Invoicing advice

Our Client Management guru Hannah Richards discusses invoicing in her latest blog.

It may sound easy and something you don’t feel you need any help with but your invoice says a lot more about you than you think!

Everything email you send, every letter you write tells the receiver about your ability to manage yourself and therefor your life. We all communicate depending on the level of stress we are under and if you are really busy, your emails probably don’t start with….Dear Graeme, thank you kindly for your email, ….. but rather a short, sharp answer to the question in hand with all accessory questions ignored. Sound familiar? We take this into account periodically but if the later style of communication is dominant you had better re think your communication skills.

Invoices are no exception. There is a protocol and etiquette to efficient invoicing. I find invoicing rather sexy! You are about to get paid for the work that you love, to spend however you want!

If figures get you going then you probably look forward to the last day of the month when you fire off your neatly organized, perfectly formed invoice so that the receiver can pay it immediately and that’s the key. If you send an invoice that looks the part then it gets paid on receipt. Here is what an employee is looking for!

Guidelines for writing an invoice:

1. A separate invoice document – Sounds obvious but I have received invoices in the body of emails, with only a fee and an account number!

2. Display your company name at the top centre of the page. If working as an independent contractor without a formal company, use your legal name.

3. Invoice reference and number
This is vital for the ease of payments. There needs to be a different number for each invoice.ie MTS001. If there is no reference then the invoice cannot be paid.

4. Type your company address below the name. This is essential if the payment will be mailed to you via the postal service. Even if you receive payment through another means, however, you should still include this basic contact information.

5. Include your telephone number. If working through a company, make it the company phone number. If working independently, include whichever phone number you use for business purposes.

6. Leave an email address. This is especially essential if getting paid via PayPal or any other means that relies on a valid email address. Use whatever address is linked to your payment account. If payment is not reliant upon email, include your company email address or the email address of your company’s accounting department.

7. List the due date. This date will vary depending on the agreement you have with your client, but most due dates are approximately 30 days after the invoice date. Make sure you specify that this is the due date.

8. Include your client’s details in the upper left hand corner, below your company’s contact information and across from you invoice number and dates. List the name of the company or individual whom you provided services to. Below the name, include the client company’s address, phone number, and email address.

It is worth keeping a record of your invoices in a folder on your computer and to have that folder backed up. It is also worth having any other documentation related to the contract or terms and conditions of the financial arrangement in that folder too. The more organized you are the more efficient you are! It may feel a bit old school but a printed version is always a good back up.

Choose the right software to help you prepare invoices. Basic spread sheet or word processing software is all you really need, but you may also opt for specialised invoicing software if you want to streamline the process. Most invoicing software includes templates to help you structure your document properly, and many come with features designed to keep your invoices organized. Xero is a good tool for your book keeping and accounting needs.

Hope that helps for all your invoicing needs. Remember you want to get paid so make it as easy as possible for the person paying you!

Client Management – The art of you

To people who do not know what they are looking for, the health industry is a minefield to people. A flashy sign or a smart marketing campaign will fail every time without a good reputation and the right expertise behind it.

When you start out in the industry you have the drive and desire to be everything to everyone. You give up too much of your time, you over promise, you over deliver and this usually ends with ‘burn out’ or even Adrenal Fatigue or Hypoadrenia.

In fact that is not only true for people who have just started out in the industry but also is just as relevant for practitioners who have not yet mastered how to set their boundaries efficiently so that their life works for them, financially, emotionally, physically, mentally, chemically, socially, etc.

You see the more you read, the more you want to know. The more courses you go on, the more you want to take more more courses but if all you are doing is being an information junkie or a course addict then ask yourself how many certificates will you need before you validate yourself.

In fact it doesn’t matter how much you know because the bottom line is if you are not a model of your practice, if you do not believe what you are preaching and if you are only chasing the money, then you will be found out or you’ll burn out.

Client management is an art. The first step to client management is mastering the “art of you”. Where are you in your journey, so you can be honest enough to share that information with your client? Or in your mind does that make you weaker? There is no right answer but your perception is important because it is your perception that drives you to make the right or wrong decisions.

As the American philosopher, Nicholas Murray Butler says: ‘An expert is one who knows more and more about less and less until he knows absolutely everything about nothing.’

The “art of you” is being able to understand what practitioner you want to be and where that journey is going to take you. Where do your strengths lie? Where does your heart lie? What makes you get up in the morning?

If you are unsure about where you are going then you probably just need some re-direction, because this stuff isn’t taught to you when you sign up in the health profession, you have to learn it on the job. So the best advise will come from people who have tried, failed, succeeded, made money, lost money, set up their own businesses, pushed the boundaries, taken a chance and so on.

Client management is a tool every health practitioner should have under their belt because if you are your own boss yet you don’t know how to grow your practice then you will be chasing the client for the rest of your career instead of chasing your goals.

Want to know more about client management? Then sign up to Hannah’s course – Client Management – A Practical Approach on 30th May. On this course you will learn:

  • The art of working with a client to create excellent results
  • The steps to take to progress a client from an enquiry to having a successful relationship
  • Elimination diets and templates
  • Alternative food plans for food sensitivities / finance / resources / stages of health
  • How to read a food label. Read/learn/teach
  • Tools to maintain client retention and compliance

Hannah Richards is a Nutrition and lifestyle Coach and Director of Holistic Health Clinic Move Three Sixty.

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