Invoicing and preparing an invoice

If you provide something for someone for which you get paid, and you don't do it as a volunteer or salaried employee, you will probably have to send an invoice to the person who pays you. He or she needs this invoice for your records. The same goes for yourself. You include the invoice in your own records. Through this invoice, you also make sure that you collect any VAT for the IRS.

Invoice requirements

You may format the invoice however you like. Just keep in mind that it must be clear and uncluttered. There are also a number of requirements the invoice must meet. At least the following information must be included:

Details of the person to whom you are sending an invoice

• Company name.
• Address.

Data from yourself

• Name of your company.
• Address of your company.
• Description of what was provided and the amount in return.
• The date you send the invoice.
• If you are subject to VAT: Your VAT number and the VAT amount.
• Your Chamber of Commerce number.
• The date of delivery of the product or service.
• What exactly you delivered and the quantity.
• The invoice number. Note; both in the records and on the invoice, the invoice numbers must be incremental. This means that if you first send invoice 0001, the next invoice should have number 0002.

The method of billing

Usually you get to choose when to send the invoice, although as a rule you do it as soon as possible after the service or product is delivered. You can also choose to send multiple invoices for the same job. For example, half the amount up front, and the other half afterwards. Always discuss this well with your client. Some (larger) clients may have fixed conditions for this. With some assignments it is possible to receive a certain amount in advance as an advance or pre-financing. This way, you can, for example, pay for costs you incur yourself (such as purchasing materials or paying actors), even if a client decides to cancel a project.

The invoice and administration

Your invoices, of course, belong in your records. You can do this by retyping all the information on them, but there are also many administration systems where you enter the data directly into the system and it then creates an invoice. Should you be far too short on administration for that, Word also has templates you can use to create an invoice. We also have a sample invoice for you on this website.

Billing Systems

There are a large number of systems you can use to easily process and keep track of your records and your invoices. We've listed a few for you. In the end, what matters is that you like the way the system works.

Simple administration

Are you self-employed and don't have much administration? Do you buy very little yourself and only send about two invoices a month? Then choose a nice and simple accounting package. There are several on the market that usually work with a subscription. You pay around €10 (or a little more) a month. These systems can send invoices by e-mail and are usually accessible from your browser. Some examples are:

• E-Bookkeeping
• Moneybird

Medium-sized administration

When you often hire other people, you have a lot of receipts and you work on different projects, you quickly have a more extensive administration. Then it is nice to have a package in which you can enter cost centers and general ledger numbers and can generate good reports. This way you can distinguish your types of costs and keep an overview and insight. These systems are usually a bit pricier, because you go towards € 40,- to € 50,- per month. In addition, you may also have to pay purchase costs. Examples of these types of programs are:

• Quickstart
• Reeleezee

Very comprehensive administration

The really comprehensive systems are actually mostly found in large organizations. They often work with Exact. This offers more extensive possibilities and you can work with several people at the same time. This system is mainly intended for the real enthusiasts because it costs around € 150 per month.

If, from your expertise, you yourself have knowledge that would fit this topic, or if you see opportunities to improve this text, we look forward to receiving your message at info@cultuuracademy.nl.