The problem
Regular hirers (the Pilates class, Brownies, the slimming club) pay monthly, but someone has to work out each bill. For 25 regular hirers, writing invoices in Word at 10 minutes each (250 minutes), chasing 6 late payers at 20 minutes each (120 minutes) and matching 25 payments at 3 minutes each (75 minutes) takes 445 minutes, about 7.4 hours a month.
What the AI does
Hallmaster's invoicing module converts bookings into single or monthly invoices and works out each hirer's charges for you. Invoices are emailed, or printed for hirers who prefer paper. Unpaid invoices show in red with the number of days overdue, part-paid ones in yellow with the balance, so the treasurer sees who owes what at a glance. The optional payment integration lets hirers pay by card into your PayPal, Stripe or Square account, and the site says a payment can trigger an automatic receipt and booking confirmation. Invoices can be exported to accounting software such as Xero or QuickBooks, or as a CSV.
A worked example
A community center in Hartlepool has 25 regular weekly hirers plus one-off parties. The volunteer treasurer invoices at the start of each month and is often owed money from two or three months back.
Before
About 7.4 hours a month writing invoices, chasing late payers and matching payments
After
About 1.9 hours a month: 25 minutes to send invoices, 60 minutes chasing 3 late payers and 30 minutes checking payments
What it's worth
About $110£83€99A$159C$156 a month in treasurer time saved, against about $35£26€31A$50C$49 for Hallmaster. 5.5 hours a month saved (7.4 minus 1.9), valued at an assumed $20£15€18A$29C$28 an hour; it's volunteer time, not cash. Booking and Invoicing is $371£279€332A$536C$525 a year and payment integration $40£30€36A$58C$56 a year, both including VAT: $411£309€368A$593C$581 a year, about $35£26€31A$50C$49 a month. Card fees from PayPal, Stripe or Square come on top.
How to set it up
- Move to Hallmaster's Booking and Invoicing plan (it includes the booking system) and add the payment integration module.
- Check each regular hirer's rate, room and day, because invoices are worked out from the bookings.
- Send the first month's invoices to yourself first and compare them with the old ones.
- Tell hirers they can now pay by card from the invoice, and keep bank transfer as an option.
- On the 10th of each month, open the overdue list and contact anyone shown in red.
What goes wrong
- The invoicing pages don't mention automatic payment reminders, so chasing stays a job for the treasurer, just a quicker one.
- Wrong bookings mean wrong invoices. Canceled sessions must be removed in Hallmaster before invoices go out.
- Card fees come from your payment provider. Decide whether the hire rate absorbs them.
- The accounting integration is a further $40£30€36A$58C$56 a year and needs the invoicing module; only add it if you use accounting software.