Hey!
I just answered a similar question so I might as well copy and paste.
"I'm currently working for an Australian company (Select Software) that provides customisable billing software for organisations (primarily in the telecommunications industry).
The advantages and disadvantages of billing systems really depend on the system that you need. You can get billing software products that are packaged for particular uses (like running small businesses) and you can also find customisable billing systems that can be tailored to most specifications. These are both generally billed on a monthly subscription basis.
The major advantages of having billing systems in place are
- They allow you to effectively manage customer payments
- You can customise the systems to your industry
- Outsourcing your billing system allows you to specialise and focus resources
- Billing systems are cost effective and save you money in the long run by ensuring that payments are tracked and customer payments are organised.
Disadvantages are
- Larger, more complicated systems aren't open-source (free to the public)
- The more flexiblity you need for your system, the more expensive the software will become.
That's all I can think of. I'm not an authority in the area though (I work in pr).
Hope that helps!"