We’re now on the chrome web store, which means it’s even easier to launch Send Invoice from your browser.

Check it out here

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The customer view depends on what details you’ve added for the customers. For instance, if you’ve added a Twitter handle for the contact, we’ll pull their logo and description from Twitter.

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Stay tuned for more exciting changes and integrations in the customer section of Send Invoice.

As always, we’d love to hear your feedback so do get in touch!

First, what is iXBRL?

iXBRL stands for Inline eXtensible Business Reporting Language and is an international standard that has been adopted by HMRC for ‘tagging’ of financial data.

Why is it important?

What this means in practice is that regardless of how you format your accounts or whether you use different labels to the company next door, HMRC can machine-read your accounts and easily aggregate and compare at a detailed level the vast amount of data it receives from companies each year. It’s greatly increases the accuracy and speed of processing, and allows HMRC to automatically check what you submit against e.g. other companies in the same industry.

How do I submit my Corporation Tax in iXBRL format?

This depends on how you’ve organised your business finances.

If you’ve got an accountant for your small business you do not need to give iXBRL a second thought as he or she will have already acquired software to manage your returns in this format.

If you have a small business and decided to go down the route of managing your company tax affairs yourself, you should consider using HMRC’s online filing software. There is a demo available showing you how this works. The filing software is only suitable for companies with comparably simple accounts and tax affairs. Note that you must have registered for Online Services and enrolled for Corporation Tax Online service before you can submit your Company Tax Return. The online filing software require you to enter your company information, financial details and computations into a PDF, which is then used to submit the information to HMRC.

So where does this leave us?

iXBRL is the future for business reporting in the UK, and the future is here now for Corporation Tax. Small business also have to adopt this standard and should make the most of the guidance available on the HMRC website and seek professional advise where appropriate

Here at Send Invoice, we’ve decided on three that we’ve posted on the wall and will be regularly tracking against.

Resolution #1 – Increase Social Media Presence

Hand’s up, we admit it – this is on area in which we’re not performing. We’re on Twitter, we’ve got a blog, but there’s so much more we can do. First, we’ll ensure we regularly post on this blog and on Twitter. Second, we’ll build our presence on other sites and networks.

Resolution #2 – Shout more

One thing we’ve done well in 2011 is to listen to our customers. Most, if not all, new or enhanced features this year have been built following user feedback. We’ve got a long roadmap of new features yet to be launched, either because they’re still on the drawing board or they’re being tested to ensure robustness before we make them live. We regularly bump features up the priority list based on user feedback. However, we’ve not been very good at shouting about it. In fact, several customers have pointed out that they “didn’t realise” that certain things were possible with Send Invoice. That’s why, in 2011, we’ll commence regular ‘newsletter-style’ e-mails to our customers, highlighting new features and communicating what to expect next.

Resolution #3 – Grow our business

While we’re pleased with the pace of growth seen in 2010, there’s scope for more. The business model is highly scalable and the investment in developing an even better product is made possible with the revenue generated from new customers. A significant proportion of new customers join Send Invoice because it has been recommended by a friend or business associate. We’d like to reward our customers for recommending our product, and will be launching a great referral scheme in 2011. A good chunk of revenue from new customers will be paid to the referrer each month – it’ll be our way of saying ‘thank you’. If you’d like to be part of the group testing this before we roll it out to everyone, contact support (-a-) sendinvoice.co.uk

We’ve been busy in the lead up to Christmas, and this week we’ve launched new reporting features for all customers.

In addition to improved account summary reports, we’ve added customisable VAT reports and customer reports.

Any reports that you’d like to see added? Got a favourite format that you’d like to be able to export to? Let us know by dropping an e-mail to support (-a-) sendinvoice.co.uk

Season’s Greetings from Send Invoice!

Best wishes to all our readers and customers. In the spirit of giving, we are offering a free 6-month subscription to our popular ‘Professional’ plan to five new customers. All you have to do to be considered in the draw is to use the code XMAS2010 when registering for a free or paid account

The small print: One entry per customer only. Entry by 31 December 2010. Winners informed by 5 January 2011. No purchase necessary.

Customers have had the 20% rate option added to their list of default rates so all you need to do is remember to use this for applicable invoices from 4 January 2011.

Once you’re finished issuing invoices under the soon-to-be legacy rate of 17.5%, you can easily remove this from your list of default rates. To do this, go to Settings -> Preferences – Custom tax rates.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to e-mail us at support (-a-) sendinvoice.co.uk

HM Revenue & Customs offers advice and technical guidance

Send Invoice came about for the same reason a number of web apps are created – to fill a gap. Now, online invoicing apps are not new. In fact, there’s a plethora of options available. So what gap is it filling you may ask? When assessing the existing options, we kept wanting more. Whether that be a more intuitive interface or more relevant features. It should be easy to manage your invoices online.

We believe small businesses use online invoicing apps to save time. You should be focussing on running your business, not spend hours or days every month on your invoicing. Send Invoice allows you to create a professional invoice in seconds and have it sent by e-mail or by post to your customers. It looks great, and saves you time. You’re straight back to doing what you do best: running your business.

Send Invoice has already got a solid customer base, which is great. It means we get lots of feedback, and it is this that allows us to understand what our customers want next. Software-as-a-service (SaaS) means that we continually develop the service, and new features are instantly available to all customers (no old-style software upgrades or new versions requiring you to buy the software again!). Have you got a suggestion? Let us know

Again, welcome to Send Invoice. We hope it helps you portray a professional image, saves you time, and above all, takes the hassle out of invoicing.