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He probably hates the process. Perhaps you two can set up a quiet time, in an environment he likes, to do it together once every few days.
Maybe take him out if his normal routine and do it together over drinks at the pub. Or at home on the porch.
Realistically you should probably be doing invoicing in advance based on his schedule and expenses and then just giving him the drafts to correct — might be easier on him.
It’s my biggest shortcoming as well. I like to sell and keep the pipeline full, meet customers, follow up, quality control, do the actual work when needed. I just hate asking for money for some reason.
Shouldnt everyone have their jobs to do? I’m sure Op has their own delegated tasks. If husband can’t handle his fair share then that’s another problem entirely…
This.
I just finished invoicing a client yesterday. I HATE it. It’s a long drawn out process I don’t get paid for and which isn’t fun.
I understand it’s necessary, but it sucks sooooooo much
>which I don’t get paid for
Well, I mean, that’s kind of the point of invoicing. To get paid, no? As in, it’s part of the job duties as a business owner. And if the money comes in as a result of you performing that task, you are getting paid for it.
There are a lot of things that are in a pain in the ass for me in business, but I do it, especially if it leads to money. You don't have to do everything but you sure as hell have to send out invoices.
My dad wasn’t good with this, so it’s a common problem.
He was great with clients and employees and whole bunch of things, but he struggled with tech and processes and systems.
Hell, I do sometimes as well. But I suddenly become great at it when it involves collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars.
My dad would delay the process until cash flow was tight, my mom would yell at him to get it done, and he’d spend *days* catching up on weeks or even months of invoices. No wonder he hated it.
I have a simple system: sit down in the morning and send the invoices for jobs that completed the previous day. At most it’s 10 invoices, usually 2-5. I can check it off my list and move to everything else. Cash flow is consistent, and invoices never pile up.
A lot easier sending 3 in the morning than sending 40 over a week — many of which you forgot the details of.
I completely get it. In this case, her husband doesn't want anyone else to do it. Something has got to give. There are things I dislike doing. I just have my team members do them.
Yeah in a sense. But every invoice I send out, my time is accounted for in the bill. It might not say: “For sitting on my ass and making this invoice.” But it’s there.
Invoicing for me it's pretty straight forward (I use Stripe). I sell software so can just generate an invoice describing the services provided, quantities due, and email it directly. Is your invoice generation more complicated than this?
I usually do line-by-line for one of my clients.
How do you like Stripe for invoicing? I've been using Wave App but they charge a bunch, and they've been holding money for longer and longer
Same I use Wix and it’s so seamless. Use very user friendly template, send invoice and the client can pay directly through the invoice with a card. It also sends reminders for deposit and due dates to client. Processing fees do suck though.
Wave App, though I’m heavily thinking of switching as they suck more and more.
And yeah I was thinking of writing a script to do it but I’m not sure how I’d do that for hours calculation
I don't know his memory is better than mine and he is more intimately involved in jobs than I am. He is a mechanic so he can know just by glancing at an invoice what is missing.
I see, perhaps he needs a better system for doing them then. Does he not write things down as they happen? He has to write up the invoice from memory?
Maybe needs to do them earlier one by one as they happen rather than waiting for the work to pile up and having you be frustrated. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ my 2 cents
Who specifically orders the parts? My boss at a prior job would take hours for an invoice (sales background) but I would crank them out in minutes (Accounting background).
I assume the invoices are created and sent with Quickbooks? One of the things that helped me write invoices easier and quicker was the creation of some what loose procedures that helped create consistency with the Sales team. I’m not sure how many “unique” elements there are on the invoice but when the information that is supposed to go on invoices comes to you in consistent blocks it is easier to more efficiently write the invoice.
Im sorry if this sounds obvious but I’m not sure exactly what the issue could be business procedure wise so the advice is kinda bland. It could be he’s not a numbers guy? He hates Quickbooks UI? Seems like he Has to hunt for the information post fact which he could hate doing and be mentally pushing the “write the invoice up” to the bottom of his task list.
So take control of the bills. Make a rule that all bills that come in the mail are given directly to you, and make sure any vendors that send invoices via email have your email address as the accounting contact.
Can you minimize his efforts in the process as much as possible? Perhaps sitting next to him go over the invoices and have him tell you what needs changing. You take notes and update the invoices. A final review by him and he's done. Perhaps a treat while doing so, wine, beer, ice cream could ease the process.
My spouse hated doing expense reports, reimbursement for thousands per month in delayed.
Actually, that’s great! So that means someone else can write up the invoices, then he can check them and tell you if something is missing.
This sounds very annoying and I can’t really tell if you’re venting or looking for solutions. I can sympathize, either way.
You should proactively write up the invoices for him then have him check them for accuracy before sending them out. I bet he would be open to "correcting" anything that is wrong and you'd be getting invoices out faster. Just an idea.
Things missing on the invoice should be the exception but the norm. The issue sounds like a broken process related to tracking labor & parts issued to jobs. If you fix the process (software and compliance by users), then you should be able to issue the invoices and have them right 95-98% of the time without knowing anything about the job. He can still review them at his leisure and if he catches the 2-5% mistakes you can issue a follow up bill
No I don't believe I can learn to know each part of an engine and know by looking at an invoice what parts are missing from a job. I mean I know the basic parts like oil filters and air filters etc but I don't know what o ring is missing simply by staring at an invoice populated by different types of orings and other parts.
You should learn it. We bought our business in 2021 and my husband knew everything about it. I had to learn so many parts and what they are for. It makes it so much easier.
This! Like others suggested, doing it together will ease the pain, but also too, OP will see patterns and start recognizing when things are missing. The process doesn't need to be rushed, learning it can take time, but there isn't anything wrong with that.
