Are you tired of chasing down clients to pay their invoices in time? Do you feel as if it’s hard to keep track of your outstanding and paid invoices? It may be time to consider some freelance invoicing help. Invoices are the bread and butter of your business, but you shouldn’t be spending hours on them each week.
Read on to learn all about freelance invoicing to help you maintain control of your cash flow and improve your relationship with customers!
Eliminate Surprises
It’s important that you’re setting your client’s expectations for how much your services or goods will cost before the invoice is sent. For instance, this can be either through a conversation, a quote you send, or a simple pricing page on your website. Don’t add extra charges unless you’ve discussed it beforehand.
A client may be refusing to pay because they feel they’re being charged unfairly. Eliminate this issue entirely by being upfront and transparent about your pricing. You can also check out this article to make sure you’re being paid on time.
Stay Professional
Not every client will be perfect, even if you have automated invoices, fair payment terms, and clear pricing structures. With this in mind, it’s important to stay professional with each client–even if they pay your invoices late. If you do feel as if a certain client isn’t worth the constant struggle, there are ways you can fire a client without completely burning bridges.
Add Payment Terms
If you find that many of your clients are paying you later than you’d like, you may want to consider adding payment terms to your website. Plus, these can be included in a freelance invoice template so you don’t have to worry about creating them each time.
These outline your expectations for when an invoice is due, the preferred payment method, and charges if a client sends a late payment.
Charges for late payments can be a great way to incentivize clients to pay on time. These also add a sense of professionalism to your business. Some clients and companies don’t take freelancers as seriously, especially if they’re just getting started. This leads to late payments and poor communication.
Automate Invoices
Automating invoices is the best way you can take back your time and make sure each client has the same quality experience. Some invoicing software for freelancers can send out invoices automatically based on parameters you’ve set.
They can also automate reminders that go straight to your client’s text messages or inbox. Oftentimes, unpaid invoices are due to forgetfulness rather than malice. Your clients will appreciate the reminder as well as an easy way to pay online.
Client Research
Last but not least, we recommend doing some research on new clients that come along. It’s easier to avoid non-paying clients rather than doing work for them and waiting weeks or even months for payment.
Use your common sense first. If a client is trying to purchase your goods or services at a price that’s much lower than your normal rates, this can be a good indication that they may not want to pay later on. Negative reviews online or no online presence are also red flags.
Freelance Invoicing the Smart Way
When it comes to freelance invoicing, we recommend setting pricing expectations and creating templates as soon as you can. By automating your invoicing process, you’ll be taking your time back into your hands. You’ll also be sending out reminders to clients who forget to pay, leading to invoices that are made much faster.
Ready for more freelancing tips to get you started? Keep reading our blog for more tips and tricks!
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