BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: What Do Your Invoicing Habits Say to Your Clients?
By Space Coast Daily // September 20, 2018
Have you thought about your invoicing habits recently? Are they potentially giving your clients a bad impression of your brand and business as a whole? If you haven’t considered this, now may be the time to do so.
What you think are standard invoicing procedures may be frustrating and challenging for your clients. For example, you may be sending invoices weekly or daily and consider this a safe and routine practice, when in truth you are actually undermining your own reputation.
There’s no question that it’s easy to fall into bad habits – especially when the process seems to be working fine. Even though your payments are coming in and clients keep hiring you, they may also be wishing you had an invoicing process that was more fluent and offered better payment routines. It’s these small issues that can begin to add up over time and eventually lead to clients who are unhappy and dissatisfied.
The good news is, there are steps you can take to avoid making invoicing mistakes that you may not have even realized are frustrating your clients. Keep reading to learn more.
Poorly Designed Invoices
If you have a poorly designed invoice, then it essentially says that you don’t care about your brand. The fact is, appearances matter. This is especially true when it comes to business.
If you have a cheap looking logo or an invoice template that isn’t designed well, then it’s going to have a negative impact on how your brand is perceived by customers. Even if you deliver excellent work, a poorly designed invoice can leave your clients wondering if they could find better products and services somewhere else.
However, if you make a smart looking invoice or use premade invoice templates from https://www.freshbooks.com/invoice-templates, you can reassure your clients that you are one of the best and that you have the experience to handle the task at hand.
No Personalization
If you don’t personalize your invoices, then clients may begin to think you don’t care about them.
While it’s a fact that invoicing can be boring and when you have several clients writing unique invoices for everyone can be tedious, it is still something you should do. If you choose to automate your invoicing process and send out generic invoices with only basic information for all clients, it may result in a bad impression.
This is going to result in your client feeling as though you don’t care about them and all you really want is to get paid and be done. Even if this isn’t true, it may be experienced by the client.
You can use your invoices to help further solidify your brand and create a great impression. Just include relevant information about unique projects or add some friendly messages. This will go a long way.
Late or Early Invoicing
If this happens on a regular basis, then you may be viewed as unprofessional. Most businesses are used to receiving invoices on a regular basis – as recipients and senders. They are used to this and expect you to do the same.
Make sure you send your invoice in accordance with the set timeframes. This will ensure you look the part of an experienced professional.
Don’t let your invoices or invoicing habits make a poor impression on your clients. Use the tips here to ensure you provide your clients with positive experiences and obtain their satisfaction.
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