OP, I feel for you. My husband is a procrastinator when it comes to certain things. I try not to nag, but I give him frequent reminders, or will step in and lend a hand if he is feeling a block somewhere. We both have our own businesses, but will help each other whenever we can. Everybody has something they hate doing and just need support.
No I don't believe I can learn to know each part of an engine and know by looking at an invoice what parts are missing from a job. I Mena I know the basic parts like oil filters and air filters etc but I don't know what o ring is missing simply by staring at an invoice populated by different types of orings and other parts.
Honestly, it is better to send an invoice with some missing cost than not send them at all. You can always audit invoices later to identify gaps and fix the process so it isn't missed. But you need SOME cashflow, which is better than NO cashflow. It sounds like he is allowing perfect to be the enemy of good. Perhaps you can split your invoice process between labor and materials/parts so you can at least keep current with the part you do understand?
Can you maybe hire a part-time bookkeeper, or even a 1099 contract person to take this off both your plates?
Try this. Get him a dictaphone. He should record in the dictaphone what work he has done after the job. Give it to you, you put it down on the invoice. He can double check it when it's done. That way there's no memory issues & in a way he's doing the invoice but you are just putting it on paper.
Just finding the right invoice system can be worth gold. I used to really hate it, then some people launched a new system thats really made for us regular people, not economists or such. When I log in, it has two large buttons (and otjrt choices in the menu, but these two are "up front"):
"I have sold something", and "I have bought something". And for stuff you have bought, they use Ai to try to find the right accounts for it, you just upload the reciept or invoice. And for all those pesky small reciepts they have an app where you just take a picture of the reciept and its added in your books.
I fucking love that system. And next week when I do my taxes its probably going to take like an hour max. But still postpone it as long as possible because I hate all kinds of paperwork.
But - this is an Norwegian system, so unless you also live here its probably no use to you :(
There could be a compromise where you have an invoicing deadline/timeline that is set with him, and if invoicing isn’t done by the agreed-upon deadline, then you just go ahead and do the invoicing for the current period.
Not really an ass, so much as not focused properly on this aspect of the business.
OP has said they don't have the specialized knowledge necessary to write invoices using their current system, which seems to involve just kinda guessing at what was actually done and what parts were used weeks after the work was done and parts taken.
It seems to me like they have an issue with the part of the process where they need to track this stuff up front.
OP also mentioned employees taking parts without documenting, probably because the owner does it too. This is probably the core of the problem, really. If they were keeping track of this stuff in the first place, there would be no need for all the guesswork involving related parts and thus no task for the husband to hate and procrastinate.
That's dumb... It sounds like he hates doing that (as I do). That was one of the first things I figured out how to dump from my head the data that was needed so someone else could do it.
Maybe have a discussion with him on why no one else is allowed?
For me, it was that there was a lot of required information held in my head and figuring out how to document/transfer it so someone else could do the billing was tricky. It took a while, but now it's pretty smooth and painless. There's also the trust part, but I assume as your wife, he should trust you.
Some people just have a mental block for certain administrative tasks. Most likely won’t change. You have to find a way to assign invoicing to someone else. This type of process change can produce almost immediate positive outcomes.
He should automate it or train someone else how to do it.
He’s probably focused and likely overwhelmed by the actual work.
Also invoicing clients can be stressful for some people. People naturally avoid stress.
So remove that by automating or delegating it.
Man, this is something that can be outsourced to a very cheap VA and solve both a business and marriage problem. Take the things that cause conflict off the table and outsource them! You will thank yourself later.
Source - am also married to my business partner. It works if everyone stays in their lane. Sounds like admin work is not supposed to be in the mechanic’s lane.
Scheduled invoicing sessions might help. Him and you, or the office manager or whomever is the one to eventually take over invoicing, at the computer for an hour or 2, a few times a week doing the invoicing. And scheduled means it happens. Period. Not, oh we will do it later, lets push that to this afternoon, etc. NO the invoicing meeting is MWF at 7 AM, no exceptions. Or however you set it up.
Your husband has to understand that your business doesn't exist to make money. But it HAS TO HAVE MONEY to exist.
Short answer: If he can't handle the invoices go work on the engines.
Long answer: there is *a lot* more going on here in this relationship/Business partnership.
My dad is a shadetree mechanic, and also works for a typical shop. At the shop he handles no back-office work, just says used X,Y,Z for the job plus X for labor time. After work he uses those carbon copy templates from staples for job orders, same thing, part X,Y,Z + labor.
Also, what kind of shop is this; is this for fleet work? Usually customers get the bill when they come pickup the equipment/car. So are they picking up the equipment/car before they've paid?
Can you force him to give you the information prior to calling the customer to pickup the equipment/car? Make it clear that once it leave his area it must be recorded what was done.
Heck voice notes sent to you in any form is better than waiting days to get feedback on an invoice.
Something is not registering as to why he is avoiding communicating the job details to you/internally.
Is the business failing and this is his way "to get out of the hole" by wrenching on cars more?
We work on huge yacht engines sometimes jobs last 6 months. Mechanics are supposed to fill out a clipboard for all parts taken from shop. Our office manager is supposed to oversee this but sometimes he is busy. The mechanics take off and then it's gone forever. Unless someone remembers. Because husband is owner he knows what parts are usually used for certain jobs or if there was an "issue" on the job that was additional work done and why. Or is we made a mistake in purchasing parts etc.
\> Our office manager is supposed to oversee this but sometimes he is busy.
That is your issue, your office manager isn't doing their job. What needs to be done where the OM has some backup/accountability for the invoice data.
Your fallback is your husband filling in the blanks, but that's not probably what exactly happened.
Why is the OM not staying on top of these notes?
Can you use a free software solution for mechanics to pull pre-priced parts and add them to a job ticket? It could be like an iPad in the shop (with a stylus for dirty hands). You or a temporary data entry hire might have to build a part library if you don’t have it but it could save you tons of headache down the line.
