
They're one of the little necessities of business life. With an invoice, all this information is readily available, making transactions faster and easier. Plus, your clients may have accounting teams that you may not directly interact with, and they need to know what to pay for, whom they owe, and how much. Without it, any money that exchanges hands between the supplier and the client can't be accounted for-and accounting for it is important when you need to determine how much money your business is bringing in, and how much you'll be taxed. What is an invoice, and why do I need one?Īn invoice details services rendered or products delivered by one party to another, and indicates the payment owed to the supplier. In this tutorial, I'll show you what an invoice needs, and how to create professional customized invoices that will impress clients and get your payments quickly-using just Word or any other word processor you already have. Besides, once you've created your first invoice, you can simply re-use the base document as a template for all your future projects. This document not only enables clients to pay you, but also helps you keep your accounts in order. Just as you expect a bill after purchasing an item at a store, so too does a client expect an invoice detailing the services rendered after working with you. And while the thought of creating invoices might seem daunting to first-timers, it's actually fairly simple and you only need a basic desktop or web-based word processor to get started. It's finally happening-you've launched your new business or freelance venture and finally landed your first client! The project brief is in, the ideas sounds great, and things are going swimmingly-but what about getting paid? Whether you've agreed to a fixed price or an hourly rate, you'll need to formally request payment for your work once your project is complete, with an invoice.
