Published October 13, 2019
As an independent working professional, it is crucial that you an eye on how many hours you are working and the monetary compensation for the same. To make a strong impression in front of the clients, you have to take care that the invoice you provide matches the standards in terms of accuracy. Your work and the kind of invoice created reflect your professionalism and here we give you tips to create an invoice for contractors.
Establish a Policy for Billing
First and foremost you have to figure out how you want the billing process to be completed. In your billing policy, you need to include rates, billing method, frequency of invoicing, time of payment, payment method preferred and any late fees imposed. You need to ensure that these billing policies are conveyed to the clients in advance so that they do not raise issues later.
Make the Invoice Client-Friendly
An invoice before getting processed passes through several levels. If you use tough technical jargon, it is unlikely that the clients are going to understand. Make your invoice simple and easy to understand. This small step is enough to ensure that your payments would be processed on time.
Time tracking
Whatever type of billing you are doing, it is necessary that you keep a count of the hours you are working for that client. Make sure you record the time as soon as you complete the task. Time tracking can be done through excel, paper or even using apps created only for that purpose.
Including Appropriate Information
While your invoice would be highly dependent on the client you are sending it to, there are some items that remain as a constant. Do include the following pointers in your list.
- A clear name like invoice or bill
- Name and contact information
- Date of the invoice
- Billing period
- Invoice number
- Client reference numbers like the purchase order number, or account number
- Full name and address of the client in question
- A proper breakdown of the services you have provided to the client
- Rates or the fees you are charging
- The total amount that is due.
Developing a Billing Process
Lastly, you need to develop a proper billing process to ensure things keep happening smoothly for you. When it comes to creating an invoice, you can adopt the easiest method and that is through Microsoft word or excel. Apart from that, you can also take help from billing and accounting software as they automate the entire process. Time entry and invoicing are a matter of accuracy and the better you are able to do so, the easier it becomes for you to handle tasks.
Conclusion
Handling invoices for a contractor can be tough unless he knows how to manage them. The above tips are guiding factors in deciding which pointers need to be given importance while creating one.
In most cases, adherence to one format would be effective in slowly streamlining the entire process for you. Having a clear format for invoice in place also increases the chance of clients to process your payments before the due date.
The post Tips To Create an Invoice for Contractors appeared first on Native News Online.
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