No matter what sort of web work you’re doing, there’s one constant: you’d like to get paid for it. More than 99% of the time, this is going to mean sending a bill – more usually called an invoice – to your client and waiting for them to send you a check in return. If you’re using an accounting application such as QuickBooks, you can have it generate invoices for you. Alternatively, there are sites like SideJobTrack or BlinkSale that will help you build an invoice. But many web workers get by just fine with using a word processor or spreadsheet to bang out their own handcrafted invoices. If you’re pinching pennies and creating your own, you need to make sure to get these essential points on every invoice you send:
The word “Invoice” – Right at the top, in big, bold letters. Leave no doubt in the mind of your readers that this is a request for money that they must attend to in order to keep your services.
The invoice date – That is, the date that you sent the invoice to your customer. This is the date that the payment terms start ticking, and if you’re dealing with a company of any size, they’ll want to know this information.
Your contact information – Start off with whatever name you want the check written to (hopefully this is your company name), and include your address, phone number, fax number, email address, and any other means you want the accounting folks to use to get hold of you. Don’t assume that the accounting people have this, no matter how often you speak to your actual working contacts at the client. If you’re dealing with a big company, you’ve probably been assigned some sort of vendor ID number; if so, be sure to include that too.
Your Federal Tax ID Number – Put it on every invoice. If your state requires a tax registration (such as Washington’s Uniform Business ID) put that on too. Clients will want to track this for their own tax reporting purposes.
The Client – Who you’re billing. In a large company, it’s vital to include the name of the person you’re working with, so the accounting department knows who to ask for approval. If you were assigned a contract number, include that too.
Itemized work done – At whatever level of detail is necessary to prove that you’ve been doing the work that you were hired to do. This is something you’ll generally need to work out with your primary contact at the client, who’ll be signing off on paying your invoices. Usually a minimum is to list the date, number of hours, work done, hourly rate, and total for the day.
The invoice total – Highlight this somehow; boldface is good. Make it as obvious as possible what number you’re expecting them to pay you.
Your payment terms – You need to tell the accounting people how soon you expect to be paid and on what terms. “Net 15″ means that the bill is due in 15 days. “2% 10, Net 30″ means that it’s due in 30 days, but they can take a 2% discount if they pay it within 10 days. Include information on any penalty terms here (“1.5% interest per month after 60 days”) though frankly you have a low chance of collecting if your client is much larger than you are.
Always double-check your math before sending an invoice, and if you’re sending a paper invoice, it can’t hurt to add a personal note of thanks to the bottom of the page. By making sure that you have all the essential information on a single page, you can maximize your chance of getting paid quickly, and avoid the dreaded month of eating ramen noodles that characterizes the start of so many freelance careers.
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