Why customer invoicing reinforces respect and profit

On today's From Creative Passion to Profit podcast, I'm going to be talking about a

topic that too many creatives, in my opinion, avoid. It's what they see

as the unglamorous side of their creative business. It's

invoicing. Now, it's not unglamorous to

me, who doesn't like getting paid. And I'm going to turn this upside down and

actually show you why. Invoicing is your power tool,

reinforces the respect that you deserve, and more importantly, it

helps you make profit.

Now, an invoice is more than just a document, more

than a physical or virtual piece of paper. It's your official

request for payment and verifying that you've actually delivered the

goods, provided the services. And now it's saying to your

client, I've done my part of the bargain, I've done my work. Now it's

time to be paid. The invoice will show what you've done, how much it

costs when you've delivered the services, and more

importantly, when you want to be paid. It acts as a professional

and a legal document, and it provides your client the

details they need to pay you. Who wouldn't want that? If

you don't invoice, you're going to be leaving money on the table.

You're going to provide that uncertainty and reinforce that message in your

client's mind that you're not that bothered about getting paid. It

also can create problems for your client. Now, let me say

this loud and let me say with clarity. Invoicing is

not rude, it's not greedy, and it's an absolute

necessity. Clients will not pay your bills normally until

they've got an invoice from you. They've got that invoice in their system.

They, unusually, will not pay you just when you completed the job.

It's when you actually present that document to them. Now, in my experience,

too many creators skip invoicing because they feel awkward talking about

money. Money is always a difficult conversation to have, or they

think it's just a small job, or they'll pay me next week, or I just

haven't got time to get around to it. Remember this. No invoice,

no clarity, no payment date, and no paper trail if

things go a little bit awry. An invoice sets

expectations. It tracks what the client owes you. It

builds trust and credibility. It shows that you're a proper business as well as a

talented creative. And more importantly, it supports your cash

flow. This is you setting and establishing your creative

boundaries. Now, let's Break down the content of an invoice in more

detail and this is what your invoice should include. See this as

a checklist should have your name or your business name, your contact

details, your client's name and their details. The invoice number,

make it unique and make it sequential. So something like a one,

maybe some letters to describe the client name and a number that goes

after that. Make sure you've got a date when the invoice is sent. More important,

selling for VAT purposes and tax purposes, date the invoice on the date

the job or the work was actually completed. Add onto the invoice the

due date for payment, a description of what you did, a breakdown of what

the client owes you. So perhaps for fees and for travel and any

materials that you might have expensed, the total amount due and how to make

payment. Whether you have payment go straight into your bank account, whether you take

credit cards, whether you've got facilities set up for that and the the consequence

of late payment terms. Keep it simple, keep it clean, keep

it professional. It shows not only do you take your own creative practice

seriously, but you've got respect for the client, you've got respect for yourself. Now,

a couple of tips to flag up. I would certainly recommend that at the beginning

of the conversations with the client, before the work is done, you clarified and

identified and communicated what those payment terms are. You've

clarified which department you need to send your invoice to. You may

need what's called a purchase order number. And your invoice is ultimately going to

reflect a conversation that you've hopefully had at the beginning before the work

was done. Now, how do we avoid that waiting game and getting paid

on time? Well, here's some thoughts to share with you. Number one,

invoice quickly. Ideally, when you complete the job, when you complete

the assignment, when you've delivered what you've been commissioned to do. Invoice

on that same day, or do it the next day, but do it as quickly

as possible. Clients count credit terms from when they received the

invoice, not from when you've done the job. Use an invoicing tool so there's

bundles of software out there. Xero is one of my personal favorites where you

can actually set them up, get the invoices generated and you can send them virtually

electronically. You can be sitting down, relaxing and sending your invoice via

your phone. Be clear with the terms set late fees you are

entitled as long as it's been agreed to have late payment

terms. That's optional. And at your discretion. And if they don't pay on

time, follow up. Don't delay. Do it politely, do it

kindly, but do it firmly and with conviction. You may find it

useful when you issue that invoice and if you've given 14 days to

pay that you follow up maybe seven days later just to check everything's

okay, they got the invoice correctly and all is fine. Now some

things to stop you from tripping up and getting that invoice rejected

or ignored. Avoid vague descriptions on your invoice. Do

include an invoice number. Don't miss it out. Don't introduce terms into your invoice

that weren't agreed in the beginning. Now points to reinforce Folks,

invoicing is a creative act of self respect. It's boundary setting.

It's valuing your time. You're asking to be paid, but it's an

ultimate document that actually tells your client what they owe

you, when to pay you. And if you don't have that money landing in your

bank account, you're going to find it very difficult to sustain your business on

promises. Remember, you're not just an artist and a creative, you are a

business. There's an exchange of services for money

and in my opinion that makes you a business. Invoice your clients

with confidence. A little handy tip here. When you send out that

invoice, you may wish to create a email address. Call it something like

Invoicing accounts at. So it indicates the client.

There's a separate section in your business to deal with it. But also

it means that you can actually filter and organize information that's

accounts related separate from your main communication thing. Now let's

have a bit of a recap. Invoices are payment requests and they act as

legal documents. They protect you and they illustrate and reinforce your

professionalism. They include the key information not only for you, but for your client.

Who, what, when and how much. Think about using tools to track,

remit and streamline. If not, use Word documents, Google Docs or

equivalent, but use something and get that out there as soon as

possible. Follow up firmly if the invoice hasn't been paid. Be kind,

but be confident. Well folks, I hope you found this useful. Why don't you check

out the show notes? Come and join us in the numbers. Know how Artists Community

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time, keep creating, keep thriving. And remember, plan it, do

it, and profit.