5 invoicing mistakes to avoid in Quebec

An invoice in Quebec can hold up its own payment

The work is done, the client is happy, the invoice is sent. Ten days later, an email arrives: the client would like to know what the second amount covers. The payment has just slipped by two weeks, and nobody is acting in bad faith.

An invoice in Quebec is not only a way to get paid. It also supports tax records, yours and your client’s. Revenu Québec specifies that the applicable taxes must be shown correctly, either separately or clearly included in the price. Every grey area becomes a question, and every question delays payment.

Mistake 1: leaving out an essential detail

This is the mistake of the invoice done in a hurry, in an email or from an old document copied over. You think everything is there, then the description of the service, the date of the work or the taxes turn out to be missing.

The client then asks for clarification before paying, and the document has to be corrected. More than a delay is at stake: Revenu Québec indicates that specific information must appear on invoices to support claims for tax credits or refunds. A client who is in business herself needs a complete invoice for her own returns.

• Always start from the same layout, checked once and for all.
• Reread the client’s name, the description of the service and the amounts before sending.
• Write the date of the work and the due date.

Mistake 2: presenting the GST and QST poorly

A caterer who quotes “$500” over the phone, then sends an invoice for nearly $575, has made no calculation error. He simply forgot to say whether his price included taxes. The client, however, feels like it is an unpleasant surprise.

Revenu Québec specifies that the price must be shown separately from the taxes, or that the invoice must clearly state that taxes are included. The rules vary with your situation, in particular whether or not you are registered for the GST and the QST: when in doubt, check with Revenu Québec before changing your layout.

• Show the price before taxes.
• List the GST and the QST on separate lines, or state that they are included.
• Present your prices the same way on the quote and on the invoice.

Mistake 3: waiting before sending the invoice

In the evening, after the job, the paperwork can wait. Then the week moves on, urgent matters pile up, and the invoice goes out ten days after the work. That delay is added, as is, to the time it takes to get paid.

There is something worse than the delay: memory. The more time passes, the less the client remembers the details of what was done, and the more questions come up. An invoice sent the same day arrives while the service is still fresh in everyone’s mind.

• Invoice the same day, or on a set day each week.
• Start from the accepted quote instead of entering everything again.
• Keep the invoice, the payment and the follow-up in one place.

Mistake 4: not tracking your unpaid invoices

You wait “a little longer” so as not to rush the client. Or you are no longer quite sure which invoices are still open. Either way, the delay settles in without anyone having decided it.

The remedy is a habit: review the status of your invoices every week, from those that are paid to those that are overdue, and write on the first day one is late. We explain how in Following up on an unpaid invoice without awkwardness or misses.

• Check your invoice tracking at least once a week.
• Prepare a short, courteous reminder message ahead of time.
• Note each reminder and the date of the next follow-up.

Mistake 5: skipping the deposit when the job calls for one

A renovation contractor who buys several thousand dollars’ worth of materials before starting is advancing money to her client. If the final payment is late, her whole cash flow tightens, and sometimes the next job is delayed.

A deposit is not a sign of mistrust. It is a common practice for long jobs or those that require purchases. What matters is to state it in the quote, explain when it is due and deduct it clearly on the final invoice.

• Put the deposit in the quote, before the work begins.
• Specify when it is due and how it will be deducted.
• Show it on the invoice for the balance.

The real culprit: scattered information

These five mistakes have the same origin. The request came in by text message, the quote went out by email, the appointment is in a calendar and the follow-up in a notebook. Each time you move from one tool to another, a detail gets lost.

Kitobiz brings that path together: the client’s request, the quote, the invoice, payment tracking and the cash flow forecast are all in one place. An accepted quote becomes an invoice, depending on your setting, with nothing to enter again, and you see at a glance what is paid, expected or overdue.

To try it, see free sign-up or pricing.