| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] | Poll: What is your preferred tool for creating invoices? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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Salam Alrawi 
United States
Local time: 20:26
English to Arabic
+ ...
I simply use MS word, it is so easy:
1- from (address)
2- to (address)
3- job title
4- volume + Amount
5- payment details
let me know when you send the payment! (smile)
Best regards,
Salam Alrawi
| | | | Alice Bootman
United States
Local time: 20:26
Spanish to English
+ ...
Somehow when I was creating my invoice template in Word (like everyone else, I am surprised to learn!), I ended up using some copied cells from Excel. Then there are some text boxes created in Word and some plain text too. Throw it all together and convert it to a PDF and you've got a nifty looking invoice.
| | | | Joan Berglund
United States
Local time: 21:26
Member (2008)
French to English
| Quickbooks online - it is fun and easy (well sorta) | Mar 3, 2009 |
Actually, it is very easy to learn, even for someone like me who hates bookkeeping and learning new software. You can enter your expenses as they occur as well, and enter payments when you receive them so you can generate an income report at any time and for any time period based on either cash or accrual. I like switching from cash to accrual views of my business because I figure if they are staying roughly even it means I am getting steady work and my clients are paying on time. It is proba... See more Actually, it is very easy to learn, even for someone like me who hates bookkeeping and learning new software. You can enter your expenses as they occur as well, and enter payments when you receive them so you can generate an income report at any time and for any time period based on either cash or accrual. I like switching from cash to accrual views of my business because I figure if they are staying roughly even it means I am getting steady work and my clients are paying on time. It is probably cheaper to buy the software than to pay the monthly fee, but a PT client of mine had her computer crash with all her Excel financial info on it on April 14th, which put the fear of God in me. Of course, the Quickbook online site could crash too, but in that case the IRS will have bigger fish to fry than me I imagine. All you MS Word using types must be able to afford bookkeepers. Nice for some:) ▲ Collapse
| | | | Rosa Cabral
United States
Local time: 21:26
English to Italian
+ ...
| invoice book and word | Mar 3, 2009 |
I have a word template but in all honesty I prefer to fill out by hand my invoice book, scan it and send it via email so I have a copy of everything in one place I can quickly refer to and then I have a special mark I place on them once they are paid. Old fashioned but efficient... and should my computer ever fail me, I have everything!
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| Left Word + Excel long time ago, now using WinTitus | Mar 3, 2009 |
Until 2005, we made our invoices with a template of a Word file with an embedded Excel chart, but then introduced our own project and invoicing tool (WinTitus) which also contains a database with the clients' addresses. With Word templates, you always have to watch out (i.e. check in your database) if the client's address is still valid. No need for that with our software, as it's all automatic. Very comfortable and saves lots of time.
[Redigerad 2009-03-03 05:51 GMT]
| | | | | QuickBooks, too! | Mar 3, 2009 |
Kornelia Longoria wrote:
For a long time I used word template but when I started being really busy and needed help tracking payments and invoices, I decided to purchase an accounting program. I use Quickbooks now. I find it easy to use and very helpful.
Upside of QB: you can keep track of payments and open/overdue invoices. You can also quickly check how many projects you did for a particular client during last 6 months, or last year, or last two years. I also use it to track all my expenses (it takes a bit of self-discipline, especially about expenses) and to prepare Profit and Loss statements.
Downside: impossible to e-mail invoices. For those clients who insist to receive invoices by e-mail only, I create them in QuickBooks for my own record, and then recreate them again in Excel.
| | | | Elena Carbonell
Netherlands
Local time: 03:26
Member (2007)
English to Spanish
+ ...
I also have AnyMaxi which I mainly use to make the word count on big projects with multiple files but I haven't found a program that can make good looking invoices the way I want them. I have my own templates which I fill up with the information from Excel.
I am seriously looking into using the proz.com invoices but I first want to play around the design possibilities...
