Did you know that designing your invoices properly can help boost your business? According to global data, an invoice is one of the most powerful sales tools for small businesses. It’s estimated that over 75% of companies in the world issue invoices on a regular basis. For some people, it may be difficult to understand how an invoice would affect their business, but when you consider all of the benefits associated with them, they become more clear. We’ll walk through what makes up a proper invoice and why it helps your company!
What is an invoice and how to create one?
An invoice is a document that must be sent to the client after goods or services are provided. A properly designed invoice will include certain details, such as:
- The name of your company and contact information.
- Details about the service/product you’re offering.
- Terms and conditions for payment (also known as terms and conditions).
- Information on how much money your customer owes in total.
While there isn’t an official rule on what needs to go onto every single invoice, we recommend including all of these items so nothing gets missed when sending out invoices! You can even add additional sections if they’ll help with billing concerns. There’s also no standard layout that should be used for an invoice, so feel free to use a free invoice generator that can help you to create an invoice in minutes. On the other hand, you could always design your own invoice if you have the time. It’s not difficult to do so, but it does take up some of your time in order to create a high-quality document.
The best thing about invoices is that they’re incredibly versatile and can be used for many different purposes! If someone doesn’t pay their bill on time or refuses payment altogether, an invoice serves as legal documentation regarding the service/product received by the customer.
Why does it matter how my invoice looks?
While you might not think an invoice is a significant sales tool for your business, it’s actually one of the most powerful ones out there. It has the ability to impress potential customers and make them see that they’re dealing with a company that cares about their image! You can show this by designing an attractive, legible invoice every time you send one out because people will want to do business with companies that value quality products.
An invoicing system should also be clear when receiving payment from clients in order to avoid unnecessary delays or questions regarding bills already paid or outstanding debts owed. This can all be avoided if you take some time to create well-designed invoices on a regular basis! They’ll help boost your overall reputation as a business, along with your bottom line.
While it might seem like a tedious task to create invoices on an ongoing basis, you can always use invoice templates for small businesses that are free and easy to download online! There’s no reason not to take advantage of the benefits associated with them when they’re available for everyone.
How to design a good-looking invoice?
Start with a clean design and use a modern font. Avoid using too many colors, just pick your main color and go with it. Try out different layouts of the invoice to see what fits best for your company on which one can be easily read by everyone working in your office.
Your logo should be visible on every page of the invoices. This will make it easier for customers to recognize them while filing their taxes or looking up some information about your business later down the road. If possible add also an image of yourself: people like doing business with other people that they know, not only companies but individuals as well!
It’s good practice to include all relevant info such as bank details (IBAN), VAT number, address, etc – perhaps even your social media profiles. This way people can find you quickly and easily in order to get in touch if they want to talk about their invoice or perhaps even engage in a business discussion further down the line.
Give it all some color, play around with fonts and layouts until you come up with something eye-catching yet not distracting – only then should you go ahead and print out several copies of your invoices so that everyone involved has them ready for work.
The benefits of having a well-designed invoice
A well-designed invoice can be very beneficial to your business for several reasons. First of all, having a more professional looking document will show that you are serious about your work and know what you’re doing in terms of finance and accounting – this is something customers look at when they decide on who to do business with since it reassures them that their money won’t go towards the wrong hands.
Secondly, adding relevant info such as bank details (IBAN), VAT number, or address helps people locate your company faster while filing taxes or perhaps even contacting you if they want some further information regarding an individual invoice.
Thirdly, including social media profiles makes it easier for customers to get in touch which allows everyone involved with the invoices to easily engage in business discussions later down the line. And lastly, color and font combinations can make your invoices easier for everyone working at your company to handle thus making their job more effective.
How to format your invoice so it’s easy to read
A well-formatted invoice is easy to read. In general, it’s best practice to have a large summary of what was sold or bought at the very top, then details about the item(s), and finally payment methods and other necessary info such as bank account numbers, etc.
Include also your logo on every page for recognition purposes – people like doing business with companies they recognize. Use simple yet attractive fonts that can be easily seen by everyone working in your office while adding color wherever possible without distracting from any important information included on the document (e.g., company name, address, IBAN number).
As you can see, there are many benefits to having a well-designed invoice. By following these tips and applying them to your own invoices, you will be able to create an eye-catching document that will help drive sales for your business.
