In short
- Invoices usually run late because the office is waiting on job details.
- An invoice gets paid faster when the client can see straight away what it's for.
- Invoice on the same date each month and chase in the same steps every time.
Get the job record right on the day
Invoices stall when the office has to ask what happened: an extra nobody wrote down, or a job nobody marked finished. Each one means a text to whoever did the job and a wait for the answer.
On the Fieldfare app staff mark each job done and add a note and photo of anything extra before they leave, so when you sit down to bill on Friday the questions are already answered. If the job started as a quote, the agreed work came across with it.
What to put on a gardening invoice
Clients pay faster when the invoice matches work they remember. If you're VAT registered, it must also meet HMRC's rules for VAT invoices.
- An invoice number and date.
- The site address, not just the client's name.
- The date of each visit or piece of work.
- A plain description of the work, in the same words as the quote.
- Extras listed separately from the agreed price.
- Payment terms and your bank details.
When to send it
For one-off jobs, invoice the same day or the next. The longer the gap, the more likely the client questions it.
For regular maintenance, invoice monthly in arrears on the same date each month. One invoice listing four visits is quicker to send and easier to pay than four separate ones, and clients learn when to expect it.
Fieldfare
Bill from the job record your staff filled in
Invoicing in Fieldfare or your accounts software
Invoicing in Fieldfare is deliberately basic: create the invoice, download the PDF, send it from your own email and mark it paid when the money lands. There's no card payment or emailing from the app, so clients pay by bank transfer straight to you, with no payment fees.
If you already invoice in Xero, QuickBooks or Sage, carry on. Fieldfare reads your invoices and payments from them (it never sends anything back), so who has paid shows next to each client and your books stay where your accountant expects them.
Chasing late payment
Decide your steps once: a friendly reminder a few days after the due date, a firmer one a week later, then a phone call. Doing it the same way for every client means nobody feels singled out.
Once paid invoices are marked off, whatever is still open in Fieldfare on the morning you chase is your list for that day.
Invoicing questions
What payment terms should a gardening business use?
Seven or fourteen days is common for domestic clients, while commercial clients often expect thirty. Put your terms on every invoice and stick to them.
Should regular clients be invoiced after every visit?
Usually not. A monthly invoice covering every visit cuts admin on both sides, as long as the client knows that's the arrangement from the start.
What if a client disputes an invoice?
Check the job record first: the agreed quote, the visit notes and any photos. If it's clear, share it politely, and if something was missed, correct the invoice quickly.