The Virtual Assistant (VA) market is growing steadily, and more and more VAs are entering the market each day.
While that means that there is more business, it also means that there is more competition in general, and it is more important than ever for VAs to survive. This means maintain a positive cash flow, which is dependent on getting your invoices paid on time.
Today we’ll look at some of the best invoicing tips to get your Virtual Assistant invoices paid on time, every time.
#1 Set your prices beforehand
Before you’ve even begun to send out invoices, you should work on setting your prices. This will help you to communicate more clearly your pricing and avoid confusion.
Of course, creating a price list is quite subjective. You should always take into account your experience, quality, speed of service, location and of course competition.
You can set your rates by the hour, project or by charging a retainer.
#2 Create your Terms & Conditions
You need to make sure you create concrete terms and conditions. These will help you in keeping yourself and your client accountable, as it will be a reference that you both can look back on.
In your T&Cs you should definitely include:
- How long you will allow for payment (14 days is much better than the standard 30 days)
- Whether you will add late fees to overdue invoices
- What types of payments you’ll accept
- How those payments should be made (whether by bank transfer, PayPal, credit card, etc.)
#3 Create invoices ASAP
When you are a VA, you need to be quick in finishing one task and moving on to the other. That’s part of the job. However, that shouldn’t be a reason for not creating your invoices as soon as possible. Organization should also be part of your work.
The delays in creating and sending out invoices is one of the top reasons that invoices get paid late in general.
If you are late to create and send out your invoice, your invoice may be help up in the client’s accounts payable processes, meaning you’ll get paid much later than you should have.
You should therefore make it part of your operations to create your invoices as soon as you finish your jobs, and even better, well before then.
#4 Chase your late payers
As a freelancer, you need to be vigilant in going after your clients who are late to pay you.
This is usually a bit uncomfortable for many VAs who are scared to lose their clients or scare them off in some way. However, your clients may have forgotten about your invoice, which is very likely, and they probably won’t remember unless you remind them.
It is best to do so if you’ve set your due date for 14 days, and not the standard 30 days.
Send a polite email reminder to your clients to inform them of their overdue status in a concise manner and with a clear subject line. If your email is polite and to the point, your client should have no problem in sending your payment.
These are of course only some of the many great invoicing tips out there. However, with these tips you’ll be fast on your way to getting your invoices paid faster, improving your cash flow and improving your business in general.
