No matter what your business is, you’ll need to learn how to write an invoice for your products or services if you expect to get paid.
More people are working as freelance employees these days than ever before. With the so-called gig economy expanding and expanding, more new people are switching over to this kind of work. There are many advantages to freelancing, including flexibility.
But there are also a few skills you need to learn in order to be a self-sufficient freelancer. Knowing how to write an invoice is one of those skills. Almost all freelance jobs pay off of invoices, and so it’s important to learn how to properly write one if you want to get your check in the mail.
Invoices have many different sections and it’s easy to make a mistake if you don’t know what you’re doing. Need help writing your invoice? Read on and we’ll walk you through everything you need to know.
Make It Professional
You want to give a positive impression of yourself to your client, even after the job is done. That way they might reach out to you for more work in the future.
Creating a professional invoice starts by including a proper-looking business header. Include the name of your business or whatever name you do business under at the top in attractive, bold font. Underneath that title, include the necessary information for your company, including your address.
You should also include contact information, like your number and e-mail address. You want to get paid, so you should make it as easy as possible for them to contact you if they have any questions.
If you have a business logo, feel free to include that in the corner of the invoice as well for an added degree of professionality.
Billing for Your Services
After you have a nice template started, you can move onto the more valuable part of the invoice: the portion where you bill the client for your services.
Underneath your header, address the invoice to your client. Write their contact information and address on the left side of the invoice, underneath the header. On the right side, include pertinent information about this invoice in particular. That includes an invoice number, the date, and the date payment is due.
Underneath that, create a chart divided into a few categories: Services, Date, Quantity, Rate, and Total. Fill it out with the proper information as it relates to the work you’ve done.
Total up the cost of the work you’ve done and leave it as a total in the bottom right corner of the chart you’ve created. This is the amount that the client needs to send you a check for. If there’s any additional information, you can leave it at the bottom under the chart.
You can create this kind of invoice in a word document yourself. Or, if you want an easier time, you can download already ready invoice templates and simply fill in the necessary information.
How to Write an Invoice
There’s just no way around it: you’ll need to know how to write an invoice if you want to make it as a freelancer. This is an essential skill, and the above steps should give you the info you need to know.
Need more advice or tips for your business? Check out our blog for more.
