Frequently Asked Questions about invoicing and payments in Skimmer . . .
What is Skimmer's billing and payments solution?
Skimmer’s billing feature is an easy, modern, and streamlined payments acceptance experience designed specifically for pool service businesses. You can generate invoices that seamlessly integrate with the data already in Skimmer allowing you to quickly bill for service, repairs, parts, and materials.
Easily email invoices to your customers and accept online credit card or bank account payments. Customers can opt into auto-pay, making it easy for you to automatically collect payments for recurring pool service either per stop or flat-monthly fee, with or without chemicals.
Where can I learn about Skimmer Billing features and how to get started?
Skimmer Billing is available for all Skimmer subscribers. Learn how to set up and use Skimmer Billing by visiting the Invoicing collection. If, after viewing the videos, you have further questions, you can reach out to our Support team.
What can you do with Skimmer Billing?
Generate invoices for completed pool service, dosages, installed items, and work orders
Automatically generate and email recurring invoices
Bill ahead for work not completed
Bill all customers, customers by tag, or specific customers in just a few steps
Quickly review and adjust invoice details such as names, descriptions, rates, and taxables for invoice line items, and exclude any items not to be billed
Generate and bulk email invoices with an embedded payment link for customers, allowing customers to view a detailed online invoice
Accept payments from credit/debit cards, digital wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, or US bank accounts
Allow customers to opt into AutoPay for recurring pool service from an invoice, or opt a customer in from Skimmer on their behalf
Securely store multiple payment methods on file, and designate the method of choice for AutoPay
Automatically send payment receipt confirmations for any successful payment
View status and balance of all invoices and payments in real-time from the invoice and payments dashboards including dollars due, overdue, outstanding, in draft, expected, and received
Add offline payments for cash & check, and manually create invoices for one-off needs
Configure how pool service, dosages, installed items, and work order line items are generated by default
Create tax rates and tax groups and bulk apply those to service locations
Customize your invoice and payment receipt email templates
Generate reports on all invoices sent, paid, outstanding, all payments, payouts, and tax liabilities
How does Skimmer Billing compare to QuickBooks Online?
Skimmer Billing gives you the ability to generate, process, and track invoices and accept payments without the use of third-party billing software. Your customers can pay via Google Pay, Apple Pay, ACH, and credit or debit card. Your customers can also opt for AutoPay for routine services. Invoices have the look and feel of Skimmer's service emails, giving your customers a consistent experience for service and billing.
QuickBooks® Online is accounting software, of which billing is a component. Skimmer integrates with QBO, so you can bill through Skimmer Billing and manage accounting data in QBO.
Which user accounts in my company have access to Skimmer Billing?
The Owner account has full access to everything. Admin accounts have access to everything except the Stripe onboarding form. Techs do not have access to Skimmer Billing.
Can Skimmer Billing calculate and include taxes in my invoices?
Yes, it can! Check out Tax Settings to learn how you can set up and apply tax settings to your customer invoices.
How do I know what tax rate to use?
Some states and taxing authorities may require you to charge taxes where the service is performed. We encourage you to check with your specific taxing authorities to understand tax rules or consult with a tax accountant. If you would like to look up a tax rate for a customer's address, check out the free Avalara Sales Tax Calculator and Rate Lookup Tool.
Can I bill ahead for service but bill in arrears for chemical dosages?
Yes. Skimmer Billing's invoice generator gives you the option to bill a customer even if a service has not been completed for them during the indicated billing period. You will need to set any bill-ahead customer's rate type to Per Month if you want to bill ahead for the next month, and on the initial Generate Invoices screen, you will need to uncheck the box that says "Only include locations for monthly service if a stop has been finished."