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A B2B client in Denver told me my invoices were 'hostile' and it made me rethink the whole thing
I run a small business doing inventory audits for retail shops and last fall a client in Denver told me my invoices were 'hostile' because I listed every charge as a separate line item with no grouping. I had been doing it that way since I started because I thought more detail looked more professional, but she said it made her feel like she was being nickel and dimed even though the total was fair. So I started putting a short summary at the top with one clear number and then the breakdown below it, and my late payments dropped from about 8 a month to 2. I honestly thought line item detail was a good thing, but I guess presentation matters as much as the math. Has anyone else had a client tell them their billing style was the problem? Would love to hear what changes you made.
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nathan10022d ago
Did you ever try just asking the client what format they wanted before sending the first invoice? I had a similar thing happen with a shop in Austin, except mine was the opposite problem. I used to lump everything into one line that said "services rendered" and a client told me it felt sneaky, like I was hiding something in the total. So now I do what you do, a short summary up top with the full number, then the breakdown underneath. My take is people just want to see the big number first so they know what they owe, then the details are there if they care to look. Funny how the same fix worked for both of us from opposite directions.
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