Invoice Design That Gets Invoices Paid Faster

Written on 25 November, 2021 by Melissa Toh
Categories Accounting & Finance Small Business

tip to get your invoices paid faster

Cashflow management is crucial for every business.  Most businesses prefer to be paid as soon as they have delivered a product or completed a job. However, most must wait until an invoice has been paid. A poorly designed invoice can cause confusion, annoyance, or apathy at the client’s end. This ultimately leads to payment delays.

There are many ways to impact the timeliness of invoice payment positively.  One consideration is ensuring that your invoice design is just right.  Read on to find out how effective business invoice design can get your invoices paid faster.

 

How to Design Invoices that Get Paid

  1. Use a professional invoice template
  2. State the details clearly
  3. Highlight what’s important
  4. Use an integrated invoicing solution

Use a professional invoice template or design your own

You’ve invested so much time into creating your brand – colour themes, logo, fonts and layout – all those things that make you and your business stand apart from the crowd.  Your invoice is just another brand touchpoint for your business.  And it can reinforce your business, or it can damage it.

Invoices sent to customers are probably never that welcome.  Let’s not make their arrival any more arduous through poor design.

If you cannot have a personalised invoice designed, there are many invoice templates available for use. Search the web to look at your choices.

When selecting a pre-designed template make sure you ask yourself a few questions:

  • Does it fit with my brand style?
  • Does it enable me to include all the detail I need?
  • Does it handle large orders appropriately?
  • Is it easy to read?
  • Does it accommodate my product identifiers adequately?
  • Does it look professional?
  • If I was the customer would it meet my needs?

Invoice design that clearly state the details

design professional invoice template for your business

You want to make it easy for your clients to pay your invoices. Put down your terms and conditions, including your invoice payment terms, so expectations are clear. The type of information that should be incorporated into your company invoices will include:

  • Refer to the job the invoice addresses. If your customer has raised a purchase order, make sure it’s included.
  • Include your BSB, bank account number, and details on other modes of payments you accept, like PayPal.
  • Try including the payment required date on your invoice as well as the terms. It is much clearer to let a customer know that payment is required before a specific date rather than within 14 or 30 days of invoice.
  • If you have a late payment policy, state it clearly.
  • If you accept returns, ensure all the relevant information is included.
  • If relevant, provide details on your exchange policy.
  • Provide a contact telephone number or email address that can be used to clarify any of your invoice terms.

Importantly, think like a client and answer all the questions they may have before they pay the invoice. Don’t wait for them to ask you – it will only delay the receipt of your payment.

A business invoice that highlights what’s most important

An invoice’s layout and highlighting the most important details often get overlooked in small business invoicing. Eye-catching information gets you paid faster because it makes the job easier for the person processing your invoice. They don’t have to seek important information- it’s all laid out for them.

Don’t wait to get your customer invoices processed

Raise your invoice immediately.  If you offer terms of 30 days, those 30 days do not start until the dated invoice is raised.   Most customers now expect to get the invoices via email.  Email your invoice as soon as the job is complete or order delivered.

An integrated invoicing solution can save you money

get invoices paid faster

 

As your client base grows, you may need more than Word documents and Excel spreadsheets to keep track of invoices. You may need a smart system to manage complex invoicing issues like part payments or one payment covering several invoices. There are several integrated solutions that can help with small business invoicing.

Sophisticated and affordable online software has enabled business owners to manage their everyday accounting tasks themselves. These services are intuitive, fast and can dramatically improve invoice and payment performance for your business. Look for features such as intuitive interfaces, mobile access and strict overdue invoice protocols.

Invoice design that gets your invoices paid faster. Its worth it!

Invoicing is probably not the most exciting aspect of your business. But effective invoice design and policies can be crucial in ensuring your business remains not only solvent but in a solid position to engage in the fun stuff, like product and business development. Read our article on the accounts payable process so you can learn more about the invoice lifecycle and better improve your business performance.

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