Do you want your clients to remember you and request your services more than once? Do you also want them to pay on time?
Silly us — of course you do!
What if we told you that you can get recurring customers and on-time payments simply by changing your invoices?
Let’s take a look at how to make a professional invoice that drives customer loyalty in 3 foolproof steps.
Table of Contents
Step #1: Identify invoice type fit for your industry
First, you should know that not all invoices are created equal. Before figuring out how to write an invoice, you should determine the type of invoice. This way, you’ll know what invoice format you need and what information to include.
Here are some common types of invoices:
- Standard invoices — the most widespread invoice type that is suitable for most industries and billing methods,
- Pro forma invoices — used before the services have been provided to present a cost estimate,
- Timesheet invoices — used by service providers who bill hourly, and
- Recurring invoices — used when one fixed price is always offered for a particular service.
Creating invoices from scratch is a lot of admin work. However, invoicing is quick and easy with Clockify — a feature-packed time tracking and invoicing software.
As a powerful solution, Clockify gives you plenty of options to enter or import different elements so that you can adjust your invoice according to the type you need.
Clockify lets you:
- Insert business information,
- Add client details,
- Create custom fields (e.g. for expenses), and
- Import tracked time and expenses.
You only need to enter the data about your business and clients the first time. After that, client-related and all other information — including tracked expenses and hours — is easy to import.
By changing field names and creating custom fields, you can make your invoice fit any of the most common types in your industry.
On the other hand, if you need a template for a particular type of invoice, check out Clockify’s free invoice templates that include invoices like this one:
Step #2: Include only relevant information for faster payment
The key to creating a professional business invoice is to include all the relevant facts.
For illustration, an invoice that lacks important information leads to clients contacting you to ask for details.
Or worse — they may give up entirely and skip the payment this time around.
On the other hand, a lengthy, overly detailed invoice may deter clients from reading it. To avoid clients skipping crucial information, keep the invoice to one or two pages.
Thus, the invoice should be short with all the essential elements:
- Description of services provided,
- Your business name and address,
- Client’s name and address,
- Invoice number,
- Date of issuing the invoice,
- Payment due date,
- Subtotal,
- Tax, and
- Total amount due.
Having to remember to include all this data when creating each invoice isn’t practical and can lead to errors.
That’s where Clockify comes to the rescue.
With Clockify, you’ll never forget to insert crucial details again.
The app’s interface is straightforward and intuitive, and it asks for relevant information when you’re creating the invoice, including:
- Client,
- Currency, and
- Issue and due dates.
💡 CLOCKIFY PRO TIP
If you want to learn about someone else’s experience of invoicing with Clockify, you can read about how Rachael McDiarmid, the Director of RM Marketing Services, uses the popular invoicing and time tracking software:
Step #3: Design your invoice to make it compelling
If you use a generic invoice format for all clients, this proves to the client that you’re not serious about your business.
And if you don’t care enough about your brand, why should they?
Customizing your invoices is an effective way to have your brand stand out. If you have a particular layout clients can associate with your brand, they’re more likely to remember you when they need similar services again.
Clockify’s invoice templates are easy to edit, so you can adjust them according to your needs and preferences hassle-free.
If you opt to generate your invoices using Clockify, you can easily:
- Attach your logo,
- Change label names, and
- Choose what field you want to be displayed
If you work with international clients, you’ll need your invoices to be translated. With Clockify, you can quickly add translations of all the fields you would like to include in your invoice. Simply type in the translation for each field name and it will show up on the invoice.
Furthermore, if you’d like to make use of the invoicing feature in Clockify, you need to subscribe to the Standard plan. Take a look at what Standard plan in Clockify also has to offer, besides Invoicing:
Finally, don’t miss to check out our newest bundle plan, offering Clockify with 2 more apps at a special price.
Clockify: Create powerful invoices with ease
As you can see, invoicing doesn’t have to be a complex, time-consuming task — not when you have Clockify.
This time tracker is an all-around solution that makes creating, designing, and sending invoices a breeze.
Enter relevant information only the first time, and easily add, import, and edit entries afterward.
And just like that, all your invoices will have a professional-looking, recognizable format that drives customer loyalty.
