An invoice letter is used to make sure a client pays on time. A small business or individual requires sufficient cash flows for day-to-day activities, and delayed payments can sometimes derail that. An invoice letter, along with an invoice, has a very professional but also friendly tone to trying to follow up on payments from clients.
That is why it is important to know how to draft a letter in the most efficient way to guarantee payment and to also maintain a healthy business relationship. In this article, we are going to discuss a guide to writing invoice letters perfectly.
Step 1: Acquiring a Template
To start writing an invoice letter, you need two things: either a blank document or you can download a business letter template. Microsoft Office has a variety of templates you can download for free. Open a word-processing program you have picked and apply the template you have chosen or create a new blank document.
Step 2: Insert Your Address
This step can be skipped if you are a part of a company or organization and you can just use their letterhead to print on your letter. If you are not fortunate enough to have access to those as an individual, you need to write your name or company name and your full address. The address must contain the street address, city, state, and postal code. This must be written at the top and neatly aligned to the left in your letter.
The following is the standard address format:
Name
Company
Street Address
City, State, Zip Code
According to the U.S. Postal Service’s guidelines, there is no need for punctuation and one space between each word or number. There is an exception of two spaces between the state and zip code.
Step 3: Add the Date
You must either write the date the invoice was written or the date of completion, in case you wrote it over a certain number of days. Use the American date format, which is month, day, year.
For example: December 21, 2021
The date should be written one line below the actual address. If your address is aligned to the left, then the date would also be on the left. If you have used a letterhead, then the date should be placed in the center as well.
Step 4: The Recipient’s Address
It is a must to include the recipient’s address below the date. The format is similar to your address. It must contain the recipient’s name, title, company, and address. Be sure to also add their street address, city, state, and zip code. This should be aligned to the left and one line below the date, which was previously mentioned.
It is important to find out to whom exactly you will be addressing this letter. If you are writing to a big company with multiple departments, it would be helpful to contact them to find out who exactly will be dealing with the payment. You would avoid further delays by addressing it directly to them.
When you add a contact’s name, it would be courteous to use their appropriate title, such as Mr., Ms., Mrs. and Dr. Women can be addressed as Miss, Mrs., or Ms. The safest bet would be Ms.
Step 5: Salutation
To start off the letter, it would be best to use the same title or name in the recipient’s address. This is added under the recipient’s address. If the recipient is someone with whom you are familiar with, you can use their first name. If not, it would be best to use their personal title and last name.
Step 6: The Body of the Letter
There should be single spacing used in your letter and all paragraphs should start from the left. A first-line indent is not necessary in this case. A blank line is needed between your paragraphs.
Step 7: The Closing
This would be one line after your main body of text. The first word should be capitalized and followed by a comma at the end. If a signature is needed, there should be four blank spaces between the sign-off and your name.
Step 8: Attachments
Your business invoice would be an attachment and it is also called enclosure. Write “Enclosures” four lines below your closing. You can write the number of enclosures or list them out by name.
You are now ready to send that letter and receive that hard-earned money. Make sure to proofread it and you have officially completed your guide to writing invoice letters.
