We’ve all seen an invoice before. Most of us would like to think we could easily identify an invoice if we saw one. But recognizing an invoice and ensuring the invoice has all of the necessary components are different things.
Whether you are a consultant that just needs a free consulting invoice template or something more advanced it’s important that an invoice contains enough information. So long as the information is presented clearly and isn’t overwhelmingly complicated.
What Is an Invoice?
The definition of an invoice is “an itemized list of goods shipped usually specifying the price and the terms of sale.” This is a grossly oversimplified definition, though–in reality, it’s often quite a bit more than that.
The following is a list of things an invoice should include in order to best represent the goods and services being offered and paid for by the customer:
Business and Customer Details.
A proper invoice should include the name and contact details of the business. This way, a customer or auditor can clearly see that the invoice was provided by a specific company. Similarly, it should also include the information of the customer so that it can be tied back to them.
More information is always better. Names, telephone numbers, addresses, and email addresses should be included on an invoice. This saves both the customer and the business time if one ever needs to contact the other.
List of Goods and Services Provided
The invoice should contain a clear and concise list of all items or services that the customer has ordered. The list should be itemized line by line and include the quantity of each good to be sold.
For further clarity, an invoice may be broken down by item category. Once again, this helps both the customer and the business easily identify and categorize the items.
Prices
Prices should be clearly marked for each item individually along with a subtotal of all items listed at the bottom. After the subtotal, the business should list any additional charges such as insurance, shipping, and taxes. Having these listed as separate line items helps everyone involved by categorizing the prices which makes life easy for accountants, especially during tax season.
Terms of the Sale
This is where a business should list any so-called legalese. That is to say, it should include conditions regarding refunds or exchanges, payment due dates, penalties for late payment, and any agreements to arbitration should there be a dispute between the business and the customer.
Invoice Ninja a to the Rescue
Here at Invoice Ninja, we don’t just provide beautifully tailored invoices to present to your customers. We provide a full suite of options to make the process as seamless as possible for both your clients and customers as well as for your own sanity when it comes to creating price quotes, making invoices, receiving payments, and getting confirmation for all of the above.
Got a customer interested in your products or services? Send them a digital price quote. Does the customer like what they see? A single click is all it takes to agree to the price quote. At that point, the price quote is automatically converted into an agreed invoice that contains all of the same information.
Did the customer pay the invoice? If not, and it has gone past due, our automated email reminders can be used to inform the customer. Once the customer makes the payment our automated system will send notifications and emails to both parties confirming that the payment has been received as well as providing a digital receipt for the customer. From wedding photography invoice templates to invoicing for products and services worth tens of thousands of dollars, Invoice Ninja has you covered!
