By 
If you’re a small business owner, you know the importance of proper invoicing. However, manually creating invoices can take a lot of time that you could spend on your business. Invoice templates can help streamline this process by outlining the necessary fields you should include in an invoice. Additionally, you can customize these templates to reflect your small business brand better. Let’s review some ways you can create the perfect invoice template for your organization.
Elements to consider when creating a custom invoice template
Keep these factors in mind as you customize your invoice templates:
Branding
When you start creating an invoice, you’ve already closed a sale. However, what’s not guaranteed is that your customer will remember your business for future purchases. Branding is an essential tool for small business invoice templates because it can build loyalty and increase customer recognition.
Ensure that your invoice includes these branding elements:
- Logo — The logo is the foundation of your brand identity. It helps grab attention and can make a strong impression on your customers to foster brand loyalty.
- Tagline — Your tagline lets you quickly and efficiently sum up what your business entails. It helps capture customers’ attention by stating a benefit or advantage you have over your competitors.
- Brand colors —The colors you use in your invoice should match your brand’s color scheme. Don’t use too many colors because it can make your invoice look cluttered and unprofessional.
- Font — Similar to colors, the font on your invoice template should match your brand’s font. This helps provide consistency and enhance readability.
- Voice and tone — An invoice is a form of communication between your business and your customer, so ensure to display your brand’s voice and tone. For example, avoid being too formal in your invoice if you want to convey a fun tone.
Ultimately, these elements can provide a consistent customer experience and improve your chances of future purchases and referrals.
Content
Your invoice should include all the necessary details to ensure it’s clear and easy to understand. These essential components include:
- Invoice number — You should assign an invoice number for each invoice your business issues. This number helps establish a paper trail of information for your business and customers’ accounting records. The best way to assign invoice numbers is to go in sequential order so the number on each new invoice is higher than the last.
- Date — Ensure your invoice has the time and date when you officially recorded the transaction and billed the customer. The invoice date is important because it outlines the due date and credit duration.
- Business contact information — In your invoice, you should provide your business name, address, phone number, email address, website, and your client’s or buyer’s information. This makes it easy for your customers to contact you with any questions or concerns.
- Description of goods and services — Enter a clear description of the products or services your business provided to a customer as a line item on your invoice. Be sure to include the price and quantity for each line item, add all the line items, and apply any tax charges at the bottom of the invoice.
- Payment terms — Ensure to include payment terms and instructions on your invoice template because this helps let your customer know when and how they should pay. Typically, the due date is 30 days after the invoice date, but this can differ depending on your organization’s needs and the agreement with your client or customer. You can also include terms on how you accept payments. For example, you can offer partial payments over time or request immediate payment upon completion.
Layout
There’s no one-size-fits-all invoice template. In fact, there are several different types of industry-specific templates, such as freelancer invoices, service invoices, product invoices, attorney invoices, commercial invoices, and more. Fortunately, many online services offer invoice templates with your industry in mind, so you can easily customize your template to meet your organization’s needs.
Regarding the template layout, your invoice should be easy to read. It’s best to avoid clutter and keep the design simple with a clear, well-defined structure. On top of that, ensure your template reflects your business by following your brand’s color scheme and ensuring the text size and font style are consistent throughout the invoice, among other branding standards.
Personalization
According to research from McKinsey & Company, 71% of consumers expect businesses to deliver personalized interactions, and 76% of them get frustrated when this doesn’t happen.
An invoice is an excellent way to add a personal touch to customer interactions. Most invoice templates provide a section where you can include a message or comment. Instead of leaving this area blank, consider writing your customer a special note thanking them for their business. Even if it’s a simple “Thank you, (name),” it’ll show them they’re a valued customer, not just a transaction.
You can also use this section for marketing your business. For example, you could offer a 10% discount on future orders or referrals or ask them to leave a review that you could put on your website. Invoices aren’t just a way to keep track of your business transactions. They’re a line of communication between you and your customers. When you focus on branding, content, layout, and personalization, you can create a professional invoice template that perfectly reflects your brand, enabling you to build your small business and increase customer recognition. The best way to create and manage your invoices is to use online software, which allows you to easily generate invoice templates, streamline credit card processing, and store your invoices in a secure location in case of an IRS audit
Comments