Invoicing is undoubtedly a vital process within your business. Your cash flow is likely to depend rather heavily on it, in fact. If you’re a business who invoices, you’ll understand the difficulties that can arise from a client delaying or even refusing to pay unfairly.
Below, we’ve compiled a list of 5 useful tips for effective business invoicing:
1. Update your technology!
Having the most updated accounting software will save you lots of time and stress. Software of this kind is rapidly evolving, making the process of sending and receiving payments easier than ever. Don’t make a rod for your own back by harbouring outmoded tech unnecessarily.
2. Send polite reminders
Nobody wants to hassle their clients for payments, but you’re running a business. If you’re invoicing another business, they should fully understand that by delaying payment of an invoice, they could be having a negative impact on your cash flow situation. Decide on a sensible timeframe to pop a polite payment reminder over and you should see an increase in earlier payments.
3. Accept that some clients are still living in the past…
Not everybody has embraced the new way of doing business and are still adamant that you send them a hard copy. If that’s the case, be flexible. Refusing to submit to a rather simple demand like this could just lose you a client. For the sake of firing up the printer and spending a few pence on a stamp, it’s worth being flexible.
4. Clarity is key!
Being crystal clear on your invoices will make the process much smoother for your clients. If the items listed on the invoice are not easy to grasp with a quick glance, you may want to consider a new format. There’s nothing more frustrating for people trying to pay an invoice they simply don’t understand. Once you find the best way to structure your invoice, make sure you carry on in the same vein. Consistency and clarity go a long way!
5. Send on time!
It’s not just your customers who should pay on time, you should invoice on time too. A bit of an obvious one, we know, and many of you wouldn’t consider being late sending an invoice, but it’s an issue for more than you might think. If you’re disorganised and sending invoices from services/products months late, your clients are less likely to clear it in a timely manner.