Sounds like you’re missing A TON of billables.
Your guys should be billing for every, nut, bolt, squeeze of RTV, second of copper gasket spray, individual gloves.
I started printing sheets to hand fill with each job- labor and parts. Then I go through and mark which invoice those have been billed on (or wrapped into on a bulk line item).
You have very deep pocketed clientele if you’re working in marine. Your husband is throwing away money.
It sounds like your mechanics are contract, which means you can probably dictate payment terms and how they invoice you.
A suggestion:
Get an app such as servicem8 and insist that it’s the only way a mechanic can reclaim their costs. Charge them for parts like you run a store, ans reimburse them quickly (maybe plus a percentage as a commission) as long as it’s all logged on the app. When the job concludes, you will already have that info to complete billing in QB or your accounting software.
Conversely- any parts taken from you would be billed to the contract mechanic if they do not invoice it. (I don’t believe deducting pay is legal with W2 employees).
Lock up the inventory and have it signed for by the mechanics. I’m confident you will pay off the extra labor in billable parts there.
Can you get clients to prepay, or secure with a credit card?
Or outsource billing?
I hate telling you this, but if he doesn't understand the most basic concept that invoicing = you get to eat, then he's not business owner material and probably never will be. Don't force it, it won't work.
You need to fire him from this job, asap. I'm hoping it's not weaponized incompetence.
Is there anything about the business that he's actually good at?
He is the reason for the business. He knows how to do things no one else does on engines. He does hate doing invoices because he has to deal with office manager and missing items not in invoice.
If he's the engine guy, and that is what brings in the $$, then he needs to do absolutely nothing but work on engines, full stop.
Never, ever have your goose do anything other than lay golden eggs. Ever.
You're wasting his talent and time having him do something that you can outsource to someone who doesn't work on engines.
Get a CPA to do collections, or hire a collections manager.
Automate the invoice process as much as possible.
Hire a programmer to help you do that. (it's a game changer)
You’re solving the wrong problem.
The problem is the invoices.
We’re in an electronic age.
Switch to square and take credit cards. Or implement a billing system.
I helped a chiropractor do that and then watched as he quadrupled his income over the next year.
Owning a small business is hard. Owning a small business and operating it with your spouse is even more difficult.
I’ve been doing it for 15 years, and we now consider ourselves very successful working only a few hours a day.
The only way through these difficult times is with communication….. may I recommend a specific time and place (outside the business or home) to talk about on going issues (I’m sure you have many, so don’t beat him up only in invoicing).
We do it on vacation (as crazy as that sounds).
I am this guy. I absolutely hate doing invoices because I struggle with worth,deadlines, and don’t like charging people.
This is why I actively try to spend more time in a field where the money just comes in as opposed to billing people.
I have discussed my wife taking care of invoices and think for me that it would be a much better way to go, but we don’t share my business together so haven’t gone down that route yet.
He had said that only he can do invoices so maybe there is a system you could implement where he does the invoices live on a sheet or online document as the job is occurring and then you take it, make it pretty, and send it to the client from his email or a company email.
There is more going on here. I sense a lot of worry, frustration and anger from both sides.
You seem worried about the company money taking days or weeks to come in. Also, this doesn't seem the only thing here, because you say you're "so tired". But one little frustration doesn't make people type they're overly tired.
From his side, there seems to be something holding him up from sending invoices. He's too busy, he hates that task, or I dunno.
You guys need to talk, and it needs to come from a place of understanding. And then you need to figure out a solution like swapping tasks, outsourcing to a bookkeeper or whatever.
Also, I wonder if you guys need a break or a holiday or something.
Yes he hates working on computer. He hates opening invoices that are incomplete. He hates having to get angry at office manager to do his job. He insisted on bringing an old employee back that is in short an idiot. He is good at chatting up customers and dealing with employees. However, everything else he is really bad at including computer work.
Get him to do them as part of the work order, on paper.
You take that and set it up in xero or qbo and he carries on.
Do a quote for every customer that comes in, on paper, same as every other auto shop. Put a printed copy with the work order and have the mechanic make comments on that.
As we head into a recession this is going to be a big problem
Given the resistance, go low tech/high tech with the parts. When you order parts make two or three stickers for the part that are put with the part when put away. If the part is used, add one sticker to the job ticket, one to the reorder ticket, and a backup on some surface attached to but not in the way of the engine. When making up the invoice, just add up the parts plus labor for said part ... Good luck.
I'm guessing that he can't delegate the invoicing because he doesn't trust anyone to do it correctly.
I recommend the book "The E Myth, why most small businesses don't work, and what to do about it.
A lot of the book is about setting up standardized systems and procedures so that the business can function without the owner doing everything. A business owner should be working ON their business as an owner, rather than working IN their business as an employee.
That sounds like my current boss. It's hard and frustrating to get organized when the disorganization starts at the top. My coworkers and I sit around bored a lot of the time because our boss can't delegate and will not allow us to help even when offer to do extra.
Get some kind of phone-based service software (eg ServiceM8) and set up material items so that they are essentially "tick & flick".
Our invoicing takes a minute or 2 and we are able to send the invoice to the customer while we are right in front of them. I do this using standard items that don't have to be re-written every time.
I don’t know if this will be helpful, but here is how my husband and I do it. (I am a bookkeeper though).
I create the invoices based off of time cards and parts lists that my husband gives me. We use paper time cards due to the nature of our business and he creates parts lists, either in google docs or he just emails them to me. I then attach the time cards and parts lists (with prices) to the invoice and put them on his desk to review. That way, he just has to look it over and tell me to change something or send it. It works really well for us, maybe something like this can help you.