Why do I make thing so complicated?
| | | | | Word and Excel, PDF converter | Mar 3, 2009 |
A friend of mine offered me his great template, so I just had to redecorate it and have it match my website :
- A Word .doc with Excel cells inserted so I do not have to calculate anything (Great ;o)
- My Excel bit for the date, job name, number of words/hours, price per item, total price.
- My Word bit with invoice number, addresses, logo, payment details, etc.
Very convenient and efficient. I have a template for each client, so I don't have to delete, etc... See more A friend of mine offered me his great template, so I just had to redecorate it and have it match my website :
- A Word .doc with Excel cells inserted so I do not have to calculate anything (Great ;o)
- My Excel bit for the date, job name, number of words/hours, price per item, total price.
- My Word bit with invoice number, addresses, logo, payment details, etc.
Very convenient and efficient. I have a template for each client, so I don't have to delete, etc. their addresses each time I create a new invoice.
Have a lovely day ! ▲ Collapse
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XX789 (X)
Netherlands
Local time: 03:26
English to Dutch
+ ...
I.e., genuine SAP software. Expensive, but it gives tremendous insight in your company's financial processes and your client base.
| | | | | OO Calc + PDF | Mar 3, 2009 |
I use a template on Open Office Calc and then convert it to PDF, which cannot be edited by the client.
Anni
| | | | | Word nice and impressing too | Mar 3, 2009 |
This Alban's appeal for the use of invoicing software.
Αlban SHPΑTΑ wrote:
Why?
1. Nice and neat
2. professional
3. impresses clients
What a surprise!
My invoices in Word have the same professional appeal.
I care a lot about a clear layout. It's fun to design
a well-structured and user-friendly invoice. And professional of course
Moreover I don't have any intention to purchase some invoicing tool for now
as I do not create hundreds of invoices a month.
| | | | Reed James
Chile
Local time: 21:26
Member (2005)
Spanish to English
| Cannot easily be edited by the client... | Mar 3, 2009 |
M. Anna Kańduła wrote:
I use a template on Open Office Calc and then convert it to PDF, which cannot be edited by the client.
Anni
All you need to do to edit a PDF is to convert it to Word, change the numbers around, and convert it back again to PDF. A somewhat circuitous process, but doable all the same.
The reason I issue my invoices in PDF format is that they look more professional, and no one can accidentally delete a charater.
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Niina Lahokoski
Finland
Local time: 04:26
Member (2008)
English to Finnish
+ ...
| Open Office calc | Mar 3, 2009 |
I use the free OO Calc application. I have a template for each client and use it together with my OpenOffice database to which I save all clients, projects and invoices. I send my invoices as PDF.
| | | | | My own, created with OmniForm v4 | Mar 3, 2009 |
For international invoices, I created a form with OmniForm. Then I print each invoice to Acrobat Distiller, and send as a PDF.
For domestic invoices I must comply with local requirements. Of course I could buy the necessary (hand-writeable) form pads at a stationery store, but I chose to develop an equivalent form with some improvements, with OmniForm. Complex tax & social security calculations for freelancers were initially automatic on my form. As OF's field calculation formulas p... See more For international invoices, I created a form with OmniForm. Then I print each invoice to Acrobat Distiller, and send as a PDF.
For domestic invoices I must comply with local requirements. Of course I could buy the necessary (hand-writeable) form pads at a stationery store, but I chose to develop an equivalent form with some improvements, with OmniForm. Complex tax & social security calculations for freelancers were initially automatic on my form. As OF's field calculation formulas programming is amazingly similar to Applesoft BASIC (the old Apple II, not the Mac), I must confess that I had some fun writing and debugging that code.
However as things here change at least once a year and calculations got increasingly complex, I gave up on programming all possible cases. Bear in mind that each field can have one formula, Booleans allowed, IFs allowed, but no CASE statement available, Some of them were spanning over 5 lines on Windows Notepad. So now I do calculations quickly with a plain calculator, and overwrite the program's results when necessary. It's not worthwhile editing rather complex code every time our government changes the system/values/criteria. ▲ Collapse
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