How to write an Invoice in 2020?

The most difficult part for many people when working out how to write an invoice is knowing where to start. Whether you’re trying to find out how to write an invoice for freelance work or how to write an invoice for self-employed contracts, this guide will help you uncover how to write up an invoice that includes all of the necessary details in a clear and modern way.

1. Create your invoice – be professional

The purpose of your invoice is to relay that you, a professional, have completed work or an order for a customer, and so, you are due an agreed-upon payment. When it comes to how to write up an invoice, the best advice is to always be professional and clear in the text.

2. Mark your invoice

For an invoice to hold validity, you have to start with the basic step of clearly writing ‘invoice’ at the top of the document. When thinking of how to write an invoice, always start with the word being placed prominently in the header or as the sole header.

Another important section to include when working out how to write an invoice for freelance work is invoice identification. The identification needs to be included in the document and your records. It can be anything that’s as simple as a serialization of numbers, or it can include numbers and letters to form a number that abbreviates customer name, job type, date, and overall invoice number into one code.  

3. Add business name and information

As you would assume, even if you’re wondering how to write up an invoice, you have to include formal details regarding yourself, the customer, and your business or company:

• Start with the name of your company or business, even if it is just your name, followed by your address and contact details – most likely your email address and/or phone number;
• Next comes your client’s details, including their company name, address, and their contact details;
• Finish up this section with the registered address of your office and your company’s registration numbers.

4. Description of the goods or services provided

Of course, any good how to write an invoice guide includes a section where you detail the goods or services provided. In this section, be very clear about the work completed or goods provided, including any other additional information that influences the invoice also being clearly written.

5. Write the dates

Be sure to include all of the important dates concerning your interactions with your customer or client. These dates can include: when the job was booked or goods were ordered; when the work started or the goods were sent; when work was completed or when goods arrived. If applicable, add a final date for when the job was signed-off as completed by the customer.

6. Cost of the job and money owed

When it comes to the purpose of an invoice, nothing is more important to the self-employed or a freelancer than the money owed. Some people will just write one line of money owed in here, but this guide for how to write an invoice suggests that you include details of the charges, including VAT, if applicable, and preferably in easy-to-read, bullet-point form. For example:

• Cost of item: £100
• Cost of delivery: £7
• VAT charges: £20

Total due: £127

To ensure that there isn’t any dispute from the customer or client, it’s always best to be clear when denoting how much you are charging them and why.

7. Payment terms

This section will have been completed before you even started thinking about how to write an invoice as you will have agreed to payment terms with the client beforehand. These details will include aspects such as the timeframe for the payment, how the payment should be made, and other factors that influence money due. Even though this was agreed prior to work commencing, include it in your invoice for good measure.

Get it automated

There’s a reason why you’ve searched how to write an invoice, and it’s because it’s a cumbersome but necessary part of being self-employed. But there is an easier way, one which streamlines the process of writing these documents, and it comes in the form of an invoice app. To help you in this necessary task, you can get billing software for small business needs, which do much of the work for you to grant you more time to crack on with work or enjoy more free time.

There you have it: your how to write an invoice for self-employed persons guide. We hope it helps!