What Should You Include on Your Invoice for Small Businesses?
The process of starting a small business has a lot of moving parts, so it may be tempting to avoid paying attention to the small details of your invoicing process – but this would be a big mistake. As your invoice will be how you get paid, you want to make sure to be as thorough as possible.
You may be confused about what to include because no two businesses are the exact same, therefore no two invoices will be the same. This can even be true for invoices that are created by the same company but are received by different clients (because the goods received and services rendered to different clients will always differ, at least slightly).
That being said, there are some staples that small business owners should always adhere to in order to ensure they send professional invoices.
Branding
Your invoice is an extension of your business and should therefore do its best to reflect your business’s brand. Be sure to stay consistent with any brand logos, fonts, colours, or wording within your invoice.
You can create custom invoices by adding your branding to keep your document looking professional.
Invoice header
The header should clearly state what the document is – an invoice. This point may seem obvious but it’s important the recipient knows exactly what the document is as soon as they open it. No one wants to receive a bill, and start questioning what it is and where it came from.
Alongside the header or right underneath it, you should include a unique invoice number. This way you can easily identify and keep track of each invoice, which will help you maintain an organised bank account and stay on top of cash flow. This will be especially useful if you send multiple invoices to the same client.
Personal information and recipient information
Your company invoice template needs to include your business’s personal information as well as your recipient’s.
Personal information:
- Your name
- Company name (if you’re a sole proprietor then you can just keep your name)
- Email address
- Address
- Telephone number
You may need to add the department and the contact information or person’s name if the recipient is dealing with a specific department within your company
Recipient’s Information:
- Recipient's name
- Recipient’s company name (and the specific department that is being addressed, if applicable)
- Recipient’s company address
- Recipient’s email address
- Recipient’s telephone number
Important dates and terms of agreement
Noting important dates in your invoice will help you and your client stay on the same page about the agreed-upon invoice payment terms. Important dates to include are:
- Issue date (the day the invoice was created)
- Project start date
- Project completion date
- Payment deadlines
- Date the client received any goods or services
- The due date of the invoice
If there are any specific conditions for early or late payments these should also be included in your business invoice.
Description of goods and services
Create a list of the goods obtained or services rendered. This list should be as detailed as possible to ensure there is no confusion as to what the client is paying for.
You can easily set up a list of your regular service using Google sheets or Google docs and then just copy and paste the relevant information into the invoice template. This will save time when you create invoices for your clients.
For example, instead of a general description such as “installation”, write down exactly what was installed, (software, T.V., air conditioning, etc), where it was installed, how many hours it took, and if there were any additional parts you needed to purchase for the installation.