Invoicing for self-employed professionals: simple and clear
As a self-employed professionals there will always be activities that you would rather not do, but that are an important part of your company. Invoicing is one of them. It may not be the most exciting part of your business, but it is an important one. It enables you to earn money from your work. How can you easily and clearly arrange invoicing as a self-employed professional? Below are some tips.
Create and send invoices
An invoice is proof of delivery for your customer and proof of payment for you. It is important that your invoices meet the legal requirements. In any case, they must contain the following information:
– Your full company name and address
– Your Chamber of Commerce number
– Your VAT number
– Invoice number and invoice date
– Name and address of the customer
– Description of the services or products
– Price without VAT
– VAT value
– Amount including VAT
There are several programs available that allow you to create and send invoices. Think, for example, of programs such as e-Bookkeeping, Moneybird and InvoiceHippo. You can also use an invoice template in Word or Excel. This can be useful if you only need to send an invoice occasionally.
Send invoices on time
It is important to send invoices on time. This gives the customer the opportunity to pay on time. A payment term of 14 or 21 days is common. Please note that if the payment term has expired, you can send a reminder. If a customer hasn’t paid after two reminders, you can send a dunning letter.
Automate your billing process
As a self-employed professional, you are probably busy enough with your work. It is nice if you can partly automate the invoicing process. For example, you can use an ‘auto invoice’ function. This allows you to set a number of default settings, after which invoices are automatically generated. This can be useful, for example, if you have regularly recurring assignments.
Conclusion
Invoicing is an important part of your business. It is important that you send invoices on time, that they meet the legal requirements and that they are clear. By using invoicing programs and automating your invoicing process, you can easily and conveniently arrange invoicing. This way you have more time for your work as a self-employed professional.