• Enquiry
• Quote
• Agree
• Work
• Invoice
• Paid

The Invoice

A query is not a refusal — it is a delay with a reason attached, and the reason is usually something the invoice failed to say.

For a software-side reference alongside this discussion of invoicing, records, and payment administration, Monitask has this resource.

An invoice that cannot be queried — eleven things, including the purchase order without which an invoice does not get rejected but simply sits, unlogged, with nobody telling you.

Sending it at the right moment — timing is free and moves the payment date more than negotiating terms does.

Administrative errors — the part of the problem you caused, where a thirty-second mistake routinely costs six to eight weeks.

Statements, not just invoices — a monthly list is routine where a monthly reminder is nagging, and the ageing is diagnostic before it is a demand.

Partial payments — where the money goes, and the payment described as full and final that needs advice before banking.

Credit notes — write the reason, because an unexplained credit note can be read as an admission.

Business against consumer — the same work under two sets of rules, including cancellation periods that catch trades regularly.

The fees you absorb — four charges, of which the unbilled hours of chasing are the largest.

Records that survive two years — a record you cannot find is a record you do not have.

What software cannot decide — it removes the retyping and leaves you six judgements.

• Administrative Errors

  A share of late payment is caused by the supplier's own paperwork. The seven errors, and what each one costs in days.

• Business Against Consumer

  The same job, two different sets of rules. What changes when your customer is an individual rather than a company.

• An Invoice That Cannot Be Queried

  A query is a delay with a reason attached. Eleven things on an invoice that remove the reasons before anybody looks for one.

• Credit Notes

  The document that corrects an invoice, and the concession that is not one. When to issue and what to write on it.

• The Fees You Absorb

  Getting paid costs money, and most of it is invisible because nobody invoices for it. Four charges, and what each is really buying.

• Partial Payments

  Money arriving that does not match an invoice creates a decision. Where it should go, and what accepting it means.

• Records That Survive Two Years

  A dispute arrives long after the job. What to keep, where, and the failure that costs small firms most: the record they cannot find.

• Sending It at the Right Moment

  When you invoice changes when you are paid by more than the terms do. Four timing decisions and what each is worth.

• What Software Cannot Decide

  It automates the sending and the arithmetic. Six judgements it leaves to you, and the questions to ask before choosing one.

• Statements, Not Just Invoices

  A monthly list of what is outstanding does work no individual invoice can. What it contains and why it gets paid.

For broader background on invoicing, records, and payment administration, see CPA Practice Advisor.