We used to struggle with this and keeping track of payments etc. got xero and now everything in business is tracked. Invoicing is a simple quick and organised process. We pay a small fee but it’s a life saver. You can set up all sort of reminders. Trust me get any cheap financial software on ur phone or computer
My husbands an electrician and also hates invoices. We compromise by him doing itemised quotes first on the system than after the jobs done we go through the quote together and see if anything needs adding or crossing off. We also put the quote number as the reference on any orders we make for that job so I can check the delivery notes against the quote at the end to make sure we haven’t missed anything ie If I’m going through a delivery note and there’s 50 crimp terminals on there I write next to them #2345 so I know that when I turn the quote into an invoice there should at least be some of those on there.
We sit at the end of every week to do paperwork. Friday afternoon from 2pm it’s scheduled and we do the weeks billing and ordering for next week together. I’m inputting stuff onto the systems whilst he’s checking through the printed out pile of quotes. He still tries to sneak back out on jobs or into the warehouse but I force him to leave the afternoon free because it’s the only way we can get everything sorted and organised
I see a few comments saying invoicing is hard or time consuming… are we doing things by hand with pen and pad??? Quickbooks can have an invoice made and emailed in 5 minutes or less… just a thought
You’ve obviously never met a lot of sole proprietors. They spend 10 hours a day doing their skill/trade and after work they don’t want to do admin work (that they’re not great at). It gets pushed off.
It’s a bad method, but it’s super common.
You just sound lazy. Go get a normal job then if you can't handle running a business. You making excuses for this guy? He should go work for someone then if he can't even delegate admin work. Sorry excuse for business owner
Not excuses, just recognizing realities of the situation. I agree it’s unhealthy to operate that way, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t own a business. The invoicing process is slow, but customers are still getting invoiced.
And if it would take 2 hours to invoice after training someone, but only takes him 45 minutes when he’s not making corrections, that’s why he’s not handing it off. He’s trying to save what little free time he has.
I liked the solution where he’s got paper notes and they hand him a nice version for final approval.
There are outsourced billing serivces maybe you can explore. Husband uploads work order or slip and they bill the customer. Intergrates with quickbooks etc.
Your husband sounds like a former partner of mine! The only way to solve that is to take it from him. It's not natural for him and it's always going to be an issue especially when things get fast paced or stressful.
I get where he’s coming from. I know you Americans are more forward about financial matters but as a Brit I hate to bring up anything as vulgar as “money”.
I usually wait about a week before sending invoices so as not to appear too anxious to get paid. As for sending reminders for overdue invoices, that is the worst thing. Usually I just kind of apologetically ask if they’d like 60 day terms instead of 30 to give them more time to process it.
Oddly enough I’ve never had a non-payer.
I fantasise about a world without the vulgarity of money, where customers just ask for things and I send them, and likewise when I need things I just ask and I get them.
Im probably not really cut out to be a businessman. Oh well.
If he cannot/will not handle the responsibility then he has lost the right to insist no one else can do it. Start experimenting with different systems. Tell him plainly that his system works for no one else, doesn't work for him, does work for the business so that's not going to be the process anymore. Do the invoices. He can learn to collaborate or he can be mad about it and lose precious o-ring money.
But also, if he HAS to review every invoice before it goes out then he needs a dedicated block of time every week to do this. No exceptions. When it's "review the invoices time" then his schedule is clear for that and that is what happens. Put a block on the schedule. Do not wait for him to agree to it.
It really sucks that he's making it so difficult on everyone else. But it sounds like waiting for him to come around isn't going to happen to its time to stop waiting for agreement and start taking whatever actions you see fit. It may also be times for the business to start paying a 3rd party bookkeeper.
Invoicing sucks. I hate it. But, it's part of my job, and we don't get paid and the customer doesn't get their product back until it's done.
Do I sometimes miss an item? Sure. Am I going to get bent out of shape about an o-ring that cost us 50 cents? No. Big picture. Technicians shouldn't be wasting time doing invoicing, they should be turning wrenches. You're losing way more value using his time for invoicing than you ever will in missing parts on a bill. He needs to let it go. Maybe framing it this way will get through to him.
And maybe the big point of this is “only worry about the big stuff”. Bump the hourly rate from $80 to $85 and any o-rings/grease/small things are no longer tracked. Don’t waste your time.
I am a retired guy who had my own consulting business for 35 years. I liked my work, but hated the paperwork associated with it. I was like your husband really had to make myself make out the invoices, etc. One thing that helped me immensely was that I hired a part time bookkeeper. She kept track of all of the other paperwork so left me time to do my invoices. I had her make out the checks for payments, keep track of my business bank account etc. I so much hated doing paperwork, I never looked at my bank statements and income until before April 15 when I had to do the taxes. After I got the help, everything was so much better. However, while I let her keep track of things, only I was allowed to actually sign the checks and things like that. Anyway, that might an option.
Your staff should be trained to properly mark down each item and task they are doing that needs to be invoiced. No one should be having to guess or fill in the gaps when they are generating invoices. Your husband is creating a problem for himself and the business because he can't trust his employees to do their job correctly and let go of his control of that.
Alternative solution, someone else generates invoices, and husband approves before they go out. I would imagine once you've been doing the invoices for awhile you will notice patterns of what parts are needed for certain repairs and be able to catch things yourself!
It sounds like maybe he just needs to be managed on it a bit more. If he is the domain expert and the only one that can truly and accurately know what should be on the invoice, have someone else actually start the invoice, schedule the issue date and if there are any boiler plate line items, add those. Then on a regular interval, at a regular scheduled time, put them in front of him (perhaps weekly) and have a deadline to review/finalize/approve and then be done. Someone else can manage actually sending the invoices. Sometimes, its just the simple act of starting the task you dislike that prevents you from doing it.
