6 Invoicing Hacks That Will Save You Countless Hours

Regardless of the size of your business, invoicing is a crucial part of getting revenue. However, the larger you get, and the more clients you have, the more time-consuming this process can be.

There are ways that you can make your invoicing more effective, ensuring you get the most from your time investment, without potentially missing out on key revenue.

Here are six invoicing hacks that will save you time and stress:

Recurring invoices

One of the easiest ways to reduce the amount of time you spend on invoicing is to set up recurring invoices for clients that get regular work. This works best if you do the same work for your client each month, charged at the same rate. However, even if there are slight amendments, the idea can still save you time. Create a number of templates where you put in the work most commonly delivered and then you can fill in the specific amounts when the invoice needs to be sent out.

Automating payment reminders

Not being paid on time can be incredibly detrimental to a small company, so reminding people is often a part of the invoicing process. Taking time out of your day to follow up on invoices can be disruptive and frustrating, especially if you're unable to get hold of the person you need to process the payment. Instead, automate your invoices so that reminders are set up automatically after X number of days after their payment is due.

This should include a polite message to remind them their invoice is now overdue and any late payment fees you have. Often clients will have forgotten about it and one reminder is enough to get the bill paid.

Integrate where possible

Depending on what invoicing software you use, you can integrate various other systems, including time logged. Businesses that operate on an hourly rate will benefit most from this as it can be time-consuming to input all this data manually, as well as opening you up to errors. Having your invoicing software automatically collect this information from your time management software can save you a lot of time.

Turn quotes into invoices

Your invoicing software probably has a feature that will allow you to transform the bespoke quotes you send over to clients into invoices to charge for the work delivered. This can save businesses a huge amount of time, and ensures that the work being billed is accurate to the quote given at the start of the project.

This not only saves you time by preventing you from creating multiple documents, but also reduces the risk of you having to double check what was quoted if a client raises a query.

Use branding

People are more likely to pay invoices that carry your company's branding. Not only does it make the document seem more genuine and professional, but it makes it a lot more engaging to look at. No one wants to look at a boring text document so make sure you have an aesthetically-pleasing invoice template that clearly states the amount due and showcases your branding.

Offer incentives

Offering a 5% discount to clients that pay before their deadline can be an effective way of ensuring you get paid, as well as saving you time by not having to chase them up. You could also give people certain benefits if they're looking to adopt a longer payment term, such as quarterly instead of monthly. This guarantees you an income while you carry out the work and allows you to have more freedom when it comes to paying third-parties or staff wages.