How to Print a Bill for Services Rendered
Running your business requires much hard work and dedication. You are required to be a "master of all hats" and must tend to business planning, accounting, inventory, managing employees and many other tasks. At the heart of every business is the customer, and many jobs require an invoice to be sent to a client once services have been rendered. Otherwise known as a "Billing Statement," the invoice must include specific information along with the amount that must be paid.
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Things You'll Need
- Computer word processor (Microsoft Word, OpenOffice Writer)
- Computer printer and printer paper
- Envelope
- Postage stamp
Instructions
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Open your word processing software. If you don't have a commercial word processor installed on your computer, a powerful and commercial-free office suite called "OpenOffice" exists for free download on the Internet, and may be obtained from its website at openoffice.org
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At the top of your invoice, type your full business name, mailing address and contact telephone number, all lines centered. Place the business name on the first line, the business street address on the second line, and place the city, state and ZIP code for your business on the third line. Type the telephone contact on the fourth line, including the area code and then the rest of the number thereafter.
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Create four blank lines of space after your business header by pressing the "Return" or "Enter" key four times.
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Type the words "Billing Invoice" at the left margin, then provide the invoice number and the invoice date on separate lines below "Billing Invoice." Press "Return" or "Enter" two additional times to create a small white space separation.
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Type the customer's name and address with all lines oriented against the left margin of the page. Create two lines of white space after the customer's mailing information block.
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Simply type brief descriptions of the work performed, along with the date it was performed. If multiple services or dates were involved in the job, enter one job or date on each individual line. Enter the amount due from each job directly to the end of each description.
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At the bottom of the invoice, create a short sentence reading "Total Amount Due: " and then enter the total for all work performed. Be sure to include a line near the "Amount Due" section that lists payment terms. For example, if the funds must be received within 30 days, be sure to let your customer know that.
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Provide the customer with information about what types of payment you accept: money order, check, credit card. Notify the customer of whom to make the check out to if paying by check. Fold the invoice so it may be placed into an envelope. Seal the envelope, affix a postage stamp and mail as soon as possible.
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Tips & Warnings
If you charge late-payment fees, be absolutely sure that you include that information on the invoice, otherwise it may not be legally enforced since the customer can make the argument that she was never notified of any such penalties.
A good alternative to creating a "free-form" invoice on a computer is to simply purchase an invoice statement book, which has built-in carbon copy pages for each statement you write. These are plentiful at any office supply store, and are also found in the office supply sections of most department store retailers.