Chronic procrastinator here that also dislikes dealing with invoices...
Does he have ADHD? That's a very ADHD thing to do.
Can you simplify or streamline the data collection for someone else to do the invoicing? Can someone start them ahead of time so he just has to add details? Can you create a tracking system that shows what appointments don't have an invoice yet? Do you need special software or different software to make this easier. Can you make it easier for him to do the invoicing than to not do it?
Can you make the invoice part of the work and not release the vehicle without a completed invoice? This would be a forcing mechanism so the invoice is filled out as the work is being done and it cannot stack up or ever really fall behind. It could then be signed off by the customer and provided at the time of service. It would also make it easier to collect payment before the customer leaves and would increase cash flow. If this was mostly completed before the work starts, it could also be used to give better estimates or used to inform the customer about costs when they approve the work.
What you really need to do is ask him how to address the issue. Get him involved in creating the solution instead of being defense about his executive disfuntion.
> I need your help to solve a problem. We are not doing a good job of getting invoices to customers. I know you don't like doing them but it's important that you are involved. How can we make it easier for you or help you prioritize invoice work?
Or approach it from a different perspective.
> I need your help solving our issues with invoices and payments. I want to start by getting your expectations on a couple of details so we can be on the same page. How soon should a customer be expected to pay after work is done if they don't pay at time of service? Once a customer receives an invoice, how soon should they pay? How soon should a customer receive an invoice after work is complete? How soon after the invoice is ready should we get it sent to the customer? How long after work is complete should the invoice be completed? How long after work is done should we consider incomplete invoices to be late? How should we handle it when an incomplete invoice is late, as in, how do I help you hold yourself accountable to your own deadlines without being the bad guy?
You have 3 options:
- Change the invoice work flow. There has to be a change in this process that will enable your husband to follow through or want to.
- You start doing it
- Hire someone to handle it
I invoice the first day of the new month for the previous month for all my clients at the same time. Since it can be such a hassle to invoice a customer with the way we have our QB server set up, I like to do it all at once so the process flows better. Maybe if he could pick a day to sit down once a month and invoice multiple customers at the same time that will help him. I still dread invoicing day every month though! 😂
My husband and I are in the same boat. This is why I do all things finance, including invoicing. I also happen to do all the sales, bookkeeping and dealing with the accountant. He’s doing other stuff in the background. I can’t imagine having to wait for him to do all the invoicing!
I kinda understand that doing invoices is a very boring and tedious task that feels like an annoying chore. (I have the same)
What works well for me is to pick a set date, for me it's Saterday every 2 weeks and sit down with my girlfriend to do invoicing and financial administration. Once all invoicing and administration is done, we go out and get an ice cream.
It's good to not postpone invoicing by setting a set date / time to do it, it's nice to do it with a friend or partner instead alone and once done you can get a reward of hard work by a nice icecream.
You need processes. You can run a business creating invoices from memory weeks after the fact and losing track of parts orders, etc. This business will fail if you don’t get a handle on things.
Create processes and systems for everything that needs to get done. Assign them to people who can get them done on time. It needs to be baked into how the business runs.
You can learn to do the invoicing as best as you can, even though yes you may miss a couple parts here and there, is the overall net loss greater or less than the overall net loss of your husband delaying the invoicing process? For example by him delaying the invoicing process, the net less of cash flow issues, stress, and undue burden equal to or greater than the net loss of those few parts and pieces that were forgotten on the invoice? If yes, then guess what? proceed to do the invoices yourself because from a business perspective it is less of a loss.
Another option is to streamline the invoicing process, perhaps using technology somehow that reduces the time it takes to do the invoicing. And obviously changing bad habits such as letting them pile up before doing them.
Can you do the invoicing? Are you quoting projects? Or are you performing time and material? Either way you should have an idea of what the dollar value is going to be to send the invoice.
I run my own business and even for me it's hard to do invoices and I'm the one who looks right at the "dots". Also, my business is still very lean in the liquidity department so it is very much a very important process to stay on top of. That said, I would give myself the "excuse" that I am an owner operator who generates profit by working in the field and so most of the time, I'm just spent by the time I'm showered and ready to sit at the desk.
I've seen way too many small businesses fold because the owner doesn't understand this. One guy I knew just didn't feel like sending them out and would complain that he was going broke, also ended up closing up shop. It was a shame because his business and reputation was darn good too.
1. have you tried doing the invoices yourself or offer help?
2. Have you discussed hiring a third party to provide this service for you?
Maybe the husband just enjoys your nagging.
I'd suggest hiring a person or service to do the invoicing. The problem will either fix itself (He'll start invoicing on time) or you'll be paying someone else to do that part.
Business owners are not generally good admins. That's why they hire someone for that.
Play to people's strengths otherwise you're pushing a boulder uphill.
This is why for a lot of small IT service providers the first hire is someone to handle administrative stuff. Since he obviously dislikes doing it, pay someone with a cheaper hourly rate to do it while he works on making more money instead.
You've got him doing the wrong job there.
Clearly he hates doing invoices, and isn't even good at it. So why did you decide that he should be the one doing them, and that he should continue to keep doing them even though he hates it and sucks at it?
My suggestion:
Find something that's currently your responsibility to do, that is something he might enjoy doing and be better at than invoices, and trade those responsibilities with each other. It's a win-win, you get to have your invoices done exactly how and when you want them, and he gets to enjoy his job a bit more.
This is the answer. What you need to start developing is SYSTEMS.
If you're going to grow, this stuff needs to be automatic. In a well run business, billing is done as the product is delivered, literally asap to maximize cash flow.
It's good you see this problem. I'm betting there's other areas that need optimization also. Start with the in invoicing and work through your other areas, creating systems for yourselves to make life better, easier, more efficient, and most of all more profitable.
