One of the most important parts of owning a business is getting paid for your hard work. To do that, you’ll need to know how to make an invoice because your clients will require one before they pay you. If you’ve never made an invoice before, here are the most important features to include on this type of document.
Invoice Number
Start by making sure the invoice is clearly marked “Invoice” at the top. This way, your clients know what type of document they’re looking at right away. Next, put the invoice number near the top, with “001” being the number of the first invoice you send each client. This will make it easier to reference the invoice in the future if necessary.
Contact Information
Another detail that should be near the top of your invoice is the name of your business. That should be followed by your company’s address, phone number and email address in case your client needs to contact you before paying the invoice. You should also include your client’s contact information on this document.
Date
Your invoice should include a couple of dates in the top right corner. One is the date of issue. The other is the due date, assuming you have a specific date in mind by which your invoice needs to be paid. If not, you can state “due upon receipt.”
Description of Goods or Services
Make sure this document describes what you’re invoicing for. Otherwise, your client could be confused, especially if you provided him or her with a few different goods or services. So if you wrote an article for the client, state that the invoice is for one article, and follow that by the title and word count. If you made a product for the client, describe it and note how many you made.
Amount Due
Now you’re getting to the main point of the document, which is the amount of money your client owes you. Next to the description of your goods or services, write the amount you’re charging for each. If you need to charge taxes, shipping fees, late fees or any other expenses, add those up before you state the total amount.
Payment Methods
At the end of the invoice, you can list the payment methods you’ll accept. This might include cash, check, credit card or payment apps. Adding this detail to your invoice will ensure the client knows not only how much to pay you, but how to send it.
Including all this information on each invoice will make it easy for your clients to pay you, which is helpful if you want to get paid on time!