How do I… Design my invoices
A simple one, but also something that many get the details wrong for.
Designing your Detailing company’s invoice template is easy though if you follow these suggestions. Here’s our example with 12 essentials to feature on every invoice.
1: Your Logo – clients need to know who it’s from and your logo is the most recognisable part of your business. Brand it up to reflect your brand in the layout.
2: The word “INVOICE” – Literally, if you don’t have the word on it, it’s not legally an invoice and there’s no obligation to pay until an actual invoice is received!
3: Your address and company information – this could also include phone numbers, emails, etc, but we’ve put that further down the page.
4: Who the invoice is for, or the contact name – most useful when dealing with other businesses, but also makes them easier to trace from your accounting perspective.
5: Issue date, which is where the clock starts ticking on any payment due terms, and a unique invoice number for easy reference.
6: Service descriptions – this can be an itemised list of every service performed – but your invoices may end up as scrolls – or as simple as “valet as quoted” if you have a written quote to refer to.
7: Subtotal, everything you’ve listed above totalled up before any additions, deductions or taxes.
8: VAT total and the percentage charged – ONLY IF YOU ARE VAT REGISTERED. If you are not vat registered – don’t “include” it, don’t mention it, don’t reference it.
9: Your payment info. You can include PayPal addresses, Venmo details, and cheque addresees – just make sure they’re accurate and where you want the money.
10: Due date. Unless you are working with a client’s Purchase Order system, these should reflect your Terms and Conditions and either state payment due on receipt, or a day count of when the money is due.
11: Total due must be what you expect the client to pay after any adjustments and must be clearly stated at the end of the figures.
12: Legal details. If you run a limited company, all stationary should have your full company name and number. This is also a good place to add VAT numbers if you’re registered.
Get those details in and you’re at least running legal, and including all the information needed to get paid!