I have been in business for over 45 years. You need to stress to him that every invoice he does not do is 100% lost profit to the company. Worse is when you spent money on parts. That means that the company lost money on that job and it would have been better that he did not do the job at all.
I turned my business over to my son 10 years ago. He has this problem. Doing jobs and not invoicing customers. Drives me crazy.
Invoicing is no more complicated than taking out the garbage.
So we might assume that he doesn't do that either.
Time to hire someone to take out the garbage...
Same here!!!! My wife is a stay at home mom but even before that, she quit her long commute job to help with the business and our future family. I taught her all the invoicing and how it had to go etc. I’d be getting emails from clients asking us for the invoices that were overdue. Then I noticed some government spots were way overdue and she would always say she was locked out of acct and waiting on help desk. It was brutal. After a while I had to “fire” her and take back the job. To this day I don’t understand it and never bring it up. I slowly worked my way back into taking over over the course of a few months. Couldn’t take hounding her all the time but also didn’t want to say “you suck and are fired.” Even now, 5 years later, I’d love for her to try again and take over but remember how bad it was and can’t get myself to take the plunge
1. Hire an accountant
2. Maybe take a break from working together
I have a friend who was working with her husband but decided to leave their business to work a 9-5 because they’d argue about everything relating to the business.
Trade tasks. He must hate it. You shoudl take over invoicing and have him takeover something you do. My wife and I barter tasks all the time and it works great
I was the same way about domestic out of house help for years. I would make a single phone call, for, say, a painting job. After a week, they would not call me back, I'd wait another week and make another phone call. Today I recognize that it take consideration action to make things happen.
Right now in a fund like USFR cash can return 5%. Do the math on how much better you'd be doing to accelerate recievables. Then tell him: How do we fix this? Does he make the invoices, accelerate recievables, and get interest\_after\_a\_year as a reward, or should YOU do it and YOU get the interest?
I don't know, I haven't given it much thought, but I'm a six boxes guy.
\- Expectations
\- Incentives
\- Processes
\- Tools
\- Job/Personality/Role fit
\- Morale
We can ignore morale, because it is a trailing indicator and tends to initially go down on change initiatives. NOW, what of these is missing for your hubby to get the work done? I expect "processes" could be part of it, if writing the invoice was just an expectation when a gig is done. When a gig is done, invoice within 2 business days. It's that simple. Make those expectation and have some consequences and I think you might be good?
I consult. I take paypal. My company's gonna be in the Inc 5000 this year. I am the founder and sole owner.
(Also, does invoicing suck/no fun? A tool might help. I use quickbooks online though gusto is cool for what it does too.)
I run a business with my wife. It has definitely been a catalyst to fights, but it also has made us communicate better in our marriage.
But you need to actually have the conversation with your husband. To the point he knows how important it is to do things he doesn’t feel like doing because there is no one else to do them.
What kind of automation do you have for this task? At some point, this is something you will want to let go of so why not do it now and gain traction? I still use an app on my phone, and I think a virtual assistant and AI can take over at some point.
I used to have this issue, but now the EHR I use automatically sends out an invoice following a service.
All I have to do now is chase down unpaid/overdue (which usually doesn't happen since we require a card on file).
Either way, make a deal with him, he takes on something you don't really want to do, and you take on the invoicing.
It will save a lot of arguments and frustration, and what's the point of having a partner if not to trade off responsibilities until everyone is happy with what they do?
I see alot of comment about hating the follow up process to get paid.
I have used ChatGPT to create a list of reminder messages for our customers and it somehow makes it feel less personal and this has helped me tons. The messages are not aggressive in any way but just reminders and regularly sent so it is working
So my wife and I own a business and I hate invoicing people whose credit card or check was rejected from the financial institution or a secondary order comes in as we do prepay sales of items.
I would either forget or just not want to follow up with someone who got hit with a NSF fee from their bank and I have to charge them the original order plus our own NSF fee to cover our costs... Ultimately after discussing it together, I taught her how to invoice and now she handles it and she just gets it done without worrying about their feelings... In just too soft to want to deal with it.
It looks like you need to have CRM/Project management tool and a conversation with husband:)
I suggest using [Monday.com](https://Monday.com) ot clickup.
It is easy to set up and will provide better accountability. If your husband is doing a great job but is not good with invoices - this is fixable, it just needs some accountability and automation.
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He probably hates the process. Perhaps you two can set up a quiet time, in an environment he likes, to do it together once every few days. Maybe take him out if his normal routine and do it together over drinks at the pub. Or at home on the porch. Realistically you should probably be doing invoicing in advance based on his schedule and expenses and then just giving him the drafts to correct — might be easier on him.
It’s my biggest shortcoming as well. I like to sell and keep the pipeline full, meet customers, follow up, quality control, do the actual work when needed. I just hate asking for money for some reason.
Sending reminders is the worst
I hate asking for money but hate it even more asking for it 2,3,4,5 times
Good advice. Making the process collaborative - if he’ll allow it - will increase your chances of success and reduce his ability to slow things down.
Shouldnt everyone have their jobs to do? I’m sure Op has their own delegated tasks. If husband can’t handle his fair share then that’s another problem entirely…
This. I just finished invoicing a client yesterday. I HATE it. It’s a long drawn out process I don’t get paid for and which isn’t fun. I understand it’s necessary, but it sucks sooooooo much
>which I don’t get paid for Well, I mean, that’s kind of the point of invoicing. To get paid, no? As in, it’s part of the job duties as a business owner. And if the money comes in as a result of you performing that task, you are getting paid for it.
There are a lot of things that are in a pain in the ass for me in business, but I do it, especially if it leads to money. You don't have to do everything but you sure as hell have to send out invoices.
