Taking the Pain Out of Invoicing for Your Small Business
It’s exciting to strike out on your own — to be your own boss. You’re passionate about the product or service you offer and you delight in bringing on new business. However, there is more to building a business than making sales. It’s the backroom administration detail that often drives entrepreneurs crazy.
Last year, I hired a freelancer to do a project for me. She did a great job and I praised her work. Then I said, “Now be sure to send me your invoice so I can get you paid.” Months went by and I heard nothing from her. Finally, I called to remind her and she apologized and said she’d send it right away, which she did.
This scenario isn’t uncommon for new business owners. They wear so many hats that some of the tasks that aren’t so exciting like invoicing clients or paying bills get pushed to the back burner. When this happens, small business owners often get a rude awakening in the not-so-early days of the business.
Most entrepreneurs are creative visionaries and the operational aspects of running business aren’t their forte. However, managing your finances is imperative for a successful business. Here are some of the areas that every business owner needs to address in order to stay on top of finances:
- Cash,
- Inventory,
- Accounts receivable and payable, and
- Personnel. (This may not be necessary in the early days if you’re a solopreneur.)
To help you easily categorize your expenses, I recommend designating a credit card to be used for business purposes only. Your card statements will itemize each expenditure so you can see where and how you’re spending money.
Now, let’s talk about getting you paid. When I started my first business years ago, I used a word document and typed in all the necessary information and amounts for my clients. Then I’d drop it in the mail and wait.
Today, there are resources to make the invoicing process easy peasy so you won’t have any excuses for putting it off. For example, check out Invoice Home. You’ll find over 100 invoice templates from which to choose so you won’t have to create your own. Plus, you can add a click-to-pay button so your customers and clients can easily pay you through PayPal. No more excuses such as, “The check is in the mail.” Of course, you can still download a PDF of the invoice and do it the old fashioned way — snail mail.
The bottom line is while you love what you do, you work hard and you deserve to get paid in a timely fashion. Let Invoice Home help you build your business and watch your sales soar.
Editor’s Note: This is an Invoice Home sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.