Invoicing Customers for NPOs Made Simple and Efficient

Invoicing customers for NPOs

(upbeat music) - Hey guys, Michael from Bedell Property Management here and today we're gonna talk about when is the best time to send an invoice to your clients. (upbeat music) I'm a landscape contractor, in the winter months, I do snow and ice management and kind of serve the needs of our clientele here in the community that surrounds Milford. (upbeat music) For me, the best time to send an invoice to a customer is right now because ultimately it gives the client the ability to prepay and it doesn't leave you chasing money. And in turn, you can provide them with the best possible spot on your schedule. (upbeat music) So number one is invoicing your customers on the spot right after you finish a job. And that's perfect for little one-off jobs. Or maybe if you're working with a new client and you guys haven't really built that relationship, it works best for everyone if you just get them to pay right there, send them an invoice on the spot and then everyone walks away feeling good about the situation and can certainly lead the opportunity to wanting to work together in the future. (upbeat music) So number two is send that invoice within 48 hours. And this is perfect if maybe it's a little bit more complex of a project or you need to wait for things to set up after installing, or maybe that client is out of town or out of the country for a little bit and they wanna have the time to actually get back in town and look at the work you did before they actually cut you a check for it, which makes a lot of sense, doesn't it? (upbeat music) Number three is sending a monthly invoice. And that's perfect for clients that you have an established relationship with and you're gonna be doing an established maybe preset amount of work on an ongoing basis. And that way it gives you the opportunity to put them on a monthly billing schedule. They know when they are expected to receive the invoice, probably when they're expected to pay it. And that way there's maybe less crossed lines of communications, especially if you're dealing with more of corporate business, an accounting department, or just maybe somebody that's got a lot going on. (upbeat music) So can you send an invoice before the work is done? Absolutely you can. Like we already talked about, maybe it makes sense to have your client prepay for the work, or maybe it's a larger project and it makes a lot of sense that you're gonna get paid in installments on that job. So in cases at my company, we're certainly going to invoice people for the deposit amount that they need to pay in order to even get a spot on our schedule. (upbeat music) The best time, like we talked about, is right now, but ultimately you've gotta do what's the best fit for your situation and your situation with that specific client. And that's why we've gone over many different options. There's never a one size fits all option for you and your business. And, speaking from my own experience, there are basically all those different situations and more that play out on a monthly basis here at Bedell Property Management. (upbeat music) So I hope some of these tips and tricks are helpful to you guys. And remember, these are living documents. These are gonna be based on your unique experiences. So take those to heart and make the most of them, and ultimately, you're in control of making sure that you have the best tomorrow possible. So take care, be good to each other and we'll see you soon. (upbeat music)