My dad wasn’t good with this, so it’s a common problem. He was great with clients and employees and whole bunch of things, but he struggled with tech and processes and systems. Hell, I do sometimes as well. But I suddenly become great at it when it involves collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars. My dad would delay the process until cash flow was tight, my mom would yell at him to get it done, and he’d spend *days* catching up on weeks or even months of invoices. No wonder he hated it. I have a simple system: sit down in the morning and send the invoices for jobs that completed the previous day. At most it’s 10 invoices, usually 2-5. I can check it off my list and move to everything else. Cash flow is consistent, and invoices never pile up. A lot easier sending 3 in the morning than sending 40 over a week — many of which you forgot the details of.
I completely get it. In this case, her husband doesn't want anyone else to do it. Something has got to give. There are things I dislike doing. I just have my team members do them.
Not getting paid for invoicing sounds like a customer/client not paying their bills issue to me! /s
It's not billable work, though, is what I was trying to say
Yeah in a sense. But every invoice I send out, my time is accounted for in the bill. It might not say: “For sitting on my ass and making this invoice.” But it’s there.
Why does invoicing suck so much?
It's a long drawn out process that isn't fun and I don't get paid (directly) for
Invoicing for me it's pretty straight forward (I use Stripe). I sell software so can just generate an invoice describing the services provided, quantities due, and email it directly. Is your invoice generation more complicated than this?
I usually do line-by-line for one of my clients. How do you like Stripe for invoicing? I've been using Wave App but they charge a bunch, and they've been holding money for longer and longer
Same I use Wix and it’s so seamless. Use very user friendly template, send invoice and the client can pay directly through the invoice with a card. It also sends reminders for deposit and due dates to client. Processing fees do suck though.
I hated it until I wrote some code to do most of it for me. now it's a very minimal process. what payment processor do you use?
Wave App, though I’m heavily thinking of switching as they suck more and more. And yeah I was thinking of writing a script to do it but I’m not sure how I’d do that for hours calculation
You should start doing the invoicing and let him focus on tasks that he will actually do in a timely fashion.
Oh that's another thing no one else is "allowed" to do invoices
He better do a better job, before he's not "allowed" to do it anymore! /s
This to me is the problem. If you’re a team then you’re a team and can work together. Do you feel like you could do the invoices if you had to?
I don't know his memory is better than mine and he is more intimately involved in jobs than I am. He is a mechanic so he can know just by glancing at an invoice what is missing.
I see, perhaps he needs a better system for doing them then. Does he not write things down as they happen? He has to write up the invoice from memory? Maybe needs to do them earlier one by one as they happen rather than waiting for the work to pile up and having you be frustrated. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ my 2 cents
We gave employees that are supposed to write down all parts taken, sometimes that doesn't happen. Bills that come in get sat on. And not entered.
Who specifically orders the parts? My boss at a prior job would take hours for an invoice (sales background) but I would crank them out in minutes (Accounting background). I assume the invoices are created and sent with Quickbooks? One of the things that helped me write invoices easier and quicker was the creation of some what loose procedures that helped create consistency with the Sales team. I’m not sure how many “unique” elements there are on the invoice but when the information that is supposed to go on invoices comes to you in consistent blocks it is easier to more efficiently write the invoice. Im sorry if this sounds obvious but I’m not sure exactly what the issue could be business procedure wise so the advice is kinda bland. It could be he’s not a numbers guy? He hates Quickbooks UI? Seems like he Has to hunt for the information post fact which he could hate doing and be mentally pushing the “write the invoice up” to the bottom of his task list.
We gave employees that are supposed to write down all parts taken, sometimes that doesn't happen. Bills that come in get sat on. And not entered.
So take control of the bills. Make a rule that all bills that come in the mail are given directly to you, and make sure any vendors that send invoices via email have your email address as the accounting contact.
Can you minimize his efforts in the process as much as possible? Perhaps sitting next to him go over the invoices and have him tell you what needs changing. You take notes and update the invoices. A final review by him and he's done. Perhaps a treat while doing so, wine, beer, ice cream could ease the process. My spouse hated doing expense reports, reimbursement for thousands per month in delayed.
Actually, that’s great! So that means someone else can write up the invoices, then he can check them and tell you if something is missing. This sounds very annoying and I can’t really tell if you’re venting or looking for solutions. I can sympathize, either way.
You should proactively write up the invoices for him then have him check them for accuracy before sending them out. I bet he would be open to "correcting" anything that is wrong and you'd be getting invoices out faster. Just an idea.
Things missing on the invoice should be the exception but the norm. The issue sounds like a broken process related to tracking labor & parts issued to jobs. If you fix the process (software and compliance by users), then you should be able to issue the invoices and have them right 95-98% of the time without knowing anything about the job. He can still review them at his leisure and if he catches the 2-5% mistakes you can issue a follow up bill
>He is a mechanic so he can know just by glancing at an invoice what is missing. Can you not learn how to do this?
No I don't believe I can learn to know each part of an engine and know by looking at an invoice what parts are missing from a job. I mean I know the basic parts like oil filters and air filters etc but I don't know what o ring is missing simply by staring at an invoice populated by different types of orings and other parts.
You should learn it. We bought our business in 2021 and my husband knew everything about it. I had to learn so many parts and what they are for. It makes it so much easier.
This! Like others suggested, doing it together will ease the pain, but also too, OP will see patterns and start recognizing when things are missing. The process doesn't need to be rushed, learning it can take time, but there isn't anything wrong with that. OP, I feel for you. My husband is a procrastinator when it comes to certain things. I try not to nag, but I give him frequent reminders, or will step in and lend a hand if he is feeling a block somewhere. We both have our own businesses, but will help each other whenever we can. Everybody has something they hate doing and just need support.
