5 Tips To Make Your Invoices More Effective
No matter our profession, we all like to be paid for our services rendered or products purchased. Most businesses or companies give out invoices daily. That, however, doesn’t mean that the consumers would automatically pay exactly as stipulated in the invoice.
To ensure that your invoice becomes more effective the following steps should be considered.
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Always have the invoice ready:
It is advisable to have prepared the invoice before meeting with the customer or client. It would look unprofessional and clumsy not to have it in hand and thus make the customer wait unnecessarily for you to get it ready.
Let the invoice reflect what has been arranged and agreed upon. Do not try to sneak in extra cost/sales price.
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Be detailed:
List out, clearly and concisely, all services rendered or goods/products purchased as the case maybe, with the price beside each item. Ensure that the due date for payment is clearly stated and not easily missed, it could be underlined or written in bold letters.
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Be sure to make payment easy:
Options for payment by the customer should be made accessible. Have a bank account number that can be paid into. It is advisable to have a Point Of Service (POS) machine available in case the customer would prefer to use that service for online transfer/payment.
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Use the internet.
These days, the internet has truly made the world a global village, thus, making a lot of things easier. You can design a customized invoice for your company or business online and have it sent to your customers. Each invoice can be tailored to fit individual customers concerning a prior agreement.
Reminders should be sent to customers after a, so the customer doesn’t forget. Like earlier stated, the due date for payment should clearly be outlined in the invoice.
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Don’t be a robot!
Have superb customer relationship. People prefer to do business with people who treat them well. Be polite and respectful. Don’t drone on and on only about your business and payment, you could ask after customers and make each one feel special and needed.
Never forget to say Thank you. It is the magic word and pleases the ear.
A business cannot thrive properly when customers do not pay. Even friends and family members should be made to understand that. Be polite but firm and clear about what you are offering and what you expect in return. If you follow the steps outlined above as guidelines, you are sure to have an effective invoice that will bring about expected payment/returns.
