses. Now you’ve got the power to take care of billing, right in the palm of your hand. Your smartphone contains what you need to get paid in just a few clicks — no more late nights, from now on you can take care of business while you’re standing at the bus stop.

  2. Discover the magic of autofill

    There are a lot of details you need to include in an invoice and typing them all into a Word document every time you want to get paid is a woeful waste of your time. With automatic invoicing, every time a new customer pays their bill, their details will be stored in your account on the cloud. When you send an invoice, all you need to do is search for a customer’s name and all their details will be filled in for you.

    This means no more hunting through old invoices looking for VAT numbers, and lots more time to live your life.

  3. Stop buying stamps

    How much of your life do you want to spend at the post office? With automatic invoicing, you can send a complete invoice quickly. No more standing in line to buy stamps, no more printing out paper and no more scrambling around for an envelope — this is the future!

  4. Get paid fast

    When you send an invoice from your phone, it arrives in your customer’s inbox as an email. From there, all they need to do is click a link and pay direct from their bank account or enter their card details. It’s simple and safe, and a fast way of getting paid.

    When you send an invoice via PayPal POS, it arrives as a live link that customers tap to pay using their card, bank, or wallet directly from their phone. It’s conveniently quick and reliably secure.

  5. Streamline payment reminders

    You might provide the best service in the world, but that may not make people pay fast. Small business owners often find that an unfavourable part of sending invoices is chasing late payments. What’s the right tone to have in an email, and when should you start making calls? Well, a good invoicing solution can alleviate some of these issues by sending out automatic reminders on your behalf.

  6. Keep all your sales in one place

    If you choose a point-of-sale system that includes an invoicing function, you can take cash, card, and invoice payments all from your smartphone or tablet. If a potential customer is on the fence about a purchase, being able to offer them a variety of payment options instantly could close the sale.

  7. Better bookkeeping

    With a cloud-based invoicing solution, every single sale you make is tracked and stored. If you need to issue a refund, declare your taxes or simply get a quick overview of all your sales, automatic invoicing beats a shoebox full of receipts any day of the week.

    Manual invoicing can be slow, error-prone, and hold back your cash flow. By switching to automated billing (especially when paired with a system like PayPal Invoicing), you can send uniquely branded, accurate invoices quickly, embed quick payment options, track statuses in real time, and send reminders automatically. It’s billing that works for you, rather than against you.

    So, ready to ditch the paperwork? Discover how simple invoicing by PayPal can help your cash flow: learn more and get started here.

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