Finding a free gardening invoice template

Running a your business can be that little bit easier with a free gardening invoice template. This article looks at what goes in an invoice and suggests ways you can use existing templates to speed up your admin work.

Gardeners like to be outside getting their hands dirty. As a result, admin can be seen as a burdensome chore. Using a gardening invoice template can save you time and get you back doing what you're good at.

But you’ll want to run your trade business effectively to grow profitably. And that means keeping on top of your invoicing.

This article offers tips and advice on preparing an invoice for gardening services.

Invoicing is blooming good for business

An invoice template takes much of the hard work out of billing customers. Its important to charge for your work, but can end up being time consuming.

Using a free gardening invoice template (like ours) gives you more time to concentrate on your work.

Profitable opportunities

The opportunity of working for yourself may be tempting. And for many, working outdoors makes gardening even more appealing.

Yes, it’s hard work, but it can pay well. There’s plenty of demand for the work, so gardeners and landscapers can earn well.

If gardening's for you, then take every opportunity to make it a success. Make sure you understand about invoicing so your business can run more smoothly.

Why you need to use a garden service invoice

The invoice for your gardening services is fundamental for lots of reasons. Done well, and it is a fundamental part of the process. You can continue to show your professionalism and encourage prompt payment at the same time.

Here are some key benefits of using a gardening invoice template:

Show customers you mean business

A well-prepared invoice is an important business document that shows you are:

• Professional

• Well-organised

• Focused on charging your customers the right amounts

• Expecting to be paid on time

Using a gardening invoice template that has already been created takes the added hassle out of the billing process.

Track your income and expenditure

Invoicing for larger projects such as gardening and landscaping work can get complicated. You may also have lots of customers you do small jobs for.

With a free gardening invoice template, you can keep track of your income. It will help you remember to charge customers correctly. That includes not just your time on jobs, but also expenses.

You're likely to purchase a range of materials and equipment. These business expenses can probably be used to reduce your taxable profits.

Typical gardening expenses that you might charge directly to customers in your invoice could include:

• Plants, flowers, shrubs, trees

• Fertiliser and compost

• The cost of small tools and equipment that quickly wear out on jobs

• Protective clothing

Keeping an eye on money going in and out of your business is key for managing cash flow, and your invoicing plays a key role in that.

Maintain proper business accounts

The garden service invoice is a mainstay of your business accounts. Using a template helps to generate accurate records automatically.

Remember that you'll need income and expense information when you submit your tax returns to HMRC.

Knowing your garden service invoices are accurate should make you confident you're paying the right amount of tax.

Manage your cash flow

Understanding your cash flow helps you stay on top of your bank account. Plus, cash flow management is useful for planning profitable growth.

At the heart of cash flow is your income. A garden service invoice should contain all the information you need about money coming into your business.

How to improve cash flow for trade businesses

What keeps tradespeople awake at night? Worrying about getting paid on time and settling your bills is probably a contender. Often, it all comes down to cash flow. Poor cash flow can quickly bring down even a successful business. Keep in control It doesn't matter whether you're a small or large

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What is a garden maintenance invoice template?

Just like any garden tool, your invoice has a job to do. Unlike your gardening work, this job can be done digitally.

Manual invoicing is fine, up to a point. But they:

• Take time to prepare

• Can have errors

• Need to be stored safely

Having a template in place reduces the hassle of invoicing every time. It also simplifies the process and improves the accuracy.

Get stuck in with the right tool for the job

You might think a gardening job invoice template won't suit your business. After all, your work is likely to be very bespoke to individual clients.

An advantage of a template is you can personalise it to a certain extent. Our free quoting and invoicing tool for members makes it easy.

With our handy invoicing tool, you can:

• Use your business details

• Automatically create an invoice from an existing quote

• Add your own customer leads

• Receive new leads in your local area and quickly add a new quote

• Send quotes and invoices directly to customers

Want to learn more? Our tool has been created for using on the go.

Our quoting and invoicing tool - saves time on your admin

With tradespeople estimated to spend around 2.5 hours every week on quoting and invoicing customers, our tool is designed to help streamline your job processes. It's easy to use, and generates both quotes and invoices at the touch of a button. > “Our members often tell us that quoting is a pain

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What to include in a garden invoice template

You might be surprised at how much information goes in a garden service invoice. By using a template or dedicated tool, most of the heavy lifting is done for you.

A template will likely be pre-filled with information and prompt you for more details, so you don't leave anything out.

Here's a checklist of what goes in a typical trade business invoice:

• Invoice number – unique and in sequence

• Date

• Your trading name, address and contact details

• Customer details (of whoever you are invoicing) – their name and address

• Description of the work or service you have provided

• Dates when the work took place

• The amount charged – including your time and any materials they are to pay for

• VAT – if you are VAT-registered

• Payment terms (see below) – when you expect to be paid

• Your trade business account details – for customers to pay you

These are the main components for self-employed sole traders. If your trade business is a partnership or limited company, other details may be required.

Choose your preferred payment methods

If you're invoicing digitally, then online payments could make sense. You'll probably find that nowadays more customers are comfortable making digital payments.

Taking card payments should make it easier to match money coming in against your invoices.

Make sure your invoices are paid on time

We've looked at the benefits of using a free garden maintenance invoice template. Here are a few extra steps to help make sure those invoices get paid on time.

Set out your terms and conditions

Most of the time, payment arrangements can probably be agreed upon verbally. But it's always handy to put it in writing as well. That way, you can avoid misunderstandings – especially with new customers or late payers.

Terms and conditions tell customers when and how you expect them to pay you. Putting your Ts & Cs on your invoice spells this out.

Chase late payers

With strong customer relationships, you'll hopefully rarely be in the awkward position of having to chase up invoice payments.

If you do need to pursue invoice payments, then there are steps you can follow. You have certain rights as a tradesperson for getting paid.

You'll probably want to avoid taking legal action or using debt collectors. If you do, then it's vital you have kept accurate an accord record of every contested garden service invoice.

Dig deeper for gardening business leads

It’s a big step to go it alone. Starting with the basics could mean you learn how to become a gardener. With the right skills and experience, you can then start a gardening business.

Making sure you’ve mastered the invoicing should make business growth more straightforward. It's not just our quoting tool that can help your trade business.

We can support you in lots of other ways. They include:

• Exclusive offers and discounts with suppliers like Tradepoint and Wickes

• Up to 75% off Quickbooks business software

• Up to 20% off Public Liability Insurance

• Reduced cost of workwear and branding

• Guaranteed work when booked through us (T&Cs apply)

• Dedicated trades apps for job management and quoting/invoicing

Our fixed membership option lets you build the plan that’s perfect for you and your business needs.

Sound like something you might consider?

What do you need to become Checkatrade approved?

Being a Checkatrade member comes with a whole host of benefits, but the biggest has to be gaining our seal of approval. You can then demonstrate your great reputation and win more business. That’s because homeowners trust tradespeople with the Checkatrade tick next to their name. It's a sign that

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Key takeaways

• An invoice details the work you do, who for, when, how much you have charged, and when you expect to be paid

• Using a free gardening invoice template makes invoicing quicker

• Templates make the task easier to do and output more consistent

• Information in an invoice helps you keep accurate business records

• They're a document that helps you with paying tax due and business planning

• If anything goes wrong, you have a written record of work carried out