Search
Close this search box.
Blog » Business Tips » Want to Get Paid Faster? Make Sure Your Invoices Have These 5 Elements

Want to Get Paid Faster? Make Sure Your Invoices Have These 5 Elements

Updated on January 17th, 2022

One of the biggest challenges business owners face is in getting paid. Creating, issuing, and tracking invoices is only the beginning of the battle. Even if a business never has a non-paying customer, late payers are inevitable. Some customers will pay immediately, while others will wait until the 30-day mark or beyond. These delayed payments slow down your cash flow and make it difficult to pay your own bills on time.

The process of getting paid in a timely manner begins with your invoices. A professionally-designed, detailed invoice will reduce delays due to confusion. Instead of setting invoices aside to deal with later, your clients may pay them immediately. Here are a few things you can include on your invoices to ensure you get paid more quickly.

Invoice Tracking Number

Managing your finances means always having visibility into everything you do. To do this, you’ll first need to include a number on each invoice that you tie to your internal invoicing system. Having a number tied to each invoice will make it easier to determine which invoices have been paid and which haven’t. When you contact non-payers, you can provide the invoice number to help them more easily look through their own records and find the broken link.

Another benefit of a tracking number on each invoice is that it lends an air of credibility to your paperwork. Your clients will realize you’re keeping track of the invoices that have and haven’t been paid and won’t allow a non-payment to fall through the cracks.

Payment Options

When your customers receive an invoice, whether by email or on paper, do they know what to do with it? They may have the invoice in hand, but payment is a mystery. If all you’ve done is provide a mailing address and they prefer paying electronically, you may delay payment because you haven’t given an easy option. Conversely, if your electronic payment systems don’t match their own internal procedures t pay by paper check, you could also be waiting weeks for payment to arrive.

If your invoice is sent electronically, include a link that lets them pay by credit card in a matter of minutes. Include your mailing address, as well, in case they’d prefer to pay through the mail. If your employees travel around, equip them with mobile-enabled credit card readers to allow them to accept payments immediately. This may keep you from having to issue an invoice to start with.

Due Date

A due date can make a big difference in your payment speed. Most clients don’t want to get into a situation where they’re late on a payment, so seeing a date gives them a deadline. Instead of putting wording like, “Due in 30 days,” put an actual date on your invoice and make sure that date is enforced. Your automated system should be set up to send a late notice once that due date has passed.

In addition to a due date, you should also include any fees that will apply if the invoice isn’t paid within a certain timeframe. You can include this information at the bottom of your invoice, with wording such as, “Late payments will be charged a penalty of X percent per day.” This late fee should be outlined from the start of your working relationship with a new client, usually through your initial work agreement or statement of work.s

Detailed Description of Services Provided

Confusion can often delay payments, especially if the person handling invoice payments is in a separate department from the person who hired you. You may find that your invoice is caught in a holding pattern for months while one department waits for communication from another department. Instead, make it as clear as possible what services you provided and, if possible, which employee of that business received the service.

If the work you provided involves work for the company website or social media pages, describe that work and add a link if you can. As you create an invoice for each new customer, it might be worthwhile to have a phone conversation with your contact about the information that will need to be included in the invoice.

Contact Information

Before you send off your invoice, be sure you have up-to-date contact information for your business. This doesn’t just include the information they’ll need to pay you, such as your address or PayPal email address, but it also means you should have a way for your clients to contact you if they have questions. You should have a phone number they can call for any questions they have about the invoice. This will ensure questions are answered quickly so that they can approve payment and get the money they need to you.

Including a contact phone number isn’t enough. You must make sure that when your clients call, someone is available to answer. An inability to reach you or one of your employees with any issues they have will only frustrate them, leading them to set your invoice aside and forget about it. If you are too busy to pick up the phone every time one of your clients call, consider outsourcing this part of your customer service to a virtual assistant or external contact center.

When businesses work to improve their invoicing processes, they speed up payments and ensure they have the money they need to pay their bills. With just a few adjustments to the invoices you send, you can improve your cash flow and keep your attention focused on building your business, rather than chasing down late payments.

John Rampton

John Rampton

John Rampton is an entrepreneur and connector. When he was 23 years old, while attending the University of Utah, he was hurt in a construction accident. His leg was snapped in half. He was told by 13 doctors he would never walk again. Over the next 12 months, he had several surgeries, stem cell injections and learned how to walk again. During this time, he studied and mastered how to make money work for you, not against you. He has since taught thousands through books, courses and written over 5000 articles online about finance, entrepreneurship and productivity. He has been recognized as the Top Online Influencers in the World by Entrepreneur Magazine and Finance Expert by Time. He is the Founder and CEO of Due.

About Due

Due makes it easier to retire on your terms. We give you a realistic view on exactly where you’re at financially so when you retire you know how much money you’ll get each month. Get started today.

Categories

Top Trending Posts

Due Fact-Checking Standards and Processes

To ensure we’re putting out the highest content standards, we sought out the help of certified financial experts and accredited individuals to verify our advice. We also rely on them for the most up to date information and data to make sure our in-depth research has the facts right, for today… Not yesterday. Our financial expert review board allows our readers to not only trust the information they are reading but to act on it as well. Most of our authors are CFP (Certified Financial Planners) or CRPC (Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor) certified and all have college degrees. Learn more about annuities, retirement advice and take the correct steps towards financial freedom and knowing exactly where you stand today. Learn everything about our top-notch financial expert reviews below… Learn More