Invoice Templates Make Billing Easier

Formatting and submitting invoices may seem like a headache at times, but this essential component of the billing process is a critical part of doing business. Record-keeping would be nearly impossible without a paper trail that includes invoices submitted to clients, customers or employers.

Whether you’re a small business owner, an employee needing to submit an expense report or a freelancer set to bill a client, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Invoice templates are a great tool for keeping accurate records and saving time and money in the long run. Professional-quality invoice templates also lend polish to any company’s business dealings.

If you create an invoice template just once, you can use it again and again for subsequent clients and billings. You can design an invoice template, expense report forms, purchase orders and other billing documents using any desktop publishing program with which you are familiar. (However, if you are planning on submitting invoices to clients via email, it’s best to use a widely used format, such as PDF or Microsoft Word’s .DOC format, to be sure your file can be read.)

However, it’s easier and faster to simply use pre-formatted invoice templates, available via several retailers and online resources. You can download free templates or buy pre-made templates with fields already formatted, and even templates specific to particular industries, such as automotive. Invoices can be found in lined or unlined versions, and in landscape or portrait orientation.

If you prefer to do business via pen, the simplest approach is to print out an invoice template, perhaps one made up in PDF format compatible with Adobe Acrobat or a similar free reader. Then, just write on it, photocopy and file it for your records, and send it off!

However, businesses with more than the occasional invoice to submit can save time, effort and paper by using preformatted invoice templates that can be edited and customized. Templates that are in Microsoft Word (.DOC) or .XLS spreadsheet format, compatible with Microsoft Excel, Google Documents and similar programs, can be altered again and again. You can add your company name and address, customer information and invoice items. Additionally, using .XLS-compatible invoice templates means the form will “do the math” for you, calculating totals based on information you input.

Also, having invoice templates in digital form means you can save them to a computer, where they can then be organized into folders by client name or otherwise kept track of. If a dispute arises, or if the client loses the first invoice you sent, you’ll have a copy of the invoice just a click away.

Copyright 2008 by Kevin Savetz

Kevin Savetz runs http://www.PrintableInvoiceTemplates.net, a site that offers more than 65 invoice templates to download and print. His other sites offer thousands of other free printables.