Invoice design

scbk

Hi, 99% of my customers are Joe Public who pay cash ont he spot and I fill out a receipt that I've designed myself, and I just fill in the fields.


Anyway, I've had one or 2 business customers (who I can trust), and it isn't really suitable for them to pay cash. So the idea is to print up some small invoices detailing amount owed etc.

So the fields I have in mind so far:
-Header with all my usual business contact details etc
-Date/time
-Services undertaken
-Customer name? is this needed/normal to have?
-Total cost of services
-Payment options - cheques made payable to xxxxx. Should I include bank details - do business's like paying by bank transfer (normal charge would be £100-£300). If so, what information is needed for bank transfers?
-Payment terms, I'm thinking "payment must be received within 14 days of invoice", is this a reasonable amount of time?

Any other information that should be included on an invoice?

olly300

http://www.klamathdesign.com/2007/05/12/free-sample-service-invoice-for-web-design-businesses/

Just remove the columns you don't need on the table.

At the bottom of the invoice where it says payable by cheque instead put:
1. Account name
2. Sort Code
3. Account Number
4. Full bank address
5. A statement stating "Payment is must be received within 14 days of invoice"

Bean_Counter

Are you VAT registered or a limited company?

timnicebutdim_2

The essential features of an invoice are;

-Header and address/phone details. VAT no. if applicable;
-Customer name and address: this is essential for audit reasons.
-Tax Date i.e. date of invoice or date the work was done
-Invoice number
-Breakdown and amount charged. The more details, the less it will be queried.
-Payee: if cheques are to be made payable to XYZ make this very clear if your trading name is different in the header (as you may get a cheque in the name in the header)

Leave your full bank details on the invoice if you would like to be paid by BACS, but bear in mind sometimes a cheque can be quicker as BACS payment runs are usually done in batches whereas cheques can be paid individually.

Payment terms: well 30 days is the norm. I just ignore any 14 day requests and reminders. I suppose it depends on the your client, if it's regular business you may want to keep them sweet and go by their terms. If it's just a one off say, you could insist on a pro-forma invoice where they pay upfront. Otherwise put 14 days and you may get it quicker.

Hope that helps.;)

slipp_digby

you might want to also add at the bottom of the invoice the below, there should be a similar statement on your proposal/terms and conditions.

If payment is not made by the due date, [insert company name] will exercise its statutory right to claim interest and compensation for debt recovery costs under the Late Payment of Commercial Debt (Interest) Act 1998 and the Late Payment of Commercial Debt Regulations 2002.


Edit: my experience is the opposite to the timnicebut - I find BACS much better, as companies using BACs are usually more organised with making payment in line with your payment terms.

Cheques are a pain, always late, sent to arrive on saturdays, wrong details (delaying tactics)!

timnicebutdim_2

slipp_digby wrote: »

my experience is the opposite to the timnicebut - I find BACS much better, as companies using BACs are usually more organised with making payment in line with your payment terms.

I do agree that BACS is more straightforward and reliable but it depends on how frequently a BACS payment run is sent. In my accounts department I send a BACS run at the end of each month, once a month. Therefore i'm very limited with honoring payment terms under this arrangement. But if a supplier chases enough after the due date then i can raise a cheque and it will get there within a week. If however a BACS run is done every week, then I agree it would be the best way.

scbk

Thanks everyone, it's mainly smaller business's I deal with where the person I speak to signs the cheques

Bean_Counter wrote: »

Are you VAT registered or a limited company?

Nope neither, self employed with a trading name


As I'm only a small business I try to keep all costs to a minimum, I'll see what I can bash up later using a simmillar layout to my cash sales receipt which then gets printed off and photocopied

Bean_Counter

scbk wrote: »

Nope neither, self employed with a trading name

Just checking as there are certain things that need to be included if you were either, but if it is simple, then the suggestions above will be fine.

sharonace

Have you looked on Microsoft Office site, loads of free templates on there with different layouts.

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/CT101172551033.aspx