Best Practices For Invoicing
Invoicing is a huge part of any business, especially when it comes to ensuring steady cash flow. If you’re invoices aren’t sent in a timely manner, your business can run into some trouble. To keep having healthy financials, you want to keep having money coming in. As the last step after delivering your product or service, you Miami bookkeepers remind you that best practices for invoicing can also be a marketing opportunity.
Added Messaging
Of course the most important part of an invoice is to clearly state what is owned to your company, but why not promote yourself too. Your invoices can include a bit of branding such as a logo and tagline as well as perhaps an incentive to do business again. Think discount, coupon, or perhaps introducing a referral program. Some businesses highlight customers’ savings in their invoices. You can also invite customers to respond to a survey or ask for feedback on how to improve your services.
Thank You For Doing Business With Us
Showing appreciation makes the best practices for invoicing list too. A well-design “thank you” message, or a “we appreciate your business” note. Anything, that’s on brand with your company, to highlight that you understand your customers have options but still chose you.
Detailed Description
Addressing your contact and providing basic information is crucial. A month or 90 days may have gone from the time services were provided. Your Miami bookkeepers suggest you describe the work that was rendered such as logotype design, poster illustration if you own a marketing firm. You may add a project number or even an invoice number, as some companies require it and makes tracking easier.
Total Amount and Terms
Best practices for invoicing clearly state the breakdown and cost of each item, the total amount due and terms of payment. Make it easy on your customers to pay, include all the ways they can provide payment such as credit card, bank account or even a link online. These days, there are also payment transfer services such as Paypal. Some companies have a paying late penalty, if your business has such a policy make sure to highlight in your invoice.
Email Read Receipt
Email is a popular way to send invoices, since it requires no paperwork or postage stamps. It’s also immediate, but the best part is that you can know if your invoice has reached your customer. An email read receipt is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a way to inform you that your email has been received and read. You can send a direct link to your invoice, send it as a PDF or even both ways. Your Miami bookkeepers remind you that you also have the option of sending a friendly notification that their invoice is due, just a few days before to ensure timely payment.
Easy Bookkeeping
A simple way to manage your payments and bookkeeping is to issue invoices on a monthly basis, allowing you to cross-reference with your accounts balance for customers. This best practices for invoicing tactic allows you to spot missed payments, track late payments or even really overdo invoices.
Organization Is Key
An organized and centralized invoicing system makes running a business easier. You want to be able to pull invoices at any time, quickly and efficiently. Alphabetize, store by date, digitize, whatever system works best for you, as long as you keep it all organized.
Good cash flow requires great invoicing. So it’s crucial you revise your invoicing strategy. You may want to have a few people within your business that share the responsibility or even ask for half of the payment up-front. There are many ways to go about invoicing, find the one that best fits your business’ needs and your customers.
