With the positive response to the previous article about money I thought I would make a little extra effort to cover off a few more requests as part of the feature. So the second article for the collection is going to be on the not-so-mind-blowing-but-useful topic of invoicing. To start, it’s good to note that there seems to be a lot of confusion about making such a document but the basic invoice involves just a few key bits of information. If you have these basics covered off then there is a good chance you’ll be paid without too much difficulty.
First things first. Get your document titled correctly. It’s an invoice, so it should say so nice and clearly at the top of the page. This is handy for those poor Account Directors swimming through the enormity of paper accumulating on their desk. Next up is the persons address as although we live in a digital age it is still a requirement (and good practice) to associate the invoice to an address.
Then we get to your personal information. These things are your address, the date, your bank details and the amount. Once you start operating on a level dealing with advertising agencies then it may slowly start to expand. The first slightly foreign thing to add is a ‘PO’ number. This is a ‘Purchase Order’ which means you are in their system and they have allotted your job with some money and a reference number. It’s always useful getting this at the beginning of the job so when you have to sit twiddling your thumbs for 60 days (some advertising agencies payment terms & legal obligation) it’s good to be able to date your invoice from the supplied PO number. If you are wondering about VAT then I was always told the basic rule of thumb is that if you aren’t considering buying a second car they you need not worry about it. Below this information you just need to list your bank information. For international payments you may need to stop in to your local branch to get your IBAN/BIC or Swift number. This is basically your account number with some extra numbers and letters so that any money from over seas has required information to find it’s way to your bank account.
Add Share
19th Jan 2012
4:38 pm
Handy info if you’re just starting out, though to elaborate on what you say about VAT…
It’s pretty simple to set up being VAT registered, and you only need to submit basic income/expense details to HMRC quarterly (which can be done yourself online in a few minutes). In return for this simple additional admin, you’ll basically be able to claim back the VAT on all business related purchases. Well worth it!
Check out HMRC’s site for more details:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/vat/managing/reclaiming/reclaim.htm
Joey
19th Jan 2012
7:00 pm
Nice one lads. Keep them coming.
Ed
20th Jan 2012
11:05 am
Great stuff. Thanks for following up the last one! (More please).
Jon
20th Jan 2012
1:37 pm
Or you can opt to go VAT flat rate where you charge VAT but are only required to pay HMRC a lower proportion, keeping the rest for yourself!
Josh
20th Jan 2012
2:53 pm
Excellent, so nice too see stuff like this on here!
Being commercially, financially and business savvy is just as important (if not more important) than being great creatively, if you actualy want to be successful in your carrer as a designer.
Don’t get me wrong, so much great stuff on here, but sometimes a lot of the work and sites feel disconnected from the real world and is ‘design for designers’.
Arcticles like this help tip the balance back a bit!
(Hope that makes sense and doesn’t offend anyone!)
Glenn
23rd Jan 2012
10:19 am
No offense taken Josh! Chris starting off this articles is a bit of trial to see how they are received. So far the feedback has been quite positive
What other topics would you guys like to see us cover?
Glenn
23rd Jan 2012
10:36 am
Got some great suggestion on Twitter and Email over the weekend. Let us know what you’d like us to write about by voting on our Facebook page — http://www.facebook.com/FormFiftyFive
Luke
23rd Mar 2012
2:07 am
Just registering that I found this article very useful! Thanks guys