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An invoice is an official request for payment for services offered or products delivered. It offers a detailed account of the work done and the cash expected. As a small business owner, you’ll often find yourself handling financial admin tasks. You must ensure your customers pay you in full and on time. And there’s no better way to initiate the payment than sending a professional invoice. 

Your invoice must follow some universally accepted conventions for it to be legally valid and presentable to the client. Below are some best practices to follow when writing an invoice for self-employed persons. 

1. Use A Self-Employed Invoice Template

In your quest to know how to write a invoice for self employed, your first port of call is a template. An invoice template is a predesigned document that you can use to create professional-looking invoices. It contains predefined fields, formats, and designs, which makes it easy for you to input the required details. Invoice templates promote consistency in the look and feel of your invoices. Clients will readily recognize that they’re coming from your company and understand the details. 

They also save a great deal of time. You don’t have to design one from scratch. All you need to do is fill in the necessary details, something that takes just a few minutes. Moreover, those with built-in formulas reduce the risk of human error when calculating totals or discounts or applying taxes. Many online sites offer free invoice templates that you can take advantage of. But if your invoicing needs are advanced, you may want to go for the paid-for versions. 

2. Add Your Details

Your invoice must contain the following details so the client understands it:

• Business detail: Fill the business name in the ‘From’ section of the invoice. You’d also want to specify your business’s website, email address, VAT number, 
• Customer name: Enter the client’s name and address in the “to” section. This could be an individual or organization. 
• Address: Specify the building where your business is located for federal tax purposes.
• Item: Specify the item you’re billing for. It could be a product, service, expense, discount, or days or hours worked.
• Description: Explain the item further to ensure the client understands exactly what they’re paying for.
• Unit price: Indicate the standard or negotiated price per product, service, day, or hour.
• Quantity: How many items are you billing for? Suppose you’re charging a fixed fee of $50 per hour, and you worked for 6 hours. The quantity box should have the number ‘6’.
• Balance due: This is the most important part of the invoice, highlighting how much money the customer needs to pay you. 

These details ensure the client fully understands what they’re paying for and how and when to send the money.

3. Include A Unique Invoice Identification Number

It’s important to number and differentiate your invoices correctly. The invoice number or invoice ID is a unique, sequential number ascribed to each invoice. It could be numbers only or a combination of numbers and letters. 

It’s used to easily identify and track transactions. In case your client has an issue related to an invoice you issued long ago, it’ll be easy to find the invoice if you use a logical numbering system. Also, it prevents duplicate payments, which can ruin your reputation. 

It’s also a legal requirement in many jurisdictions to include an invoice number. It helps with tax reporting and the officials can easily review invoices against your company’s sales and expenses. 

4. Specify Your Payment Terms

You must mention how to be paid and when you expect payment. As for the ‘how,’ indicate your bank name, account number, and SWIFT/sort code. Alternative payment methods include credit or debit cards, cash, or online payment wallets like PayPal. These payment methods are convenient whether you’re working remotely or in-office. 

Typical payment periods are upon receipt of invoice, 7 days, 14 days, or 30 days. It actually means you’re giving them credit, especially if you’ve already delivered the products up front and you’re waiting to get paid. 

Choose the number of days you’re comfortable with. There’s no right or wrong payment period. But note that some jurisdictions have regulations on payment terms that you must adhere to. It’s also good to note that some clients, particularly the large companies, may not send you payments on a short notice despite your requests. Such have many formalities that may lead to delayed payments. On the other hand, some clients specify their preferred days of credit.

5. Automate Your Invoices

Automation is the in-thing today. You don’t have to manually repeat the same task again and again. You can simply leave it to the automation tools as you focus on core aspects of your business. 

Invoice automation is beneficial in many ways. It saves time since the software takes care of the manual work including data entry, proofreading, and processing. It also reduces computational errors. And you’re likely to get paid faster through online payments.

Automation allows you to do the following:

• Set up recurring invoices
• Schedule invoices
• Store customer details to make your billing quicker
• Set up email reminders to inform clients when invoices are upcoming, are due, or are overdue.
• Attach files to invoices
• Email invoices directly to clients
• Add ‘pay now’ options to your invoices

There are many invoice automation software in the market you can use. Choose one that fits your needs and budget.

Conclusion

Sending a professional-looking invoice to your customers is the ideal way to request for payment for products delivered or services offered. Your goal is to make it very clear for the client to understand what they’re required to pay for. The self-employed invoice best practices outlined herein should be an excellent starting point. For unique or regulated products or services, you may need to consult experts well versed with the industry norms, so you remain compliant.