Questions. Invoices.

[alorawindowcleaning]

Hi everyone i have a couple of questions

1. On the invoice do you have to put how many litres of water you used from spotless or is ok not to write it and also when it comes to invoices do i write one invoice for when i deposit (£100) on spotless or do i have to make an invoice every time i fill up £5 a time

2. If i get paid by bank transfer and they use their address as a reference. On the invoice is it ok to just put the address and then they will both match up or do i need to put the customers name ?

3. On the invoice do i need to put other specifics like how long it took etc? Or can i simply put… window clean £20?

Thank you

 

[AW Services]

If you are referring to a customer invoice then the amount of water used is irrelevant

You are charging for a service and not selling water by the litre

Using spotless would be the same if you produces your own water at home and I class that as an overall business operational expense

You simply invoice (window clean & date) if you start adding.times the customer will start watching you like a hawk

There are lots of great threads on running a business, invoicing, accounting and operational procedures

 

[ched999uk]

I think you need to get some basic advice on book keeping or have a chat to an accountant.

1. The invoice for Spotless - I would have thought Spotless will send you an invoice/receipt for the money you have deposited.
2. When you get paid and the customer puts their address on it's for you to tick them off as paid - use spreadsheet, diary or an app like squeegee to keep track of your work and payments. If you generate an invoice for the customers then it's up to you what you put on it - or are you talking about accounting for the payments for your tax return?
3. On an invoice for the customer you just put the service you carried out and the charge. No need to know how much water or how long you took.

 

[alorawindowcleaning]

If you are referring to a customer invoice then the amount of water used is irrelevant

You are charging for a service and not selling water by the litre

Using spotless would be the same if you produces your own water at home and I class that as an overall business operational expense

You simply invoice (window clean & date) if you start adding.times the customer will start watching you like a hawk

There are lots of great threads on running a business, invoicing, accounting and operational procedures

Thank you

 

[AW Services]

Thank you

I was unsure of the question as to whom it was aimed at with regards to customer or accounting

 

[alorawindowcleaning]

I think you need to get some basic advice on book keeping or have a chat to an accountant.

1. The invoice for Spotless - I would have thought Spotless will send you an invoice/receipt for the money you have deposited.
2. When you get paid and the customer puts their address on it's for you to tick them off as paid - use spreadsheet, diary or an app like squeegee to keep track of your work and payments. If you generate an invoice for the customers then it's up to you what you put on it - or are you talking about accounting for the payments for your tax return?
3. On an invoice for the customer you just put the service you carried out and the charge. No need to know how much water or how long you took.

2. I mean so if i say to the customer put your address as the reference when sending a bank transfer when i look at the invoice i have to match it can i match it through that address or do i need to also put there name on the invoice

Like if hmrc were to read through and match them just having a bank transfer with an address is ok to match up to the invoice with the address or does it need their name on either one ?

 

[ched999uk]

2. I mean so if i say to the customer put your address as the reference when sending a bank transfer when i look at the invoice i have to match it can i match it through that address or do i need to also put there name on the invoice

Like if hmrc were to read through and match them just having a bank transfer with an address is ok to match up to the invoice with the address or does it need their name on either one ?

As far as I am aware (I'm not an accountant) as long as you can show HMRC where your income came from (address will be fine) and you have receipts to prove your expenditure then you are ok.
The customer putting their address as a reference is mainly so you know who has paid. Say you didn't use an address as a reference and all customers just put 'window clean' then how would you be able to check payments against outstanding balances?
If you are intending to print a copy of the customer invoice to track payments it's a time consuming process and there are are easier ways. Even a paper list of work would be easier.
Using squeegee or cleaner planner costs you each month but makes managing customers, work, generating and sending invoices so much easier.

 

[alorawindowcleaning]

As far as I am aware (I'm not an accountant) as long as you can show HMRC where your income came from (address will be fine) and you have receipts to prove your expenditure then you are ok.
The customer putting their address as a reference is mainly so you know who has paid. Say you didn't use an address as a reference and all customers just put 'window clean' then how would you be able to check payments against outstanding balances?
If you are intending to print a copy of the customer invoice to track payments it's a time consuming process and there are are easier ways. Even a paper list of work would be easier.
Using squeegee or cleaner planner costs you each month but makes managing customers, work, generating and sending invoices so much easier.

Perfect! Thanks for your help and information

 

[southcoastkev]

Hi everyone i have a couple of questions

1. On the invoice do you have to put how many litres of water you used from spotless or is ok not to write it and also when it comes to invoices do i write one invoice for when i deposit (£100) on spotless or do i have to make an invoice every time i fill up £5 a time

2. If i get paid by bank transfer and they use their address as a reference. On the invoice is it ok to just put the address and then they will both match up or do i need to put the customers name ?

3. On the invoice do i need to put other specifics like how long it took etc? Or can i simply put… window clean £20?

Thank you

@alorawindowcleaning I'm a bit confused by your post buddy. I have given customers invoices before if required, but have never needed to mention anything specific such as the amount of water used or similar. Just a description like "window cleaning for Mrs..." Or "window cleaning 123 Smith Road..." Or similar.

I've also given them to a couple of shops and a studio I've done and they never require anything like that mate

The only thing with a commercial job is they might have an order number or something for them to keep on record.

I still write out the odd one or two on an invoice book I have and it basically says:

My details...
Customer details ...
Date...
Job reference/order number...
Date...

And then underneath will be something like "1 x window cleaning at...." And a total in £ at the bottom.

You may want to add your own payment terms/details but don't worry at all about the ins and outs of the equipment used mate. You'll drive yourself mad if you go into that sort of detail mate.

 

[Nextgen]

Perfect! Thanks for your help and information

I use cleaner planner there are others but it's amazing for setting up runs on worksheets collecting debts etc, I use cash or go cardless direct debit once I've got them set up once I complete worksheet I go into debts tab click start go cardless get paid within 5 to 7 days and they update my records to show a charge then when it was paid. I don't do transfers as customers forget and your chasing them up all the time believe me I've been there done it.