At last! You’ve successfully completed a service for a client and are ready to be paid, but…you’re not really quite sure HOW to get paid. When you worked as an employee, all you did was wake up to your money being deposited into your bank account. Now that you’re working as an independent contractor, you’ve been asked to send something called an ‘invoice’ and you have no idea where to start.

What is an invoice?

An invoice, as explained by thebalance.com, is a document sent by a provider of a product or service to the purchaser. Basically, it’s a form that you being a service or product provider, should send to a company or individual who is buying your deliverable.

What should an invoice include?

Your invoice should include the following information:

• Names – You should include your name and the name of your client. You should also add business names where applicable.
• Address – You should include the physical address and/or the email address for both you and your client.
• Dates – Include the date the invoice was created. For services, it is also a good practice to include the date the service was provided.
• Price – Include how much the product or service you provided costs.
• Quantity – Include how many of something was purchased when applicable. For example, if someone ordered 5 cups, be sure to put 5 in the quantity area.
• Hours – If you provided an hourly service, you should include how many hours it took you to complete. That way, if you worked 5 hours at $75.00/hour, it’ll be easy to see how you came up with your total cost of $375.00.
• Terms of payment – You should include how soon the payment is due. For example, net 15, would mean the total amount is due within 15 days.
• Late payment fees – You should definitely include how much your late payment fees are if your client doesn’t pay on time.

How should I send an invoice?

You can send an invoice via mail, fax, or email. This should be discussed with your client prior to the signing of any contract.

What else should go into an invoice?

• Discounts – If you are applying any discounts to your clients order, the invoice should reflect that.
• Late fee charges – If your client has not paid on time, you should update the invoice to include a line with the late fee charges and when they were applied.
• Payments options – You should include if your client can pay via check, credit/debit card, cash, etc.

Keep In Mind…

If there are multiple services or products, each line should have it’s own item. For example, if your client ordered 2 cups and 10 paper plates, the 2 cups should have their own line and the 10 paper plates should have their own line.

One more thing! Your invoice should look the same each time. You will want your client to easily recognize who it’s from. If one week your invoice is green and the next week it’s blue, it’ll probably be confusing to your client and you’re probably not being consistent with your brand.

Are you looking to outsource your invoicing to someone else? Contact Imperative Concierge Services to learn more!

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