Invoice is an important step after accomplishing your freelance project or even depending on the agreement, during it. Due to this, we listed 5 steps to create an invoice intelligible
Freelance working is becoming more and more prevalent, yet some procedures require significant time and energy for both sides, the freelancer and the company. Some practices such as creating invoices and billing could be very exhausting for freelancers. Having a platform that designates invoices and billing allows you to focus on your work and product quality.
An invoice can be understood as a commercial document that defined the prices, services, data, and all possible details about the referred payment. It is like this, you receive your bills monthly, so your customer will receive a bill from you to pay you, and with this invoice, the client will calculate the income tax, and so are you.
All the businesses need to create an invoice to assure the payment and reduce taxes, avoid any wrong tax inspections and ensure the legacy of the project and the agreement. For the customer side, the invoice will help to track their finance payments and cash outflows. Due to this, it is predominant to create an invoice correctly.
Fortunately, Remotify is designed to take the burden of creating an invoice from freelancers. On our platform, all the administrative tasks related to freelancer management are easily accomplished. Check out below to see how you can create an invoice in 5 steps!
1 – Use a professional title
Many invoices are probably being sent to your client, so you should mark your invoice appropriately. This title may be your company name (if you have one), or just your full name. Also, it should be more salient than the rest of the paper; you can make it bold and bigger in a font. If you have a logo for your business (you do not have to have one), you can also add that to the title.
2 – Your personal and contact information
Under your company name, there should be your mailing address, phone number, email address, and website. Also, do not forget to add your client’s personal and contact information on the invoice. It should also include the same types of information as the personal one.
3 – Date prepared and due date
The date that you deliver your invoice is important because later, you can see how much time passed until your client makes the payment. In terms of the due date, although the deadline is completely up to you, most freelancers utilize a 30, 45, or 60-day time frame. It would be much better if you set the due date at the outset, and it should be clear in your contract.
4 – Payment options and terms
It is advantageous to specify your preferred methods of payment, such as cash, a check, a credit card, or other services. Also, if you charge a late fee for invoices that are paid beyond the due date, you might want to clarify that in your policy. A standard late fee is equal to 20% of the invoiced amount. Reminding your client before charging a late fee will help you both stay on good terms and collaborate on future projects. In addition, it would be better to state the currency that you want your invoice to be paid with.
5 – Segment your work
This is one of the most important features of an invoice because it allows your client to see how much they are going to pay for which service. You may want to exhibit the detailed segmentation of your work in a table; which includes the name and description of the task, how many hours spend on it, what is the hourly price for that task, and the total amount of money for each it.
6 Tips to create an invoice easier
1 – State your terms at the outset
You should specify your payment conditions at the beginning of the project to avoid any misunderstanding. You should be straightforward about your rules to maintain a good relationship with your client. Here are some topics that should be discussed at the beginning of the project;
Payment methods
Deadlines
Additional fees
Penalties (such as late fees)
2 – Create an explicit invoice schedule
Having a clear invoicing plan can help you keep track of your clients’ payments and prevent forgetting about any that were missed. If you agree on a one-time project, you can set your invoice schedule right after you completed that. If it is a more-than-one or a long-run project, you can decide on your milestones for the invoice and set them on that time.
3 – You can use an invoice template
If you do not know how to start, you can use an online invoice template, to begin with. Then, you can customize it according to your needs. Using a template will help you to show the way!
4 – Use automatization for recurring tasks
You do not want to waste your time on recurring tasks, so the best option is to automatize them. For instance, you can send notifications to your client regularly. Also, calculating taxes, like VAT, can be automated.
5 – Your invoice should be professional
After you included all the must-haves of the invoice, it is up to you how are you going to design your invoice. Yet, however you do that, it should be professional. Let’s remember the must-haves of an invoice;
Your and your client’s contact information
Description of services
Payment methods
Due date
Non-payment conditions
Invoice number
6 – Do not use your bank account for invoices
“Why not, it is much easier!” you might say, but it is not a good choice. To begin with, remember that it would not look professional from the outside. In addition, your personal and business-related expenses would be mixed up in one bank account. Also, you may experience trouble when you want to charge your client with business expenses; since they are mixed with your expenses. Thus, you should open up a bank account for business-related expenses!
Our solutions:
Our platform is also for whom would like to get invoices from their freelancers or get the invoices automatically managing the freelance team out of the system. If you are looking for this system, you can reach us here.
But if you would like to hire freelancers for a new project, please, contact us here, and let’s talk.
To finish, whether you are a freelancer with a customer and do not know how to bill your customer or create an invoice, you can register on our platform to make automatically the invoice and receive your payment.
