Business owners have a love-hate relationship with doing paperwork. But in order to get paid, you need to create an invoice. And if you want to get paid in a timely manner, it’s important to prepare an accurate and easy to read invoice for your client.
Be sure to keep these invoicing tips in mind:
- Send the invoice promptly. A client will rarely ask about the whereabouts of their invoice. Waiting days or weeks to send the invoice may send a signal to the client that you are really not in a rush to receive payment.
- Invoice should be clear and easy to read.
- Your invoice should include the following details:
- Header to indicate the document is an INVOICE.
- Your company name, logo, full mailing address, telephone number, and email address.
- Date the invoice was prepared.
- Invoice number.
- Your client’s contact name, billing address, telephone number, and email address.
- Payment terms with a clear and legible due date.
- Itemized list of goods/services with the quantity and rate for each item.
- Total pre tax amount.
- Total GST/HST charged.
- Total amount payable (including tax).
- Your GST/HST registration number (ends in RT001). If you charge sales tax, this number must appear on your invoice.
- Payment instructions. Indicate what payment methods you accept (cash, cheque, e-transfer, credit cards). If you allow for e-transfers, make sure you indicate the email you want it sent to. If you accept credit cards, list the cards you accept.
Cloud accounting software like QuickBooks Online (QBO) can create invoices for you in no time flat. In addition, QBO can also allow you to create recurring invoices which saves you time from creating the same invoice each month for clients whose monthly billing is the same. QBO Payments allows your client to pay directly from the invoice with a “Pay now” button. This makes the process of creating invoices quick and easy.
Talk to us today about QBO and how it can help streamline your financials including invoicing, tracking expenses, payroll, and more.
