They owe us $130,000 since last year”, my accounts manager came running to me the other day.
He referred to one of our major clients. But, they were always doing a good business. How did we come across to this? My second question was raised!
With an utmost shock, we started looking for reasons for such delays and to our surprise, we found out delays are common.
Do you know? Past researches have shown that almost 62% of invoices take more than 60 days to get paid. But, then as any responsible organization, it is your utmost responsibility to get paid as early as possible for your services offered.
Below are the ten tips you can follow to invoicing clients. These are some of the tactics that will ensure your agency gets paid quicker. A win-win situation, always!
10 Ways about how to invoice a client and get paid on your terms:
1. Clearly, Mention Expectations in the Contract.
One of the best ways to ensure you get paid promptly for the invoice is by clarifying terms of payment at the very contract. Proactively start a conversation with the client and explain them explicitly about your payment expectations and terms. Include your terms in your final documents. Also, don’t forget to add them to your invoice each time. An Agency billing Software helps your digital agency to prevent confusion of invoice, how to pay and the policies for late fees.
During the entire course of payment, processes try and understand if your client has special requests. For example: check the preferred mode of payment for your client. How convenient are they in receiving invoices by mails?
Discuss expectations during the very moment of onboarding the client. It reduces miscommunication and conflicts later on. It is an easy way of having customer loyalty and a stronger relationship.
2. Ask for Deposits Upfront.
Asking for a deposit for big projects should be no shame. It is an assurance that helps you stay secure with a big project. An upfront deposit works as a line of filter to know whether the client is genuinely interested in your business or no. It easily segregates “red-flag” clients and ensures the mechanics of the invoicing processes are working fine.
3. Add Contact Information & Project Specifics In the Invoice- Always!
Invoices are the official documents that your organization sends to the client in order to get paid. It should be a complete reflection on how and what your company is about.
Having your agency/company’s contact details on the invoice will help your client have a first hand to reach you if they face any issue.
Another thing to keep in mind is you’re invoicing the correct person. Find out who your primary person for bill payment is, and then invoice them directly. It will save you and your client a lot of invoicing time.
4. Include Terms of Late Payment in Every Invoice
While you’re mentioning the due date in your invoice already, chances are you will still get paid late. It is important to clearly mention all of your payment terms and late fees at the bottom of the invoice. It will make your job easier and keep your client updated about fees and consequences related if they miss the deadline.
Use billing software for digital agencies to send your clients automatic reminders when they miss the deadlines. Hassle of calling and taking updates is removed. Now, you can focus on other business activities more.
5. Invoice Promptly After Each Project
The right time to send an invoice is always debatable. Each business and expert has their own say when it comes to sending an invoice. Some suggest you should wait for a day, whiles others ask you to wait for a week. But, the best time to send an invoice is as soon as you finish the project.
An early sent invoice for the freshly completed project gets paid sooner. While you’re still in working terms with the client it is easy to ask for payments and feedbacks. This will enhance your business relationship and make sure you’re getting paid early.
It also clearly depicts that you’re dependable and attentive to details, which then, reaffirms that your agency was the best choice for the job, to begin with.
Watch this video and please subscribe to our channel for more useful Tips and Tricks
6. Retain Clients with Recurring Billing
Instead of waiting to get paid only after the project, ask your client to get onto a retainer contract. This way you’ll be able to bill them weekly, monthly or on a regular basis for the tasks you’ll complete by the process.
Small amounts get paid early and promptly. Keep tab of each of your client and their bills with Invoicera’s agency billing software. Recurring bills can be sent automatically and then receive payments. You can also send automatic payment reminders in this process and let your clients know their previous bill is pending.
7. Send Invoices Online
If you already know you can invoice clients online, congratulations! You’re pretty much half done from your job. Invoice software for digital agencies is a boon that is helping them to easily manage clients and invoicing.
Create an invoice, save it as PDF, and send it from the same dashboard to clients. It is convenient, easy and reliable. An agency billing software saves all your data on the cloud. Thereby, leaving no chance for you to misplace an important document.
Also, you can receive payments instantly with an invoice sent online. A click to pay button with online invoice lets your client pay instantly.
Invoicera offers more than 30 payment gateways that you can integrate and receive payments from any part of the world.
FAQs
8. Use Agency Billing software
Use cloud-based agency billing software to make your invoicing experience convenient and hassle-free. Automated invoice software for digital agencies reduces your errors and added steps of manual invoicing with saving your data online with the cloud.
Invoicera is a choice of more than 3 million businesses around the globe. Some of the most appreciated and used features that Invoicera support are:
- Automated invoicing
- Invoice approval process
- 30+ payment gateways
- Estimate management
- Client retention with subscription billing
- AR & AP Management
9. Add Exchange Rates While Invoicing International Clients
In order to make sure your company does not bear any unwanted conversion charges from international clients, add exchange rates for international clients. Discuss it in advance to avoid any surprises later on.
Research countries and their protocols well, discuss the same with clients, add exchange rates and invoice the clients. Use an invoice approval process integrated with Invoicera to make sure you’re sending accurate invoices each time.
10. Build a Strong Relationship with Clients
Value your customers! Building a long term relationship with your clients will not only help you have repeated business but maintain high rapport too. This will help you gain word of mouth promotion and appreciation. Thereby, gaining more clients.
Customers feel more valued with companies that give their relationships more value than just being professional. Take a step forward and help them whenever and however you can. A bit of consultation apart from a regular job does no harm.
Final Words:
Any process, when followed well, makes sure desired results are achieved sooner. Invoicing is the core process for any business. Efficient and effective steps when taken, ensures your invoices are paid earlier than expected. An agency billing software works like a supplement that pushes your entire invoicing process and makes sure your clients and projects are in place.
Opt for Invoicera software for digital agencies and manage your clients and bills more plenty of customized features added:
- Invoice approval process
- 30+ payment gateways
- Subscription billing
- Estimate management
- Expense management
- And, many more…
FAQs
Q. I have a Company with international projects. How can I raise invoices and receive online payments from my clients?
Q. Why Should I opt for Invoicera online invoicing and online payments software?
Q. How Many Online Payment Options Does Invoicera Offer?
