Invoicing can often be time-consuming for freelance copywriters. Manually tracking billable hours and creating professional invoices requires effort. Fortunately, there are copywriting resources to help you with payments from clients.
Using an automated invoicing system, such as Bonsai or FreshBooks, could save you from the trouble of invoicing and collecting payments from your clients. It can also help minimize errors in invoices and delays in getting payments.
Find the Right Invoicing Tool for You
With your freelance copywriting business growing, you may have invoice payments coming in from multiple clients. This disorganized pile of payments will make keeping track of your income challenging.
You might have also encountered the frustrating situation of dealing with a late-paying client while working as a copywriter. To avoid such incidents in the future, you should invest in an automated payment system. With invoices ready to be sent out to your clients on the scheduled dates, you would have more time to work on other aspects of copywriting.
The first step towards automating client payments is finding an invoicing tool that fits your needs.
To research an automated invoicing solution you can work with, you should analyze your internal workflows and identify the problems through the invoicing process.
For example, one thing you should look for in an invoicing tool is whether it is scalable. You want to invest in a tool that you can use in the long term.
A useful feature of most automated payment tools is they offer different templates for invoices. These templates allow you to customize the invoice according to your needs.
It helps to have more advanced features in automated payment systems, such as security and connectivity tools. If you use multiple devices as a freelance copywriter, you may find it helpful to have an automated cloud-based payment tool so your invoices can get stored online. That way, you can access and send your invoices from any device.
Some copywriters prefer getting paid by the hour. But tracking the time it took you to research and write can be challenging, so you should look for an invoicing tool with a time tracker to record your hours.
Research and invest in a system that not only adheres to your invoicing and bill-collecting requirements but also matches your budget.
While invoicing tools and software are incredible copywriting resources, not all of them are free of cost. Some invoicing software can cost a high premium upfront. However, these initial expenses can be offset by the time and money this tool would allow you to save.
Track Your Payments
Late payments are a major concern for freelance copywriters. Fortunately, automated invoicing systems streamline all aspects of the process, including tracking invoices. For example, automated invoicing software lets you know to check the status of the invoice.
The system also categorizes unpaid and paid invoices so you can keep track of your payments. It will also highlight invoices in process and those that need a revision due to an error.
It can be challenging to form lasting relationships with your clients as a freelancer with limited copywriting resources, especially when dealing with late-paying clients and spending most of your time crafting emails to remind them of the due payments.
You can use an automated invoicing system that sends your clients payment reminders through emails as the due date approaches. By automating client payments, you can get faster payments for your work and not have to worry about sending reminders to late-paying clients.
In addition, using invoicing tools will give you a better understanding of the cash flow, minimizing clutter and missing invoices. Another benefit of these systems is that you can easily find and fix an issue with a submitted invoice.
Collecting bills on time is a complicated process if you do it manually. But it doesn’t have to be. You can boost client relationships by optimizing your invoicing process, listing preferred payment methods, communicating deadlines, and accepting them through the online payment portal.
Automate for Retainers and Recurring Clients
Automating payments also works with clients on a retainer contract, where they pay you a fixed fee monthly, biweekly, or weekly basis.
The type of automated payment options you will offer your clients can depend on the nature of your services. For example, if you provide the same service for a client each month, you would have to optimize the invoicing tool to charge your clients a fixed amount each month.
However, if your fees depend on the services the client purchases, setting the invoicing device to variable amount auto payments would be the better option.
Some copywriters also offer their clients pre-approval transactions through automated payment tools, which require the clients to authorize their credit cards in advance and choose the date when they want to make the payment. But it is essential for the transaction approval to be authorized and secure, which is another reason to choose reliable automated invoicing software.
One main feature these invoicing tools contain is that they can store data regarding your client’s payment information. This way, each time an invoice has to be created and sent out, the system will automatically populate the empty fields on the invoice through existing data and calculate the project amounts and hours of work you put in it.
Once the invoice is effectively created, it can be sent to the client’s email, saving you the time and hassle of writing and filing monthly invoices for repeating services.
After you have put in the client information once, the only time you would have to change that information is when there is any alteration in the agreement, including a change in project hours or an increase in your rates.
You can also see how much you earn each month through a built-in reporting tool within the system. In addition, the automated invoicing system will send regular reminders to your recurring clients on your behalf based on how many times in a month or year they have opted to pay for your services.
Use the Client’s Structure and System
No matter what type of automated invoicing tool you choose, you must make it accessible to all your clients. One of the best copywriting resources to boost revenue is offering multiple payment gateways to clients and using their preferred structures and systems to receive payments promptly. For example, all of your clients might not be able to make a bank transfer, so one way to ensure that you get paid on time is by utilizing the billing systems used by the clients.
To have an effective working relationship with your client, you must make it easier for them to pay you. In some cases, you would have to adopt their existing payment process. Communicate with your client on payment deadlines and how soon they can expect a reminder for due payment. This would help you maintain cash flow and avoid any delays in payments.
It’s easier to maintain steady work from clients than to find new copywriting clients. Your effort and time in finding the right automatic invoicing tool can help you maintain a healthy relationship with your clients.
Whether you use the client’s existing structure or ask them to use your system, using an invoicing system offers several advantages, including tracking payments and saving time by using templates for recurring clients. You can also project a professional image to your clients by generating neat-looking invoices from automatic invoicing tools.
To sum it up, an invoicing tool is one of the most useful copywriting resources. It can help you keep on top of your payments. If there is a delay or if the due date is approaching, the invoicing tool can send reminders. It’s also faster to create invoices with such tools as you can use saved templates or set up automatic filing for recurring customers.
Author Bio
Ali Azhar is a contract copywriter with Content Workshop and a member of Copywriter Exchange. He has 6+ years of experience in copywriting, SEO/SEM optimization, content writing, and technical writing.
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