As a small business owner, you should understand how to create an invoice that’s professional and functional, because it will help you get paid faster for your services by clients. It’s important that you include all the important details that clients need in order to pay you for your work, including:

  • Your business’s name and contact information
  • The client’s contact details
  • A unique invoice number that you assign to every invoice
  • An itemized list that outlines all the services you provided
  • Detailed payment terms
  • The payment due date
  • The total amount owing on the invoice, including all applicable taxes.

These topics will help you learn how to create an invoice that gets you paid promptly for your work:

How to Create an Invoice

Your business needs to create invoices that are professional, well designed and clearly outline all the important information your clients need to pay you for your services. Here are some helpful tips to show you how to create an invoice: 

1. Use a Consistent Invoice Design

Your small business invoices should follow a standard design template that you use every time you need to create a new bill for a client, so you always deliver a consistent look when you send invoices to clients.  By doing so, you can ensure that your customers are always able to tell at a glance that an invoice comes from your company. Professional, standard branding helps make your business seem professional and reliable to your customers. You can choose to design an invoice template from scratch for all your billing needs, or you can choose to use a cloud-based accounting invoice template for fast, effective invoice design. 

2. Consider Your Business Branding

Your invoices can be so much more than simple financial documents: they present an opportunity to reinforce your business’s branding and impress clients with your professionalism. Create invoices that reflect the personality and brand of your company. Make sure the design reflects your branding; for example, if you have a business website, incorporate design elements from your site into your invoice design, for consistency. Invoices can serve as another way of marketing your business to its clients, so make sure you create visually appealing and functional documents.  

3. Include All the Necessary Details

To create an invoice that gets paid faster, you need to make sure you include all the important details your clients will need to process your payment quickly. Start by ensuring all your invoices include the following details: 

  • Your company’s contact details, including the business name, mailing address, phone number and email.
  • Your client’s contact details with the correct contact person listed, which may be someone in the accounting department rather than your regular day to day business contact. 
  • A unique invoice number so you and your client can quickly refer to a specific invoice if issues ever arrive. This also makes it easier for you and your clients to file the invoices in an orderly manner.  
  • An itemized account of the goods or services you provided, including all relevant details like the hours worked, the hourly rate and a subtotal for each line item. It can help to display this information visually in an easy-to-read grid. 
  • Your payment terms, which includes all the different payment methods your company accepts and the details of your late fee policy, so clients know what you charge for any missed payments. 
  • An invoice due date that’s clearly displayed and stands out on the page with a bold font. 
  • The total amount owing in a large font size and bold lettering so it clearly jumps out on the invoice.
  • A brief thank you at the bottom might not be a required item, but it’s a nice touch that leaves a good impression with clients and can actually help you get paid faster.  

4. Create an Invoice Numbering System

Create an easy to follow invoice numbering system when you’re creating invoices so you can easily differentiate between different bills. The easiest way to track your invoices is to number them in a sequential manner, starting with Invoice #001, then Invoice #002, and so on. If you’d rather use a different numbering method, you can sort invoices  by the invoicing date or by client ID number. If you use a cloud-based accounting solution, the software should automatically assign unique invoice numbers to each new invoice that you create, so you don’t have to worry about manually tracking your invoices. 

5. Set Specific Deadlines

For every invoice that you create and send to clients, ensure that you set clear and specific payment deadlines. Don’t use any vague language that could be misinterpreted by your customers. For instance, rather than writing that “Payment is due upon receipt” or “Payment due in two weeks,” write down specific payment deadlines, such as “Payment Due in August 1, 2019.” Providing clients with specific payment due dates makes it easier for clients to read and recall exactly when they need to pay you by, so you can receive your money faster. 

6. Be Flexible with Payment Methods 

When you’re deciding which payment methods to accept from your clients, try to be as flexible as possible with your payment options, within reason. Doing so will create good will among your clients, and offering them flexibility can also help you get paid faster, because it makes the payment process more convenient for your customers. Make sure every invoice that you send out includes clear direction on the different payment methods you accept, whether that includes check, credit card, direct bank deposit, online payments or cash.  

How Do You Write a Professional Invoice?

As a business owner, you need to understand all the steps of writing and submitting professional invoices to ensure you get paid quickly for your hard work. Here are the top tips for communicating to clients in a professional manner for faster payment:

1. Send Invoices as Soon as the Work is Done 

Be sure to always write and send out your invoices to clients as soon as you’re done the project that you’re billing for. Not only will you get paid faster if you send invoices out right away, but you’ll also be writing the invoice when the work is fresh in your mind. That way, you’ll remember all the important details about the project, so you’ll be less likely to make mistakes when billing, which can not only create anger or frustration for the client, it can also delay your payment. 

2. Be Polite in all Communications

Make sure that you’re always polite when writing an invoice for clients, and with all accompanying communications like emails and phone calls. By being polite and professional, you can help build strong and respectful relationships with your customers, and that can help you land repeat business in the future. Communicating politely with clients — including using words like “please” and “thank you” on your invoices — can also help you get paid more quickly, according to a recent study conducted by FreshBooks. 

3. Be Concise with Invoices

Always be clear and concise when writing invoices for your clients. Provide clear instructions for payments and make sure that your invoices include all the necessary details your clients require in order to process your payment. Be precise with your payment deadlines, listing the exact date payment is due rather than vague payment terms like “Net 30”.

4. Make the Payment Process Painless

The easier you make it for clients to pay your invoices, the more quickly you’ll get paid for your services. Make sure your invoices outline in clear terms all the different payment methods that you accept. Try to accept as many different payment methods as you can, within reason, to ensure payments are convenient for your customers. If you accept payment by check, specify all the check details, such as a line like: “Please make checks payable to My Business Name and mail the check to My Business Address.” If you accept online payments, include a “Pay Now” button within your invoice so that clients can simply click through to make their payments.