Whether you’re a budding entrepreneur or a seasoned small business owner, freelancer, or contractor, being able to juggle all your tasks successfully can be overwhelming. 

While trying to keep all of the balls in the air, the last thing you need is to be overwhelmed by tedious and time-consuming invoicing and payment processes. That’s where having a simple invoice template that you can use repeatedly is crucial to meeting your needs and hopefully giving you back some time. 

An accurate and detailed billing system is essential for any small business. It allows you to track expenses, payments, and profits systematically. It can also help streamline invoicing processes, saving you time and money (if managed properly). However, with so many options out there, choosing the perfect invoice template can take time and effort. 

To simplify this daunting task, it’s important to have an invoice template that highlights your brand, is easy to edit and send and can be duplicated for many other invoices to come. 

What are the benefits of using an excellent invoice template?

A well-designed, editable invoice template can save time by streamlining the invoicing process and reducing errors. It also gives you a professional document and helps ensure all necessary details are included in each invoice. 

Customize an invoice template to match your business brand.

Choose a template format

The first step in finding the right invoice template is choosing the format. For example, if you run a service-based business, consider an itemized or detailed invoice template where you list all services provided. In addition, line items may include taxes and other fees associated with each service. 

On the other hand, if your business sells products, opt for a simpler template with space to add regular product information like price per unit, quantity purchased, etc.

If you’re using a time tracking app to handle hours spent and resources used for a project, you would want the template to be able to integrate with your software. Tools like Harvest integrate seamlessly with many applications and can be utilized from anywhere. 

Make the form easy to fill out

When you research the type of template you want, it should be easy to fill out and include all the necessary information to invoice correctly. For example, you should have:

  • Business information and essential customer information (name, address)
  • Payment terms (payment due date)
  • Descriptions of goods/services sold (quantity purchased, prices)
  • Payment options (methods accepted)
  • Customer numbers or other codes required by accounting systems
  • Tax ID number/percentage
  • Applicable discounts

Make sure all this information is included in your template so that it’s easy to complete each invoice quickly without any additional searching required.

Find the right template provider

Next, decide where to buy or download your templates from a trusted provider that offers templates explicitly designed for small businesses. Avoid using free templates since they can be unreliable or full of errors that could lead to costly mistakes later down the line. 

Reputable providers usually offer customizable invoice templates as well so that you can adjust them if needed. They also provide support from customer success teams in case any questions arise about how to use the templates properly or what details need to be added for correct invoicing practices in different countries or regions.

Choose the appropriate software

Finally, ensure you choose software compatible with your chosen template provider and integrate it with your other apps, like time tracking software, so that essential data isn’t lost or inaccurate. For example, Harvest makes integration from its time tracking software seamless with other programs, making it ideal when trying to invoice quickly and accurately. 

What you should know about invoicing using a template

When it comes to invoicing, there are a few key points you should keep in mind when using a simple invoice template. 

  • Invoicing is essential to running any sized business, and having a reliable template allows you to generate invoices professionally and quickly.

  • A simple invoice template can streamline your invoicing process, reduce errors, and keep customers happy.

  • Make sure to choose the right template provider and software solution that fits your needs and brand so you can get the most out of your invoices.

Every small business can use a hand in some area of its operations. Creating a simple template that integrates with your other tools and apps to help make the tedious jobs more manageable and your time tracking more accurate will save you time redirecting to higher-priority tasks. If you’re looking for a solution to automate your time tracking and seamlessly integrate with your invoicing template, check out Harvest for free today.