We often hear clients complain about not receiving payments on time, but sometimes this issue comes down to the invoice that was sent in the first place. By avoiding these common invoicing mistakes, you can ensure that any outstanding invoices are paid on time and that you’ll never have the issue of unpaid invoices again. If you do have issues with invoice collection, our team will be here to help at any time to ensure you receive the payment you deserve.
Invoice Immediately After the Work is Completed
The biggest invoicing mistake you could make is not invoicing straight away after the work is completed. Once you have provided the other company or individual with the goods or services they requested, you need to create an invoice and send it over to them. A delay at this stage of the process will delay their payment, and it’s one of the top reasons that companies don’t receive payments on time. You only have yourself to blame for late payments if you are slow at sending invoices, so keep this in mind at all times.
Check Personal Details
If you send an invoice to the wrong address or email address, you are never going to be able to receive your payment. When you rush an invoice, you might find that you make small errors that could stop the recipient from receiving their invoice on time. When you are working with hundreds of customers, it can sometimes be easy to mess up addresses, but this is something you need to avoid at all costs. If you are unsure about the address, simply confirm it with your contact before completing the invoice to ensure that it’s the current address they are using. You also risk huge trouble if you share personal details with someone else about one of your clients, so make sure you avoid this for that reason too.
Invoice the Correct Person
In a huge multinational company, you’ll need to know exactly who you are meant to be sending the invoice to. Many managers and executives won’t have the time or energy to deal with an invoice, even if they are the person you’ve been working with until this point. Ensure you address your invoice to the requested person so that they can follow their company’s procedures to ensure you are paid on time. If you don’t send an invoice to the correct individual, you’ll often find that it gets around for a long time until the invoice is overdue.
Tell Your Customer the Payment Deadline
One of the most important pieces of information to add to your invoice is when it needs to be paid. When you don’t include your credit terms, you aren’t supporting yourself if you have to charge a late invoice payment. This information needs to be placed in a position on the invoice where it can’t be missed, and it’s best to offer your client an exact date that they need to pay the invoice. You’ll protect yourself by adding this to all of your invoices, and you’ll notice a huge improvement in the number of unpaid invoices.
Double Check the Amount You Are Charging
One of the reasons that we often see delays in invoicing payment is that the amount that’s being charged isn’t clear or correct. When it comes to writing the perfect invoice, you’ll need to ensure the numbers are always correct, and you can break them down if you are charging for multiple services or products. Make sure you always use the correct currency or show the converted rate clearly if you are working with an international company. This will stop any back and forth in the future that could result in outstanding invoices. You’ll all need to ensure you don’t add on any costs that weren’t discussed upfront, as this will only work to make your clients upset and less likely to pay on time.
Follow Up on Unpaid Invoices
You can’t expect your clients to read your mind when it comes to an unpaid invoice, so you need to follow up when you are approaching your deadline. You might find that the original invoice was never received, which could be the reason that it was never paid. Make sure you have a process in place for unpaid invoices in your company and that you offer them a quick call when it’s getting to the deadline. Usually, you’ll find this will prompt the invoice collection and resolve the issue without having to take any further action.
If you find yourself struggling with invoice collection, we encourage you to contact our team today, call 0330 229 1991 or email memberbenefits@directroute.co.uk. We’ll be happy to help you chase up unpaid invoices and take that difficult conversation out of your hands to ensure you receive your payment on time every time.