It's not uncommon for dedicated professionals to devote 110% of their time and energy towards developing their business and working directly with loyal clients. But this often leaves little time for chasing up on delinquent accounts and mailing out invoices in an efficient and timely manner. This can be a costly practice.

When it comes to accounts receivable, the saying "time is money" is truer than ever. It is one thing to build a better mousetrap and see the world beating a path to your doorstep; it is quite another to receive the actual revenue you deserve for providing your quality service. One way to make sure the check is really "in the mail" is to partner with an outsource billing service.

To help you decide if outsourcing your billing is a good option for you, ask yourself a few questions

Is your staff too busy with busy work?

In many smaller operations, the billing work is shared among various people – none of which can claim the task as their core responsibility. Some are coding, some are stamping and sending bills, others are entering payments, and another is dropping it all off at the post office. Consolidate the work and give your staff back their time so they can really grow your business.

Is your cash flow not flowing?

Outsource billing services help dramatically increase the the amount of payments that make it in on time. Consistent and timely billing is the reason for this. They have a system that works and staff that know how to work it. Just as you have developed the absolute best way to deliver your service, a billing outsourcing company has made it their core competency to ensure accurate and efficient statement delivery and invoicing.

Are you compliant with the recent billing standards and procedures in your industry?

If so, congrats. It is an arduous undertaking to be sure. After all, it's a full-time job. Billing compliance and regulations are ever-changing in many different industries. If you can afford to keep full-time staff to stay on top of all the red tape and get them to handle the logistically operations involved with billing, then perhaps outsourcing is not for you. But for the rest of us who would rather keep focused on improving business, outsourcing billing is a must.

Are you spending more time chasing up on payments than doing the very things you went into business to do?

You know why you got into business in the first place. For most it was because they wanted to offer a valuable service to the public, not sit at a computer all day processing invoices and haggling with people over the technicalities of a statement. Interview an outsource billing service or two and ask them if you are well positioned to be benefited by a third party payment processing solution. Get back to what you love – running your business.

An outsource billing service does more than just send out bills and add up the funds received. A reputable service assesses your company's needs and current billing system to create a revenue cycle solution to keep you in the black. They can manage your online billing program as well as invoicing and statement handling, and even provide coupons to include with statements or invoices to encourage repeat business for your company. In this way, a truly valuable online billing company is more like a partner than a consultant.

Don't let the fact that there are only 24 hours in each day deter you from expanding your business. Having a professional billing firm working alongside you will multiply productivity and eliminate all those wasted hours chasing up on bills and invoices. Stop working yourself to death on the grunt work and start making the most of your talents and expertise – an outsourced billing company can help.