5 billing mistakes to avoid in your practice

Article source: Accounting Weekly 

By being professional and honest in your dealings with the clients, you will be able to justify your costs, time and other resources spent on their projects.

According to BillQuick, accountants in practice can increase their revenue by avoiding these five bad billing practices:

1. HIDING ‘NO CHARGE’ ITEMS ON INVOICES

In addition to clearly indicating that you’ve done the client a favour, displaying a no-charge line item to your invoices makes it easier to justify charging for the same services rendered later – after you’ve already performed the service numerous times, free of charge.

2. BEGINNING PROJECTS WITHOUT RETAINERS

Think of this as just getting the last month’s rent. If you start working on a project without a retainer and something happens to your clients or their company, those hours you and your employees worked since last invoice will be lost.

3. NOT ADDING MARK-UPS TO REIMBURSABLE EXPENSES

Add a 10-20% mark-up to the reimbursable expenses for the time your team has to spend in managing it.

4. NOT CHARGING INTEREST ON LATE PAYMENTS

Charge a penalty for paying late, otherwise clients will not make paying your bill a priority.

5. NOT SHARING YOUR BUDGET

Instead of simply charging the client a lump sum, include a list of tasks with associated hours that the fixed fee will cover.

Click here to download the full BillQuick ebook: 5 Billing Practices That Are Killing Your Business.