New client billing checklist: agree the invoice process before work starts

Send these six questions before the first invoice

Send this to your established client contact while agreeing the job. Replace the proposed terms with the terms you actually discussed; an unanswered email does not establish agreement. If the customer already supplied a billing guide, fill in what it answers and ask only about the gaps.

Subject: Billing arrangements for [project]

Hi [name],

Before we start [project], could you confirm these billing details?

1. What exact business name and billing address should appear on the invoice?
2. Who receives invoices, and should I use an email address or a customer portal?
3. Is supplier registration needed, and who can confirm it is complete?
4. Is a purchase order or job reference needed, and who supplies it?
5. Can you confirm [the payment terms discussed], including what starts the period and the expected payment date for the first invoice?
6. Who answers questions about the work, and who handles invoice-processing questions?

Please flag anything still awaiting confirmation and the person who can resolve it.

Thanks,
[name / business]

Separate the project contact from the billing route

The Small Business Commissioner recommends identifying the invoice recipient, confirming payment expectations and requesting a required purchase order early. These are practical checks; a customer-specific onboarding form or PO is not automatically required for every job.

Ask who can confirm each answer. The person booking your work may know the scope but have no access to the supplier record. Accounts may know the submission address but need the project contact to confirm a milestone. Record both roles, even when one person handles them.

Keep the legal billing business separate from a trading name, site name or project nickname. Ask the customer to resolve an inconsistency instead of guessing which entity should receive the invoice.

Turn the reply into a usable billing profile

This completed fictional profile concerns a £480 inspection. It records an unresolved dependency instead of presenting an incomplete setup as ready.

CLIENT BILLING PROFILE — FICTIONAL EXAMPLE
Checked: 2 November 2026
Job: North Quay site inspection, quote Q-41, agreed price £480
Bill to: North Quay Studios Ltd, fictional address held in job record
Project / work questions: Jamie, established project contact
Invoice route: customer-confirmed accounts mailbox, saved in contact record
Supplier setup: accounts confirmed active on 2 November
PO: required; Jamie to supply exact reference by 4 November
Billing trigger: completed inspection, as agreed in Q-41
Terms: agreed fixed due date of 25 November 2026
Open decision: confirm PO covers this inspection before submission
Next action: ask Jamie for PO on 4 November if not received
Evidence: client reply of 2 November linked in job record

Use the same headings for your own client. Keep actual contact details in your normal records, and link to the confirming correspondence. “Accounts handles it” is less useful than a confirmed route and a named person for an open question.

Decide what an unanswered question changes

If the PO is missing, ask its owner for the exact reference using the missing purchase order workflow. If the customer has not confirmed terms, resolve that business decision before presenting a due date as agreed. If a portal account is pending, find out how the customer wants the first invoice handled.

Keep each gap with an owner and review date. Whether to begin work while something remains open is a business decision for you, based on the agreement and the specific uncertainty. The checklist makes that uncertainty visible; it cannot approve the risk for you.

Once billing arrangements are confirmed, use the invoice details checklist on the issued document. The billing profile tells you how this customer works; the document check catches mistakes in this particular invoice.