Bill before you leave the driveway
A small job needs only four things on the invoice:
- The client name and the address of the job.
- One plain line: what you did.
- One amount. Callout fee and repair can be one line or two.
- How to pay, and by when.
Make paying easy, and write down how they paid
Offer more than one way: card, Zelle or a check. The easier it is, the sooner the money comes.
When a check or a Zelle arrives, record three things: the method, the real date, and a reference such as the check number. Months later, when a client says "I already paid that", you can answer in ten seconds.
How it works in WorkTime CRM
Open the Invoices list and press "+ New Invoice". Pick the client, type a description and the amount. A due date is optional. Linking it to one of that client's estimates is optional too: do it if the money should land in that project.
Press "Create Invoice". It appears as a Draft. Press Send on its row: a letter opens already written. Reword it if you like and press "Send invoice". The client gets your letter, the Pay button and a PDF. These invoices are numbered M-1, M-2 and so on, and nothing locks them.
To take cards, connect Stripe in Settings → Company → Payments. Without Stripe, clients can still pay by Zelle, check or cash. The "How to pay" block in the letter is yours to edit in Invoice payment instructions.
When the money arrives, press "✓ Paid" on the row. Choose Cash, Check, Zelle, Stripe, QuickBooks, Bank transfer or Other, set the real date, and add a reference or a photo of the check if you want. The row then shows the method, for example "Paid · Check".
