A Sparky's refresher to invoicing

gazza — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 23:00:00 +0000

gazza Mon, 03/06/2013

Whether you’re a sparky who has seen everything or new to the game creating your Invoices can still be tricky. Many sole traders and small companies struggle with paperwork and what exactly needs to be included. So we’ve put together a simple list for you to know exactly what you SHOULD include, and what you MUST include on your electricians invoices.
Here is what you SHOULD include -
Presentation - Gone are the days where a hand written invoice is the norm. customers appreciate a well presented piece of paperwork, and it gives a great impression of your company (along with the good work of course). You can easily set up a template in Word to help you save a bit of time doing this.
A company email address -They’re easy to set up, it gives one contact point for your customers to email, and you look professional – all from a free email account!
Your payment details -Not only does this speed up the process of payment for you, but again gives the impression of a well oiled machine that is your business.
Logo -It doesn’t have to be fancy, but you’d be surprised at how much of an impression this makes on your customers.
Due date of payment - It shows you mean business, and you run your company like one too. So make sure you clearly set out a proper payment schedule to each and every one of your customers (even if it’s a standard one you blanket use for all of them).
Here are a list of what you MUST include if you’re VAT registered:
The amount of VAT on each line of the invoice and the VAT rate charge
OR
The total amount of VAT on the invoice and the rate of VAT applied to all items
Your VAT number
If you’re a limited registered company you MUST include your company name
The time of supply (also known as tax point) if this is different from the invoice date
And here is just one last tip for you – stick the 5 MUST include rules for your invoices on a post-it note (if you're VAT registered), and put it somewhere on your desk. So the next time your invoicing for a client you can easily whip it out and know exactly what you need to include!
Stick to these tips and you'll soon be creating your invoices with no trouble!
About YourTradeBase
YourTradeBase is a professional tool for tradesmen and electricians that takes care of paperwork and job management. Originally set up in 2009 and co founded by a tradesman who was finding it difficult to deal with paperwork, YourTradeBase has dealt with over £2 million worth of invoices being sent out to customers. It truly is a tool created by a tradesman for tradesman.
As a special offer for My Local Electrician readers YourTradeBase are offering an extended 45 Day FREE trial, simply use the code MYLOCAL45 when you sign up.

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