It’s High Time We Said Goodbye To Paper Invoicing

Julie Starr • March 14, 2022



Paper invoicing was once the done thing. But over time, it’s becoming increasingly clear that it comes with costs. Not only is it unwieldy and unmanageable, it’s also unsustainable. We simply can’t justify cutting down trees and emitting vast quantities of carbon dioxide, just to tell each other that money is owed. 

Arguably, the time has now come to say goodbye to paper invoicing and embrace digital alternatives for small business accounting . Here’s why: 

It’s Fast

Whipping up a digital invoice is something that you can do quickly, or even instantaneously, depending on your systems. When a customer places an order, it comes through to your enterprise resource planning system which then creates an invoice on your behalf, made using the information the customer provided. In many cases, there’s no human effort or work involved at all. It’s just a matter of allowing the software to do its job. 

It Lets You Resolve Errors Quickly

When sending traditional paper invoices, errors can be incredibly time-consuming. For instance, imagine you receive an order from a customer and send them out an invoice in the post. It takes three days to get to them. When it arrives, they discover an error, forcing you to send them another invoice for their records. 

Therefore, you send out another which takes a further three days. When it eventually arrives, they pay it, but it still means that your business is missing out on cash flow. It would have been much better to do it all online. 

What’s more, administering incorrect invoices is costly. Someone in your team needs to dedicate time to figuring out what went wrong and how to resolve it. 

It Reduces Risk

Human error, fraud, duplication and lack of oversight are all risks when invoicing using traditional methods. It’s easy, for instance, for criminals to send you invoices for payment, pretending to be your clients. 

Digital invoicing helps to prevent this. That’s because it provides security measures to make sure that you only communicate with clients. What’s more, many software options also offer features that automatically root out duplication issues, preventing you from paying the same client twice. 

It’s Green

Paper invoices waste natural resources . And, these days, they are totally unnecessary. Raising a digital invoice is faster, cheaper and more reliable than trying to do it the old-fashioned way. 

Remember, when you choose digital invoices, you’re not just saving on paper. You’re also cutting down on all the energy required to cut down trees, transport them to paper mills, process them, and then distribute them to offices, like yours, around the country. 

It Increases Accuracy

Lastly, when you convert to digital invoices , you’re able to improve your visibility and boost end-to-end tracking. You can keep tabs on things like payments, validations and approvals in real-time. 

Electronic invoices are also critical for your audit trails. You can evaluate the number of disputes that you’ve had with suppliers and then measure these over time to determine who your partners should be, and who is actually costing your business more than they are worth. 

5 Everyday Items That Can Quietly Boost Your Brand

By Julie Starr • July 17, 2025
The best branding doesn’t always come from big campaigns or expensive graphics. Sometimes it’s the smaller stuff that leaves the biggest impression. Things people actually use, touch, or carry with them. That’s where your brand can quietly make its mark without needing to shout about it. If you’re only focusing on social media and business cards, you’re leaving a lot on the table. Here are five overlooked ways to get your name out there that feel natural, useful, and more personal. Thank-you slips If you’re already sending out orders, there’s no reason not to include a short thank-you slip. You can easily get these made through any decent online print shop , and they’re usually pretty cheap to run off in small batches. Just a simple note that says thanks, maybe with a reminder to follow you online or a cheeky discount code for next time. It’s quick, thoughtful, and makes the whole order feel more finished. Customers notice that kind of detail, especially when everything else they buy online comes with zero personality. You don’t need a complicated design either. Just something clean with your logo, a message that sounds like you, and maybe a social handle. The point is to give them a reason to come back or remember your name without it feeling forced. Branded zip pouches If you sell physical products, offer services, or run events, small zip pouches are surprisingly effective. Think of the kind you’d use for stationery, receipts, or travel bits. You can get your brand printed on the side and hand them out with purchases or include them in welcome packs. People keep them because they’re actually useful. They get tossed in handbags, school bags, or glove boxes and your logo just keeps turning up. Cleaning cloths for glasses or screens This one works brilliantly if you’re in tech, health, beauty, or anything involving screens or eyewear. A simple microfibre cloth with your branding on it can go a long way. Everyone needs one. Whether they use it for glasses, a phone screen, or their laptop, it’s something they hang onto. It’s not the kind of thing people throw away, and that means your name sticks around too. Receipt envelopes You might already use little envelopes to hand over receipts or business cards. Branding those envelopes is a small change that makes a big difference. Instead of someone getting a scruffy bit of paper in a plain sleeve, they’re handed something that feels a bit more finished. You can even add a message inside. Doesn’t need to be anything dramatic. A simple “thanks for visiting” or “see you next time” is enough to add a personal touch. Wet wipes or mini hand gels If your business is in hospitality, food, or anything hands-on, branded wet wipes or pocket-sized hand gels are surprisingly popular. People actually use them, especially at festivals, food stalls, pop-ups, or kids’ events. They end up in handbags or cars and stick around longer than you think. They don’t scream “marketing” either. They’re practical, and when done right, they make your business feel thoughtful. That’s what good branding does, it shows you’ve thought ahead.

