Invoicing - new start up

[MarcusM]

Hi there,

Starting a new telemarketing business - What is the best way to invoice clients? or how do i invoice clients?

What information needs to be provided on my invoice?

Kind regards,

 

[Scalloway]

All you need to know from uk.gov

https://www.gov.uk/invoicing-and-taking-payment-from-customers/invoices-what-they-must-include

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

Hi there,

Starting a new telemarketing business - What is the best way to invoice clients? or how do i invoice clients?

What information needs to be provided on my invoice?

Kind regards,

My advice is to get a good accounting package that includes invoicing; it'll save a lot of time, makes sending invoices much quicker and also enables you to chase unpaid invoices quickly. Accounts Portal is one of many which is great for invoicing.

 

[godoit]

I use quickfile (free) and match it with stripe for card payments. it works fine for me. you get to put your own logo on the invoice and details and it has an option to email it out for you.

 

[James@6rfTV]

For me, I use FreeAgent a web based accounting platform which is very reasonable (£15+VAT) per month for a sole trader. It is very powerful at not just generating invoices but accounting your expenses and working out your self-assesment

 

[MindTheMac]

I use wave accounting (Free) and has the same features as quickfile that Simon suggested (stripe for card payments, own logo and details on the invoice, both email and print option and options to accounting your expenses. It also connects to your bank and pulls transactions! which is handy

 

[CMS Medical]

Agree that both Quickfile and Wave are very good and are quite powerful programmes and the fact they are free makes it even better.

It all depends on your requirements though. If you are looking for all singing and all dancing features you would need to go down the premium route, however if it simply an invoice for each transaction then the free options are perfect.

 

[garyk]

I use accountsportal something 9/10 quid a month, does invoicing and VAT returns.

 

[Dynumo]

I currently use excel for invoices

I might be moving to xero soon though. I would advise you avoid sageone, it's rubbish.

 

[cloudbooks]

Give a try to cloudbooks it will surely fulfill your all expectations. Billing Software + Invoicing Software + Invoicing Management is an online invoicing & accounting software for small businesses and freelancers. It helps you take care of online invoicing, time tracking, payment tracking, sending estimates, expense tracking, client management, client portal, and online payments via credit card or PayPal.
Features of CloudBook :-
1. Online Invoicing
2. One-Click Time Tracking
3. Online Payments
4. Send Estimates for Approval
5. Track and Bill Expenses
6. Automated Invoice Reminders
Whether you are a contractor working alone of the head of a blossoming agency, Cloudbooks’ unbeatable qualities offer the flawless time tracking and online invoicing capabilities that every company needs.

 

[create]

I use word and make invoices myself. Works for me.

 

[willv]

Just to throw another one in the mix, I use Kashflow because it was recommended by my accountant. He can login at the year end to pull down all the info he needs, and as an added bonus it also integrates into Opencart which I'll be paying a hefty fee for in the near future

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

For me, I use FreeAgent a web based accounting platform which is very reasonable (£15+VAT) per month for a sole trader. It is very powerful at not just generating invoices but accounting your expenses and working out your self-assesment

Its very good but I think £200 a year is a bit much for a sole trader or new start up . We still want Marcus to be here in 5 or 10 years time and this budget if it is there could be better used

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

I use word and make invoices myself. Works for me.

I tend to find a few people will start with Excel or Word but it generally soon becomes cumbersome and time consuming.

Have you taken a look at FreshBooks - I've got a few clients who use that.

 

[HazelC]

Have a chat with Sam White of My Credit Controllers, she did a presentation yesterday with a superb hand out of what you should put on your invoice =- really useful!

 

[Krystsina]

Hey there, you might be interested in giving a try to an online invoicing software InvoiceBerry. I believe that for you being a beginner of dealing with invoices it is very important to use a very simple tool. InvoiceBerry is user-friendly and may help you to create professionally looking invoices adding your company logo and all company information. There is a completely free 30 days trial version + a plan Forever Free that doesn't require any financial investments. So if you think it can suit your needs, check it out.

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

Hey there, you might be interested in giving a try to an online invoicing software InvoiceBerry. I believe that for you being a beginner of dealing with invoices it is very important to use a very simple tool. InvoiceBerry is user-friendly and may help you to create professionally looking invoices adding your company logo and all company information. There is a completely free 30 days trial version + a plan Forever Free that doesn't require any financial investments. So if you think it can suit your needs, check it out.

