If you followed our steps to create a professional invoice guide, you probably have created and sent an invoice already via email or by snail mail, and then you will be awaiting the invoice payment from your client. There are several ways you can accept an invoice payment, all of which have their own pros and cons. Let’s take a look at some of these payment methods:
One way is to invoice clients and receive payment through an application called Square. With Square, your client does not have to have any special account, simply just a valid credit card. The client will fill out information such as the name on the card they are using, the credit card number and expiration date, billing zip code, and CVV. Using Square is a secure way of paying an invoice, and there is no fee (at least for the client). The good thing about using Square, is that you’ll receive your payment quickly, and the only con is that you will have to pay a small fee (which is around %2).
You can also send invoices and receive payment through Paypal. When a client receives an invoice and a request for payment through PayPal, the experience will be very similar to that of Square. The client can pay using a credit card or another PayPal account, and they will not be charged a fee. Using PayPal will help you with sending invoices and receiving payment quickly, and the only con is, again, a small fee per transaction. However, you may find the convenience of it outweighs the con.
Of course, you can always accept invoice payments by check or money order. If you are accepting payments by check or money order, be sure to include your proper address where you would like the check to be mailed. The good thing about an invoice being paid by check is that there are no fees for you, it just takes a little longer to receive the payment, and there is always the risk of the check bouncing, and it costing you money from the bank, and additional time.
In any of these situations, you will have to make it clear to the client how you expect to be paid, and how to contact you if they have any questions regarding the payment. You will never want to accept cash for an invoice, as it cannot be tracked and there is no proof that it was paid. You must only accept payments that can be visible in your books, so that you and your client can account for all completed transactions.
Of course, being able to offer many different payment options for your clients is nice and convenient for them, but choose an option (or several options) that are convenient for you as well.