Managing your cash-flow as a freelancer can be tough.
You know what it’s like. Your work-load varies significantly, and sometimes you go weeks without being able to send an invoice. Other times, you’ll send enough invoices in a day to cover you for the next three months.
There’s nothing worse than seeing your bank balance hit zero.
Fortunately, if you have enough work, managing your cashflow so that you have a regular income isn’t hard.
- Don’t wait until you finish the job to send an invoice
You asked for a deposit, right? Make sure you receive part payments as you demonstrate progress on the job. Otherwise, if the project slows down you can end up waiting a long time to get paid.
- Make your invoices due as soon as is reasonable
If you’re sending smaller invoices (say under $2000), your clients probably don’t need 30 days to pay you. Try 7 days, or 14. Then if they forget about you, you can follow up sooner.
- Make it easy for your clients to pay you
Leave nothing to chance. Include all details of how your clients can pay you, your phone number, email address, when the invoice is due, a unique invoice number, and what the invoice is for.
Following these three simple tips will give you a predictable and quick turnaround on invoices, improving your cashflow immensely.
