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An invoice (also referred to as a sales invoice) is a document sent by a seller or service provider to a client which contains information regarding sales transaction.
An account receivable is created as the invoice establishes an obligation on the part of the purchaser to pay.
In short, an invoice is a written verification of the agreement between the buyer and seller of the goods or services.
Invoicing Tips For Small Business
An invoice usually includes the date that the invoice was created, name and address of the customer and supplier, contact names of the individuals, description of the items purchased and the terms of payment.
How your business invoices clients can determine everything from the timely payment of service to retaining frequent customers.
To speed up your payment process and to give your company a more professional look, good invoicing is necessary. This article will go over the methods you can use for optimizing your business invoicing.
Automate Your Invoicing Process
Get rid of manual invoicing and opt for professional invoicing software. Manual invoicing is tedious, is prone to errors and takes up a lot of time.
Automating will also let your team focus on more advanced work. The right invoicing software can automate the entire process for you and for that, we recommend Odoo’s invoicing software.
Odoo is an easy to use business management software that can help automate your business process.
A very useful feature in Odoo is that you can easily integrate all of your business apps, so you can easily link your invoicing app with your accounting or sales apps.
The software can easily manage the data entry part of invoice creation. Automated invoicing will get your invoices out to the clients faster and cheaper.
Invoice Right After The Work Is Done
For small businesses, getting paid as soon as possible is essential. Send invoices as soon as possible right after the work is done.
Don’t wait for a certain period of time you think is “appropriate” for customers to pay. That immediate invoice will ensure that your service is fresh in the client’s mind and will more likely make sure you get paid quickly.
Also, make sure to set short payment terms. Specify your payment terms with precision. Tailor your payment terms to best suit your business and the needs of your clients. Odoo can immediately send an invoice right after the work has been done.
Number Your Invoices
Sequentially numbering invoices has several benefits. It ensures that your record-keeping is clean and efficient.
It also gives your business a more professional look. The numbering helps to keep track of individual invoices in your accounting system which helps when filing taxes or when a client has a query about a specific invoice.
Any transaction your company has made can be found electronically in a matter of seconds. This process is automatically done in Odoo in any format you like.
Make Paying You Easy
Make sure that your clients don’t have a hard time trying to pay you! Easy payment options will encourage customers to use your services again if they know it’s easy to pay you.
The invoice must have clear instructions on how to pay you and make sure to adjust your prices to cover processing fees too.
Letting your clients have the option to pay you online is beneficial for both you and them.
Odoo’s invoicing app simplifies the payment option. It lets you accept payments via Paypal, Ingenico, Buckaroo, Stripe, Authorize.net, Atos Worldline or Adyen. It eliminates the hassle of sending reminders for late or outstanding payments. Automated follow-ups are simple to configure and help to streamline billing to make payments quick and easy.
Set Payment Terms In Advance
It is good practice to send out a written estimate before any work is done and then afterward follow up with an invoice.
This can help fixate your client’s expectations and avoid any confusion in the future. This type of consistency in your billing can make payments faster as the customer isn’t caught unaware by unrecognizable costs.
With Odoo you can easily create estimates for your clients which can, in turn, be easily turned into invoices.
Be Polite And Communicate With Your Clients
The key to a project’s success is good communication. Make sure to inform your clients if any changes have occurred instead of hesitating and surprising them later with news of delay or extra charges.
Also, make sure to be polite and add a touch of personality or goodwill in your invoices. A little “thank you” or “happy holidays” or something appropriate for the time of year.
These little details will help you strengthen the bond with your clients. This will ensure the customer will return to you in the future and also make sure your company has a good reputation.
Follow Up
You may feel nervous about asking for payment when an invoice hasn’t been paid. Remember that there is nothing wrong with reminding your clients about money for the work you’ve done. Odoo can send out automatic payment reminders to all your clients.
Charge Interest On Late Payments
Don’t hesitate to penalize clients who’ve paid late. Your business should have a clear plan for customers who pay late.
Make sure to pass this information onto them before you sign a deal with them. However, make sure the fee is not as large as you should avoid trying to antagonize your client.
A penalty helps to remind them that as a professional you expect clients to live up to a bargain the same as you do.
Syncoria is a digital transformation company based in Canada and an official Odoo Ready partner.