Some of the most popular songs are duets highlighted by two voices or two complementary instruments such as electric and acoustic guitars playing in unison. Your music store also needs its own duet in the form of automated billing combined with web-based instrument rentals.
Embrace the golden opportunity that is automated billing and your music store will enjoy seamless and timely payments that keep the store running like a well-oiled machine. Automation removes human payment processors, ensuring the money owed is automatically deducted from a checking account, credit card or other payment method.
The icing on the metaphorical cake is providing customers with the opportunity to rent musical instruments on the web. Provide both forms of convenience and you’ll find your customers favor your music store for its elite efficiency.
What is Automated Billing?
Music stores that transition to automated billing find it is significantly easier to process payments, pay bills and keep the doors open across posterity. Automate your billing with the right software solution and the technology will handle all the billing process functions. Automated billing pays bills at specific points in time so human employees don’t have to bother crunching the numbers and spending time with related matters.
Software has advanced to the point that it is now surprisingly fast and easy to establish rules for automated payments that transmit bills to customers and also collect payment from customers. Some automated billing systems can even be engineered to pay bills on behalf of a music store, ensuring accounts payable obligations are satisfied on time and in full.
The alternative is the traditional approach to billing in which music stores send out bill payment requests either through USPS snail mail or e-mail in accordance with each customer’s preferred billing notice method. Such an approach is outdated, inefficient and unlikely to yield timely and accurate payments. Choose the automated approach and you’ll find your music store receives the occasional missed payment due to a decline credit card or other problem yet the vast majority of bills will be processed in an automatic manner, ensuring all financial obligations are satisfied before the billing deadline.
Accounts receivable simply does not get any simpler or more efficient than automated billing. Automate the billing process and you’ll find your music store employees spend less time problem-solving customer payment issues. The automated system:
- Autofills billing information
- Transmits the billing request for payment
- Processes payment thereafter
The entirety of this work is done in little time, eliminating the potential for human error and also maximizing efficiency.
Benefits of Automated Billing for Music Stores
Give automated billing a try and you’ll find the billing process goes smoothly. Automated billing is fully streamlined from beginning to end, liberating your limited and busy staff to focus on what they do best.
As is often said, time is the most valuable resource. This adage rings especially true for music store owners, managers and employees. Add in the fact that automated billing enhances the customer experience as it is no-hassle and this high-tech approach to payment issuance and collection proves even more appealing.
Renting Musical Instruments Online
Use your mind’s eye to put yourself in the position of a prospective music store customer. You are in the market for a new or used instrument yet aren’t sure what route to take. You surf the web over to a music store website, find the option of online instrument rental and immediately give it top priority.
As long as instruments available for rent feature accurate descriptions and are available at a fair rate, they will pique the interest of musicians looking for rentals without the commitment of purchase. The best part is most music stores do not offer such a rental service, making the option quite the competitive advantage for your store.
Will Roffers, the owner of Northland Music Center, comments, “Our rental program, I would have to say is 85 or 90% online rentals right now. And that has been huge.”
The difference-maker is the ability to secure the instrument rental on the web as opposed to forcing customers to make the trek out to a traditional brick-and-mortar music store location. There’s nothing more convenient than renting a music instrument from the comfort of one’s home with only a few mouse clicks and keystrokes.
Integration of Automated Billing in Online Instrument Rental
Automated billing conveniently does all the work on behalf of both the customer and the music store owner. There is no need to write a check, visit the store in-person to pay with cash or re-enter credit card information each month.
Automated billing for instrument rentals empowers customers to enter their personal information and payment information one time, rent instruments as desired and let the recurring billing process automatically. Technology has even advanced to the point that such systems provide music stores with the opportunity to automate instrument rental reminders and renewals for unparalleled convenience.
Ensuring Data Security and Customer Trust
Music store customers covet a rapport with instrument rental services and other businesses that provide music-related items. Automated billing for online instrument rentals and related services holds that much more appeal with the addition of secure payment gateways along with data encryption.
Digital safeguards enhance customer trust in the music store and its online transactions including recurring billing through automated payment processing. Take the necessary steps to protect customer data, tout your data protection practices on your website along with your marketing material and you’ll establish the rapport necessary for continued customer loyalty.
Tips for Implementing Automated Billing and Online Instrument Rental
Take your time when searching for automated billing systems. Choose wisely and you’ll find implementing the system for online instrument rentals is fast, seamless and efficient. The best automated billing systems directly integrate with the current software and platforms.
“The number one thing is the band instrument rental module. It changed everything when people could go online and reserve it. They do it all through the internet. I get a text message right on my watch as soon as someone rents an instrument. The whole thing is automated. It saved me so many hours. The price of the software is less than what it cost me in labor to manage all that.” – Ben Borkowski of Marich Music
The most acclaimed automated billing services and platforms for instrument rental are highlighted by interfaces characterized by a superior user experience design. Ease of use highlighted by recurring bill processing are the X-factors that separate the best software from the rest of the options.
Add Automated Billing to Your Music Store Today
The sooner you add automated billing along with online instrumental rental options to your music store website, the faster you will build momentum for revenue generation, customer loyalty and ensuing online/offline referrals.
Recognize the fact that web-based instrument rentals are growing in popularity, seize the opportunity to differentiate your music store from others with this convenience and you’ll win market share that otherwise would have gone to competitors.
Continue to embrace opportunities for automation that ramp up efficiency along with customer satisfaction and you’ll expand your customer base, your sales and your bottom-line. Music Shop 360 is here to help. Our retail software bridges point of sale with e-commerce. Music Shop 360 web-based instrument rental features have been fully revamped to help music stores boost sales.
Choose our software for instrument rentals complete with online billing and you’ll streamline revenue generation while saving your most valuable asset: time. Contact us today at (385) 279-4567 or sales@musicshop360.com to find out more about how we can help your music store.