How Student-Led ‘Energy Audits’ Are Cutting School Costs (and Lighting the Way Forward)

By Julie Starr • July 14, 2025
What happens when students stop waiting for adults to fix things and start conducting their own energy audits? Money gets saved. The lights get switched off. Data gets analyzed. And a quiet revolution in sustainability begins—inside schools that once overlooked their own inefficiencies. Across the globe, student-led energy audits are proving that change doesn't always need to come from a policy shift or a major capital budget. Sometimes, it begins with a clipboard, a spreadsheet, and a group of curious minds asking: Why are the hallway lights on at noon when sunlight floods the building? The Energy Detectives These audits aren’t science fair projects. They’re rigorous investigations, often done in collaboration with facilities staff, local environmental nonprofits, or even engineering mentors. Students go from classroom to classroom measuring electricity usage, checking for phantom loads , and identifying where heat is escaping in winter or air conditioning is leaking in summer. One high school in Ontario saved over $12,000 a year after its Grade 11 physics students ran an energy audit and suggested simple changes—LED upgrades, motion sensors in bathrooms, and smarter heating schedules. They didn’t just propose ideas. They pitched them with spreadsheets, thermal images, and payback timelines. It worked. Learning That Pays Off—Literally Unlike textbook learning, these audits blend real-world math, environmental science, economics, and persuasive communication. Students aren’t just learning about sustainability. They’re doing it. And the savings add up. From dimming overlit hallways to reprogramming HVAC systems that run all weekend for empty buildings, students are surfacing blind spots that administrators often overlook. In some districts, their findings are influencing energy policy. Elsewhere, the audits have inspired school boards to hire sustainability coordinators—often alumni of the student programs themselves. There’s something poetic about a school funding new books or laptops from money saved by students who found out the vending machines didn’t need to be plugged in 24/7. Why This Matters More Than Ever With education budgets tightening and utility costs rising, every dollar saved is a dollar that can go back into classrooms. And here’s where it gets interesting from a family finance perspective, too. If you’re a parent setting aside money for post-secondary savings, every bit of school efficiency helps. Fewer energy costs might mean more programming, better STEM facilities, or even bursaries. That raises a broader point: when families save for their children’s future, they often look into RESPs (Registered Education Savings Plans). And many wonder—is a RESP deduction available on my taxes? While contributions themselves aren’t deductible, the gains grow tax-free, and students often pay little to no tax when they withdraw the funds during school. A Movement Worth Replicating These audits aren’t just an exercise in environmentalism. They’re leadership labs. Students learn how to spot inefficiencies, speak up in board meetings, and make a business case for change. They don’t just flip switches—they shift mindsets. And they carry these habits into adulthood. The result? A generation growing up not only with climate anxiety, but also with tools to tackle it.