Invoicing – A brief History

Invoicing has been around since before Pontius was a pilot. In the Jurassic period, cavemen relied on word of mouth bills for collection of payment. Given the limitation of language at this point in history, many early plumbers were beaten up due to over-grunting their clients. Additionally, if payment was by instalments, then the distances covered by these plumbers to collect was problematic. These early pioneers of invoicing were using Word, which was obviously using up a lot of their spare time, and was unreliable as an invoicing system.

Neolithic man would carve invoices into Woolly Mammoth tusks, and then bash the person they were invoicing over the head with the tusk. Unfortunately, due to recurring invoicing, the Woolly Mammoth became extinct, so a different method of invoicing was needed.

The suppliers to the ancient Aztecs' navy ships would write up their invoices on a large sheet. The captains would then hoist this sheet on the small mizzen mast, to show the crew just how well stocked the ships were. These Spreadsheets were prone to ripping and would get tangled up in the ship's rigging, thus causing a headache for everyone.

Eventually the Greeks invented papyrus, which meant that every small business owner had to spend one weekend a month scratching out his invoices and running round the city chasing up outstanding invoices. This, of course, was rubbish!

In 45 B.C., Julius Caesar, a Roman small business owner, was murdered by several clients for his constant chasing of late payments. With his dying breath, he murmured the immortal words, ‘Et tu Brutus?’, which can be loosely translated from Latin as ‘we need a smarter way to invoice’.

What actually was needed was a system that would chase late payments automatically for you, without any danger of you getting hurt.

In 452, Attila the Hun, owner of a small PR Company, sent an invoice to western emperor Valentinain III for the ransacking of his capital city Ravenna. He wanted to save time and money, so he sent Hannibal over the Alps on his elephant to deliver the invoice. Hannibal was a big chap, so Attila knew that his data was secure. This meant that Attila could focus on what he did best!

Following the development of algebra, the mathematics of invoicing, Pythagoras was revered for his Pythagorean Theorem which proved the mathematical quandary of time tracking. This new development allowed Web Developers of the day to get paid faster!

In 1513, Leonardo Da Vinci, Esq., artist and inventor, needed to invoice Miss M. Lisa for a painting he had done of her. Unfortunately, prior to delivery, an accident with his helicopter destroyed the original painting! He was distraught, and vowed always to create a backup copy of everything he painted in future. He employed a local I.T. Consultant to create a program that would remind him to do this. This program was known as the Da Vinci Code.

In the late 1880s, anthropologists cracked the Egyptian invoicing hieroglyphic language and were able to determine the meaning of the now famous Rosetta Stone invoice. The first paragraph reads as follows: ‘In consideration of 200,000 Assyrians workers, 3,772 live goats, one large pyramid and an estimate to finish off the Sphinx. 14 scheckles. Discount available if paid before burial.’

In 1912, King George V was looking to send President Taft an estimate for the provision of 15 chickens and a secret flavor recipe of 11 herbs and spices he had come up with. In those days, the quickest and most secure way to invoice your international clients was by boat. So the King put the estimate on the Titanic, which was bound for New York City........

This is the inherent problem with locally installed software. It’s only as good as the kit it’s installed on! Incidentally, the recipe washed up on the shores of Kentucky.

From then until now, invoicing has been a real chore for small business owners.

That’s why we invented InvoiceQuick!! It’s an easy to use online invoicing system that will save you time and your business money. It’s the smarter way to invoice your clients and will ensure you get paid faster. We take care of your data security and backups too so you can focus on what you do best!

The time you save will allow you to spend more time on a weekend with your family, or on the golf course, instead of doing the chore of invoicing!

At Invoice Quick, we firmly believe there should be no nasty surprises when you pay for your online invoicing services. We operate a simple monthly pay as you go system, you are not tied into a contract and there are no hidden costs when using our online invoicing software. We’ll even let you know when you’re approaching your next plan level, so you’re always well informed!