The Simple Secret That Makes Clients Happy To Pay Your Invoices…Quickly.
I used to get a feeling when I would send my final invoices.
It was a scary feeling.
A nervous feeling.
My mind would reel with all the questions.
Would the client question my final invoice number?
Would they question the amount of work I had done?
Would they want a discount? Or worse, refuse to pay?
My worst fear happened in 2018.
I sent an invoice and the client didn’t want to pay it.
They had questions. They didn’t believe it had taken as long as it did for me to do the work I wasn’t invoicing for.
It was a terrible feeling. It made my imposter syndrome go crazy.
But here is the thing.
It wasn’t their fault. It was mine.
I had essentially sent an invoice that looked something like this.
| Work | Amount | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Website | ............................................. | .......................................... | $XXXX. XX |
The problem with sending invoices that look like this, is that when you do, it is as if you are expecting your customers to understand all the steps, all the hours, all the work that goes into your service.
When my client questioned my invoice, a phone call where I explained the complexities and many steps of what I did quickly remedied the problem and the invoice was quickly paid.
This was a valuable learning experience and one I never wanted to happen again.
So now, I list each step in my process on the invoice.
Did I have to resize and optimize images? Then I list it.
Did I write sales copy or micro copy? Then I list it.
Did I have to spend 2 hours on the phone with Godaddy customer service because of something they had done….then I list it.
If I did it….THEN I LIST IT.
The result? I’ve never had a client question a final invoice again.
When they see the work that goes into what I do my invoices get paid quickly.
Listing everything you do gives value to your job.
The customer then appreciates that they didn’t have to do the long list of steps to get a gorgeous website. All they had to do was pay an invoice. Easy Peasy.
Wondering what service I use for invoicing?
I use Dubsado for my proposals, contracts, and invoicing.
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