Business

5 Easy Steps to Customize an Invoice Template for a New Client

Jai Bhatt

No matter what product or service is sold, it’s crucial that businesses have a clear, detailed, and professional invoice template. This template must be easy to update for every client and provide clear and concise payment details. This helps to streamline the invoicing process and to ensure your cash flow doesn’t get interrupted.

No matter the size of your business, your invoice must be professional. Remember, this is a legal document that states what you provided your client with and how much you need to get paid. If your invoices aren’t coherent, you could lose out on money owed to you and turn clients away from your business for future purchases.

Work with an Invoice Template

A template is the way to go for invoicing. Once set up, your template will help you to quickly and easily create invoices each time you need to send one out. All you have to do is open up your saved template and fill in the new details, rather than starting with a blank document or spreadsheet for every invoice.

Here’s how to work with an invoice template when you have new clients:

1. Include the Client’s Correct Details

Start with saving a copy of your established invoice template and labeling it for the specific client and job you’re working on. In the client details section, which should be at the top of your invoice, add in the following information:

  • Name of the company you’re invoicing (if relevant)
  • Name of the specific person you’re dealing with or who is responsible for payment
  • A physical address for the company or individual
  • Contact information – phone number and email address
  • The client’s VAT number (if they have one)

At this stage, if you know you’ll be invoicing the client regularly, you can always save a copy of this as a template for the client. Now, you’ll be saving yourself even more time whenever you need to furnish this client with an invoice.

2. Set Payment Options and Terms

Your business should already have established payment terms and methods for receiving payments. You can list all of these on your invoice template so that they’re clear to clients the moment they receive the document.

However, there might be clients or jobs that have very specific terms attached to them, or you’ve discussed something particular in the quoting phase of the job. It’s always best to have just those terms and options listed on the invoice, rather than your generic list. If you have all the options, your client might worry that you’ve forgotten about your prior agreement, or they might get upset that you haven’t tailored anything for them despite talking about it before invoicing.

3. Ensure You Have a Unique Tracking Code

A massive part of an effective invoicing system is a means of tracking each invoice. You should have a code that is unique to each invoice that you create. This will allow you to ensure that you can connect payments to specific invoices and chase invoices that are unpaid and past due.

When setting up your invoice for a new client, make sure that you edit the tracking code using your system. The simplest system is to start at the number one and keep going up as you create more and more invoices. No two invoices should have the same number.

Another option that helps you to keep your bookkeeping on track is to use an alpha-numerical system. Each client can have a unique code of letters—usually something to do with the company or person’s name. Then you can number each invoice uniquely, in addition to the letter code. If you’re using this option, be sure to set up a letter code that makes sense for the new client when creating their first invoice.

4. Set Up Taxes, Fees and Discounts

Your invoice template should already be set up to show tax and VAT (if applicable to you). You can either include it in your rates, or you can add it on separately; either per line item or as a lump sum at the end of the invoice.

You can also have standard options for fees like shipping if you have to send products to your client. This is a point that you need to check whenever you set up an invoice for a new client or a new job. If you’ve made a special arrangement prior to invoicing, this must be reflected in the invoice.

It’s also important to remember to apply any discounts that you may have discussed and agreed upon with the client upfront. It’s often best to show the full amount and then apply the discount on the invoice. This reminds the client that you’re delivering on your promise of a reduced rate.

5. Save Your Changes and Export the Invoice

Finally, you must always remember to save your changes. If you didn’t start step one by working with a copy of your invoice, be sure to save this finished invoice as a copy. This way, you’ll still have a clean template to work from for the next invoice.

The final part of the process is to export your invoice into a professional file format. Most people have come to expect an invoice to be sent as a PDF. If you’re working with a Word or Excel template, make sure you send your client a PDF rather than an editable file. If you’re working in accounting software, see what options they have for exporting the final invoice. You’ll probably find PDF right at the top of the list.

Set Your Business Up for Success

Now you know how to make an invoice for a new client when using a template, you can ensure that your billing processes are far more streamlined.

In the end, it all comes down to getting yourself set up in the right way and ensuring that you pay attention to the details for each client and each job that you work on. Doing so will make your business more efficient and help you to get paid on time. Plus, you’ll also appear more professional, and this will enhance the overall customer experience, encouraging them to purchase from you again.