Debitoor blog

It happens. When you’re self-employed, even with a side hustle, it can be easy to put the wrong customer address, add the wrong quantity of products, or even mark the wrong invoice as ‘Paid’.

Traditionally, these types of small mistakes meant combing through old invoices, creating a credit note modified from a Word or Excel invoice template, or playing a game of swap-the-invoices between computer folders.

Thankfully, those days are in the past. With accounting & invoicing software like Debitoor, it’s easy to quickly remove payment from an invoice and make the other necessary changes (some are even made automatically).

In today’s digital age, the safety of data online is of constant concern. There seem to be new stories about hacked programs or breached databases. It’s only natural that when it comes to accounting for your business, you want to make sure that the software you choose has the proper security measures in place.

Your confidential information should stay exactly that: confidential. When you are working with online accounting software, the amount of information you store can seem concerning with the stories you hear every so often about data security breaches.

Beyond that, worries over potentially losing data gathered over months or years and saved in an online profile is a focus for some users, but one that can quickly be quelled with clear information about how data is backed up online.

As a freelancer, entrepreneur, or small business owner, you’re responsible for documenting your company’s finances, which involves keeping detailed records of the sales you make with either invoices or sales receipts.

In many ways, a sales receipt is essentially a simplified invoice. However, there are some important differences. This article explains how to distinguish between invoices and sales receipts, how to know which one to issue, and why they’re both important parts of your company’s financial records.

No sticky notes required! If you’re already a Debitoor user, you know how fast and simple it is to create an invoice. Adding all customer details and product information with just a few clicks (or taps if you’re using the Android or iOS mobile app!).

Including the necessary details such as invoice number, issue date, and payment terms are either updated automatically or can be adjusted with a click or two. Different tax rates can be added by invoice line, and discounts applied overall or by item. Plus, you can easily change the currency or even the language of your invoice.

In other words, the options for creating an invoice in Debitoor go beyond the convenient template and professional designs. But what if you need to add more information for your customer? What if there are details that you want to include on every invoice? The good news is that there are options for that as well!

It's common for freelancers and small businesses to issue proforma invoices when the final details of a sale haven’t yet been confirmed. But, because there are fewer official guidelines for proforma invoices than for finalised invoices, it’s easy to get confused about what information should be included, when they can be used, and how they should handle VAT.

To make things clearer, this article takes a look at whether you should include VAT on your proforma invoices and whether proforma invoices are considered official documents for tax purposes.

Have you ever tried to build your own invoice template? Maybe in Word or Excel (we’ve even seen invoices created in Paint! True story). But what purpose should an invoice template serve? In this article we take a closer look at templates for professional invoices, where to find them, how to use them, and whether there’s an easier option (hint: there is).

Plus: should you pay for an invoice template? Or download a free invoice template? What about if there’s a mistake or you want to change the template? Let’s take at the invoicing process and see how it can be improved.

With Brexit looming, the impact on the economy is almost palpable. Yet business must continue and so on March 13th, Chancellor Philip Hammond presented the Spring Statement to provide details on measures that could affect UK businesses.

This article breaks down the 2019 Spring Statement and focuses on elements that have the potential to affect UK freelancers, sole traders, and small businesses.

Each April welcomes the start of a new tax year in the UK. As always, the new tax year means new tax rates and thresholds, many of which were announced in the 2018 Autumn budget.

Many of these changes have a big impact on business owners, freelancers, and the self-employed. So to help you understand how your business might be affected by the new tax year, we take a look at what's new for 2019-2020.

How much has your business made this month? When you’ve launched a business, it is often a regular question - along with: are you covering your costs? Is your profit increasing each month?

While it can be easy to become preoccupied with the numbers, it is in fact important to have an idea of your current revenue. Thankfully, it’s easier than ever today with the help of online, cloud-based accounting & invoicing software like Debitoor.

Many people dream of becoming their own boss, turning a hobby into a career, or pursuing a business idea. But if you’ve never started a company, it can be difficult to know where to begin – or where to find sound advice.

We’ve asked some of the freelancers, entrepreneurs, and sole traders who use Debitoor invoicing software to share their advice for starting a business. After all, who better to ask than those who have already done it?