March 5, 2013

PlanetSoho's "Snail Mail" Payment Solution Makes Invoicing Speedy for Small Businesses

Paper invoicing with the click of a button and automated recurring invoices save precious time and money for millions of small and micro-businesses

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PlanetSoho, the leading provider of easy-to-use online management tools and services for small office / home office businesses (SOHOs), today announced the launch of two new and fully integrated additions to its payment solution. PlanetSoho members who prefer physical billing can now mail paper invoices to customers with a click of a button. In addition, PlanetSoho is enhancing its world-class invoicing solution to allow PlanetSoho businesses to schedule recurring invoices.

These features are the newest additions to PlanetSoho’s suite of cloud-based tools that are already available to SOHOs. PlanetSoho members' customers can pay as they wish - by check, PayPal, or credit card. The new Snail Mail feature allows members to send paper invoices without having to go through the hassle of sending paper invoices - no more printing, stuffing envelopes, or waiting in line at the post office. With PlanetSoho's new recurring invoicing feature, SOHOs can also set up automatic monthly billing to their regular clients to avoid spending hours creating the same invoice over and over. These new features, seamlessly integrated with PlanetSoho's intuitive invoicing system, help SOHOs save time and get paid more quickly.

According to the 2012 "Still Paying with Paper" Research Brief by the National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA), 42 percent of small businesses making less than $750,000 annually still receive checks as a form of payment. PlanetSoho launched Snail Mail, a simple and integrated billing solution, to help SOHOs manage the more than 30 billion checks written to small businesses each year.

“In this digital age, it’s easy to forget that small businesses accept over 10 billion handwritten checks every year. Our online payment system makes it easy for members to accept payment any way their customers want to pay, including checks,” said Matt Weeks, Vice President and General Manager of Ecosystem at PlanetSoho. “It's a simple and powerful solution that puts our customers' needs first. We will continue to add new payment options to our offering to help our customers save time, money and hassle.”

“PlanetSoho lets my customers pay as they want”

Donna Hogan, owner of Start from Scratch Marketing in Norwich, CT, started her SOHO two and a half years ago after quitting her job as a 911 dispatcher. Working primarily with other SOHOs, she receives most of her payments in the form of checks, forcing Hogan to spend hours creating individual invoices for her clients. Hogan is excited to begin using the Snail Mail feature, which will save her time, and the recurring invoices feature, which will allow her to set up automatic monthly invoices. Her clients are also grateful for PlanetSoho, which gives them flexible payment options.

“As a SOHO, I don’t have much time to invoice each client individually, so I can’t wait to integrate Snail Mail and recurring invoices into my business. It is just what I need to take my SOHO to the next level,” said Hogan. “PlanetSoho gives my customers the flexibility to pay how they want, when they want, making it easier and faster for me to receive payments.”

All PlanetSoho members can try Snail Mail for free and send an unlimited number of paper invoices at a low rate. Soho Premium members can send a set number of invoices at no additional cost, and they can purchase additional paper invoices at less than $1 per invoice. Other Soho Premium features include a professional online storefront, plus a custom domain name, guaranteed page views, and a $100 Google AdWords credit to drive traffic to the storefront; easy group-email marketing; hundreds of legal documents; and round-the-clock phone support.

For more information about Snail Mail and recurring invoices, visit www.planetsoho.com/get-paid.