This post is over a year old I think the OP will have got some software in place by now

 

[Krystsina]

All right, I'm quite new here so didn't check the date But well, who knows, maybe the person haven't found the perfect invoicing software yet

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

All right, I'm quite new here so didn't check the date But well, who knows, maybe the person haven't found the perfect invoicing software yet

That is of course possible, unlikely but possible

I also wouldnt by any means say InvoiceBerry is the perfect solution either but I guess you do as you've recommended it on numerous posts today.

 

[Krystsina]

Well, by saying "perfect" I mean perfect for the needs of the person. I wouldn't call any software "perfect" as it all depends on specific needs of a specific person/company, so I'm trying to skip such judgements on finding out what is the best/perfect/incredible and so on (sorry, don't have or see the button to reply directly to you under the post ).

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

Well, by saying "perfect" I mean perfect for the needs of the person. I wouldn't call any software "perfect" as it all depends on specific needs of a specific person/company, so I'm trying to skip such judgements on finding out what is the best/perfect/incredible and so on (sorry, don't have or see the button to reply directly to you under the post ).

I wouldnt say it perfectly suits the OP.

Again to duplicate my response to one of your many recommendations today -

I see two disadvantages to InvoiceBerry -

1. If you use invoice only software you duplicate work in that you use one package to create invoices, and another to record them and maintain full accounting records, and

2. In the case of InvoiceBerry looking at pricing the unlimited clients, which I suspect most small business will need, it's more expensive that really good full accounting software.

Can I ask do you work for InvoiceBerry or have any connection to the company?

 

[Krystsina]

And yes, I'm not trying to hide that I work for InvoiceBerry if you are trying to find it out But I believe that there is nothing bad in letting the person know about the existence of such an option. I'm not here to spam or so but just to help people. There is a question of the person who is asking for some suggestions - so why not to help him/her? Plus I use this software myself, and as a person (not a worker) I find it very convenient for my own needs of keeping the work done quickly with my invoices.

About your questions:

1) I completely agree with what you say but here is one thing I would like to say. InvoiceBerry or many other invoicing softwares are for those who don't want to work with accounting software or find it too complicated. There are many cases when a business owner prefers to keep a track on invoices through the year and then keep the accountancy part for his accountant.

2) Well, I believe that every business owner can decide by himself/herself how valuable it is. Someone may find it expensive, but we have some clients who say that they could pay more for the product they get. So it is very subjective, but of course, your opinion has the right to exist, and I don't have anything against it.

Hope I replied to your questions

P.S. I'm new to this forum so I didn't have time to figure out how to put a signature that I'm not that independent from InvoiceBerry, but still, I explain my position

 

[Pish_Pash]

Edit: Just read the comments about how long the thread has been running - oops!

I would strongly recommend going with a package that will fulfil your future needs (because it's a real bind to move accounts software once you're up to your neck in it...not impossible, but certainly needs a lot of thought/effort). The problem is when you're starting out, you don't know what your future needs are ...for example if I'd heard the term ODBC compliant few years back, I'd have given a blank stare, but any accounts software must be ODBC compliant for my own way of working...your mileage will vary.

QuickBooks ticks a lot of boxes for many & tends to be fair value for money...I really like Xero, but it's a pretty penny (& the Xero extensions I'd needs are subscription based too - therefore they can 'go away quickly' in my opinion)

 

[gg12]

Well there is 'perfect' of course. I have developed my invoicing software myself, it suits very well my business pattern, and fits all my requirements. On top I can make any further changes, without being bound to specific platform.

 

[Pish_Pash]

Well there is 'perfect' of course. I have developed my invoicing software myself, it suits very well my business pattern, and fits all my requirements. On top I can make any further changes, without being bound to specific platform.

Which sounds suspiciously like you blowing your own trumpet...but I'll tell you why it's not perfect - it's not perfect because it cost you your time, & some people are very time poor, therefore it's not perfect.

 

[gg12]

You are joking right? It did not cost me so much time to build (few days), and as it does "everything" I need, it had paid itself off tremendously over the 3 years being used. Keep in mind I am certified developer with 14+ years of experience.
All the existing packages give you what works for 80% of the people 80% of the time, and not what "you" need. Thus you need to fit someone elses vision into your workflow. And this takes time, which for "time poor" people, actually means extra cost.