Just getting started - billing questions?

Just getting into real estate photography, and I have a question about billing.

What type of system do you use to bill clients? Do you submit invoices through a service such as Paypal (which charges a fee)?

How do you go about charging taxes, etc? Or do you just combine them in your prices?

I just use an Excel spreadsheet I created. Everything except the details of services rendered and price are already laid out. Just type in what I'm billing for, how much, and hit Print.

Taxes are dependent on your local laws. Some places require it to be listed separately, others don't.

How do you receive payment? Do you have a service where they can pay online or do you only receive check payment?

I have a Paypal account set up specifically for business (separate from my personal account), but I also have Square for accepting CC's without all the Paypal interaction. Paypal has their fees and so does Square, but for me, those two are less expensive than other credit card processors for the sporadic charges that I'm doing today. Still something to watch, there will be a threshold where moving from Square to a merchant account will probably save money, but for getting started these work for me.

Depending on how much business you do it might be worthwhile to invest in Quick Books. This will handle the billing and also help when it comes time for you to PAY taxes. You get good reports and as we all know the IRS likes clean paperwork. You will be less likely to get audited with good paperwork