Cash flow remains at the core of any business success and especially if you are a solopreneur/ entrepreneur, small business owner, freelancer or web designers.

You wouldn’t have thought in the beginning that someday you might have to chase your clients for invoice payments. If you are still struggling with the same then we bring you the best tips and tricks that you can straight away implement to help you get paid faster.

1) Set a clear goal from day one

Many at times, freelancers and web designers in order to gain a business deal gets excited and do not rush to go for terms and contract. Presenting a contract is a professional approach and to make sure that both the parties agree to the terms mentioned in it. Moreover, contracts can avoid any misunderstandings and unpaid invoices.

It is also the best way to make your clients aware of the key payment dates and other deliverables related to the project.

2) Strong business relationship

Clear and constant communication can establish a strong and long lasting customer-client relation. Providing with regular updates on how things are going and also simultaneously taking feedback would make them the feel the part of the project. If you’ll make them the part of the process, they would also be aware of the invoicing time and be ready with the invoice payment.

3) Contact the right person

You’ll need to get in touch with the right person who is in charge of the payment process. However, this differs with every business and clients. For e.g, if it is a small business then mostly the owner will be the one who is processing payments. In case of medium or large organisation, this responsibility comes under the account or billing department.

Before the project starts, you can collect all the basic information such as name, email, phone number of the person who will be processing your invoices. This handy information will be very much useful when clearing any outstanding invoice.

4) Let your invoicing terms be firm

An ideal invoice format should include payment terms. Well, if you’ll pay attention then you’ll realise that how much of an invoice term can determine the faster payments. Make sure that following and points and its aspects are covered in invoicing payment terms.

– Be polite

Include statements such as, “please pay your invoice within” or “thank you for your business” could actually go a long way in not only in getting you paid faster but also increases the long-lasting relationship with your client.

– Avoid slang or business jargon

Avoid using the word ‘days’ and instead, use ‘net’ to get paid faster

– Late payment charges

This is a critical point and hence, tread lightly on this one. Make sure to use the verbiage that not only sounds requesting but also gets your work done. You can try the following statement for e.g, “Thank you, we really appreciate your business. Please send payment within 30 of receiving this invoice”

5) Quick invoices

This is simple and straightforward. The quicker to you make invoices and send the bill to your clients, the sooner they’ll initiate the payment process. Majorly, in all the companies, a payment can’t be made unless they have their own copy of the bill for records.

You can even use of the many online invoicing services available to the get the job done as it is the most overlooked factor but when implemented nicely, this tip can help you get paid on time.

6) Mention clear description of work

The more specific and more clear you are in the description or scope of work section, the better it would be as it would not bring back any doubts or clarification from customers. If your clients aren’t going to understand what they are charged for, then they are very less likely to sign and pay for it.

7) Follow-up

A typical invoice payment cycle lasts from 3 to 12 weeks which is a bit longer for freelancers and small business owners. Thus you must be having a follow-up strategy in place for invoices.

You can opt for the invoicing services that will get you paid quickly because of clearly mentioned outstanding amount field or dashboard or report. This will save you a lot of time and be productive as you can directly take follow-ups from the clients whose outstandings are remaining.

At times, even a quick email can do the trick and get you paid faster but if your email goes unanswered then take follow-up by calling them.

8) Legal

If things are going pretty bad and you’re struggling to get paid for your goods or services from your customers then you can opt to go to small claims court and follow the legal method to get your payment. You can also consider sending strict formal letters.

You can also consult a lawyer and can take legal advice to proceed further in the same regards. The letter should clearly outline all your attempts to contact for the payment as well as should also the time frame to receive the payment or state the otherwise consequences of facing legal charges which will be presented in the court.

But before all this, we would recommend you to work on the above points to create strong customer-client relation.

Moon Invoice, designed and developed to simplify the invoicing process for small, medium and large businesses. It has highly advanced feature-set, fully automated invoicing processing that helps companies to be more efficient & productive. Invoice processing via Moon Invoice is done with maximum accuracy and removes any such probable errors associated with manual entry as it supports recurring invoices and many such other features.

Moon Invoice mobile app is available for iOS, Mac OS X, Android and Windows. Download our free app today and leave all your invoicing worry with us. There is a 7-day free trial period for you to try before you buy!

Recurring Payments Vs Recurring Invoices

Recurring Payments	Recurring Invoices
Recurring payments charge the customer’s credit card account or debit card account on a predetermined schedule for the same amount as preapproved.	Send an invoice to your customer on a regular basis. The client receives the invoice but, money is not paid unless the customer approves.
A business that takes prepayment of money and sells a monthly subscription service and product. Subscription services are excellent examples of this.	A company that provides fixed services with billable hours is an excellent choice for recurring billing. For example law firms and consulting agencies.

Pros and Cons of Recurring Invoices

Pros	Cons
You eliminate the possibility of human error by automating the billing process. If you use a recurring invoice, you will not be concerned about forgetting to charge your customers for the things they ordered.	You must exercise caution while recurring billing to prevent issuing inaccurate pricing. This also holds for price changes that could take place right once an invoice is created.
If you provide your customers with the option for recurring billing, they are more likely to buy products regularly.	It could be difficult to cope with recurring invoices if a transaction fails for any reason.

Net 45	Invoice is due in full within 45 days with no early payment discount offered
2/10 net 45 terms	2% discount if you pay within 10 days; otherwise full payment of the invoice is due in 45 days
1/15 net 45 terms	1% discount if you pay within 15 days; otherwise full payment of the invoice is due in 45 days
1/10 net 45 terms	1% discount if you pay within 10 days; otherwise full payment of the invoice is due in 45 days
1/7 net 45 terms	1% discount if you pay within 7 days; otherwise full payment of the invoice is due in 45 days

Category	Net Method vs. Gross Method	Explanation
Calculation Approach	- Applies tax credits first; reduces taxable income before computing tax liability.	- Doesn't apply tax credits; computes taxable income without considering tax credits.
Tax Credit Eligibility	- Allows for greater likelihood of tax credit eligibility due to reduced taxable income.	- Limits tax credit eligibility because taxable income hasn't been reduced yet.
Itemized Deduction Requirement	- Lowers threshold requirement for itemizing deductions due to decreased taxable income.	- Raises threshold requirement for itemizing deductions due to higher taxable income.
Advantages	- Leads to lower taxable income and increases chances of meeting qualifications for other tax benefits.	- Results in higher taxable income compared to net method.
Disadvantages	- May miss opportunity to reduce tax burden if taxpayer doesn't itemize deductions or take advantage of tax credits.	- Increases taxable income and may result in higher overall tax bill.