So, you’ve built a decent reputation for yourself as a successful freelancer or small business owner. Until now, you’ve just been emailing your customers price and payment details. It’s time to up your game and start providing professional-looking invoices to your customers–but how?
It doesn’t matter if it’s a graphic design invoice or an invoice for an auto parts supplier, all invoices should contain the same basic components, and should be formatted in a standard way that makes them easy for the customer to understand.
What Does a Proper Invoice Look Like?
If you’re wondering how you can make invoices on your computer, here are the basic parts that make up a standard invoice:
Company and Customer Details
Typically, in the upper left, you’ll see the business’s logo, name, address, and contact information. On the right side of the invoice, you’ll see the customer’s information, which includes billing information. The more information, such as emails and telephone numbers, the better. This allows both you and your customer to have multiple lines of communication if necessary.
List the Items Being Billed
Clearly provide titles for each item being billed. It doesn’t have to be a product. For hourly services, you can simply list something like “Hourly Consulting” and list the quantity as three hours.
Next, you’ll want to add a price for each of the items and a separate column that automatically multiplies the unit price by the quantity to determine the total.
Sum Total and Terms of Billing and Payment
At the bottom of the price list, provide a box that shows the complete total for all items that are being billed. In certain jurisdictions, you may want to include an additional line item for a subtotal, so you can add in any state value-added tax (VAT) or sales tax as applicable. This is especially important when it comes to how freelancers collect payments in multiple states.
The final section on your invoice should be the terms of your payment. It should clearly stipulate how long the customer has to pay the invoice and what, if any, fees will be added should the client neglect to pay the invoice.
It’s good practice to list your terms related to any refunds, exchanges, or warranties you may be offering to the customer. This way, all of the associated information is in one place should it ever become a legal matter that needs to be pursued in court.
Invoice Ninja Does It All With the Click of a Mouse
By signing up for Invoice Ninja, you’ll instantly gain access to our six free invoice templates and invoicing options. For those looking for extra levels of service, we also offer Pro and Enterprise accounts for our largest customers.
You’ll be able to set each service or product you offer as an easy-to-use menu button. Simply add in a quantity, and Invoice Ninja calculates the rest, including taxes. Once your invoice is all set, we make it easy to send it to the customer for payment.
Not only does Invoice Ninja make your invoices look great, we also track your payments. Using any of our approved payment providers, your customers can open their invoices digitally and make a payment in an instant.
You’ll be notified the second your invoice is paid, so you’ll never be left wondering about the status of your outstanding invoices. Remember those terms of payment we recommended you list on your invoices? We have those, too, and we have automated email reminders that you can customize to send out to anyone who’s past due on their payment.
Save Yourself the Effort
Formatting an invoice correctly helps both you and your clients understand the billing and keep details organized. Save yourself the extra work by letting Invoice Ninja help you!
