How to Bill a Client for the First Time 5 Step Checklist

The third option is to use an all-in-one platform that helps you sell your services, and also takes care of the billing—such as Service Provider Pro. If you don’t rely on contracts and proposals because you’ve productized your services, our software makes selling your services much easier. Properly documented invoices serve as legal records of the services rendered and the agreed-upon payment terms.

• As you build a pattern of business with your clients, you’ll start to notice the areas of the contract that are the same each month and which still need consistent updates.
• Once you’ve decided on the right billing approach for your business, it’s time to create and send invoices to your clients.
• Follow this project management guide to learn how to successfully complete a project from beginning to end.
• Or you can use an automated billing system like invoicely to do this for you.

If you’re procrastinating about billing, then the upset is entirely predictable. A professional invoice is not just nicely designed, it also includes all necessary information. To ensure that you didn’t miss anything, make use of an invoice template that has been specifically designed for your country. Especially in Europe, invoicing rules are very strict, so make sure you follow the legislation. We have a blog post on time tracking for agencies, introducing you to multiple tools you could use to track the hours worked. With invoice timing varying based on client and project, don’t let yourself forget to send one.

Accept multiple forms of payment

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of how to bill your clients, let’s take a step back and look at the big picture. Rest assured that the task of getting paid isn’t complicated, but it does require you to be professional and consistent.

• With an automated electronic invoice system, you’ll lower the chances of fraudulent or duplicate invoices and make the entire process more transparent.
• First, you’ll need to create a free ReliaBills account, and you’re all set.
• Now, if this is a first-time client or the first time a payment was missed by an old client, then you should reach out to them to see what happened.
• If you want to get a credit report for a potential client or customer, you can always offer to pay for it or put in writing that you’ll pay them back after it’s requested and shared with you.
• Over time, you’ll create a process that allows you to quickly move through your invoices and send them out easily.
• This helps you avoid forgetting an invoice, and helps your regular customers to know when to expect it to arrive.

With the contract out of the way, the next step to bill a client is to create a template you can use every time for your invoicing activities. There are a multitude of free templates available for popular software, such as Microsoft Office that you can use. If you’re a macOS user, Apple Numbers includes an invoice template under the Business section that you can select from the file browser when you launch the app. An efficient billing process provides you with insights into your income patterns and client payment behaviors.

Mastering the Art of Invoicing

If your contract is missing an important component needed to promptly bill, you’ll need to go back to the client now – before your first invoice – and get clarification. Ideally, it would be good to have these new details in writing via a contract addendum or new legal agreement. If nothing else, a simple email where you both type out “I agree” in response to the payment terms is sufficient. There’s not a single way of billing for consulting services, but experts recommend combining different pricing methods, for instance project-based billing with hourly rates for out-of-scope work. Similar to an hourly rate invoice, a timesheet invoice is used to request payment based on time rather than quantity. The difference is, timesheet invoices also document time delegation with clock-in/clock-out fields.

Ways To Ensure You Get Paid by Customers and Clients

Keep in mind that you will have different contract agreements for each of your clients. This might be a spreadsheet, fillable client template, or customer portal like SPP. Here are some of the key things you need to keep in mind when it comes to client billing. Then, all you have to do is choose your client details (and set up your new client if you’re using Bonsai for the first time). Read on to see the five required steps to getting paid promptly from your freelance clients.

Send it to the right person

That’s why you should look to cut down the time that it takes to create one. An effective way to hasten the billing process is to have an invoice template in place. Once you’ve decided on the right billing approach for your business, it’s time to create and send invoices to your clients. If, after several attempts, you still where is inventory damage reflected on a cash flow statement aren’t paid, are given the run-around, or – worse yet – “ghosted” by a non-paying client, you do have some options. You may try going to the head of the company to inquire about payment status. Small claims court is also a valid route, although this can be difficult for clients living in a different state than you.

What is the client billing process?

It’s not just a singular process for sending out invoices but more of an integrated approach encompassing a variety of practices within a particular timeframe, say monthly, quarterly, or annually. When starting out, many small business owners might think that setting up contracts is too complicated, or that it requires more legal experience than what they have. However, contracts are necessary for billing your clients properly — and for ensuring that you receive payment for your services. Since you’re a freelancer and not affiliated with any company, you’ll need to create your invoice.

How to bill a client: the complete guide

That’s why managing client expectations doesn’t just stop at your skilled services or product offering, but how well you handle payments, billing, and pricing structures too. For instance, if you give a client around 30 days to pay, it will begin on the date that you send the invoice. So by waiting for 10 days to send your invoice, you’re now pushing the possible pay date to 40 days from the time the project was completed. That’s an incredibly long time and will encourage the client to put off your invoice until the last few days of that duration.