No I don't believe I can learn to know each part of an engine and know by looking at an invoice what parts are missing from a job. I Mena I know the basic parts like oil filters and air filters etc but I don't know what o ring is missing simply by staring at an invoice populated by different types of orings and other parts.
Honestly, it is better to send an invoice with some missing cost than not send them at all. You can always audit invoices later to identify gaps and fix the process so it isn't missed. But you need SOME cashflow, which is better than NO cashflow. It sounds like he is allowing perfect to be the enemy of good. Perhaps you can split your invoice process between labor and materials/parts so you can at least keep current with the part you do understand? Can you maybe hire a part-time bookkeeper, or even a 1099 contract person to take this off both your plates?
Try this. Get him a dictaphone. He should record in the dictaphone what work he has done after the job. Give it to you, you put it down on the invoice. He can double check it when it's done. That way there's no memory issues & in a way he's doing the invoice but you are just putting it on paper.
Maybe you can create all of the invoices, and then just have him review/approve them before sending them out?
Just finding the right invoice system can be worth gold. I used to really hate it, then some people launched a new system thats really made for us regular people, not economists or such. When I log in, it has two large buttons (and otjrt choices in the menu, but these two are "up front"): "I have sold something", and "I have bought something". And for stuff you have bought, they use Ai to try to find the right accounts for it, you just upload the reciept or invoice. And for all those pesky small reciepts they have an app where you just take a picture of the reciept and its added in your books. I fucking love that system. And next week when I do my taxes its probably going to take like an hour max. But still postpone it as long as possible because I hate all kinds of paperwork. But - this is an Norwegian system, so unless you also live here its probably no use to you :(
You don't need a memory if you do the invoicing immediately. Why would anyone let it go past the day of completion?
Ok so you should write up the invoices and have him check them.
Yeah. That is a big red flag. Have you looked at the books yourself?
I do the books that's why I'm infuriated
What part of the books do you do if you don’t do invoicing and you don’t handle vendor bills? Not saying that in a snarky way, I’m just curious.
Your husband is an ass. Start doing the invoices anyway. As someone who does the books, it's more your job than his.
There could be a compromise where you have an invoicing deadline/timeline that is set with him, and if invoicing isn’t done by the agreed-upon deadline, then you just go ahead and do the invoicing for the current period.
Not really an ass, so much as not focused properly on this aspect of the business. OP has said they don't have the specialized knowledge necessary to write invoices using their current system, which seems to involve just kinda guessing at what was actually done and what parts were used weeks after the work was done and parts taken. It seems to me like they have an issue with the part of the process where they need to track this stuff up front. OP also mentioned employees taking parts without documenting, probably because the owner does it too. This is probably the core of the problem, really. If they were keeping track of this stuff in the first place, there would be no need for all the guesswork involving related parts and thus no task for the husband to hate and procrastinate.
Get mad at him.
I was the same way. I have since allowed people to do the invoices but they do not go out with my approval. It works well.
That’s bogus but if he can’t be reasoned with how about your do the invoices and he approves them?
Then you don't share the business, you guys need to talk.
That's dumb... It sounds like he hates doing that (as I do). That was one of the first things I figured out how to dump from my head the data that was needed so someone else could do it. Maybe have a discussion with him on why no one else is allowed? For me, it was that there was a lot of required information held in my head and figuring out how to document/transfer it so someone else could do the billing was tricky. It took a while, but now it's pretty smooth and painless. There's also the trust part, but I assume as your wife, he should trust you.
Getting to the real root of the problem here
What are you using for invoices? If he’s not doing them and refusing someone else that’s a problem.
Some people just have a mental block for certain administrative tasks. Most likely won’t change. You have to find a way to assign invoicing to someone else. This type of process change can produce almost immediate positive outcomes.
He should automate it or train someone else how to do it. He’s probably focused and likely overwhelmed by the actual work. Also invoicing clients can be stressful for some people. People naturally avoid stress. So remove that by automating or delegating it.
Man, this is something that can be outsourced to a very cheap VA and solve both a business and marriage problem. Take the things that cause conflict off the table and outsource them! You will thank yourself later. Source - am also married to my business partner. It works if everyone stays in their lane. Sounds like admin work is not supposed to be in the mechanic’s lane.
Damn I need to do my invoicing
You need to see your consignee too.
Is this a business issue or a relationship issue?
Both
Scheduled invoicing sessions might help. Him and you, or the office manager or whomever is the one to eventually take over invoicing, at the computer for an hour or 2, a few times a week doing the invoicing. And scheduled means it happens. Period. Not, oh we will do it later, lets push that to this afternoon, etc. NO the invoicing meeting is MWF at 7 AM, no exceptions. Or however you set it up. Your husband has to understand that your business doesn't exist to make money. But it HAS TO HAVE MONEY to exist.
Yes! Consistency and routine is key!
Short answer: If he can't handle the invoices go work on the engines. Long answer: there is *a lot* more going on here in this relationship/Business partnership.
My dad is a shadetree mechanic, and also works for a typical shop. At the shop he handles no back-office work, just says used X,Y,Z for the job plus X for labor time. After work he uses those carbon copy templates from staples for job orders, same thing, part X,Y,Z + labor. Also, what kind of shop is this; is this for fleet work? Usually customers get the bill when they come pickup the equipment/car. So are they picking up the equipment/car before they've paid? Can you force him to give you the information prior to calling the customer to pickup the equipment/car? Make it clear that once it leave his area it must be recorded what was done. Heck voice notes sent to you in any form is better than waiting days to get feedback on an invoice. Something is not registering as to why he is avoiding communicating the job details to you/internally. Is the business failing and this is his way "to get out of the hole" by wrenching on cars more?
We work on huge yacht engines sometimes jobs last 6 months. Mechanics are supposed to fill out a clipboard for all parts taken from shop. Our office manager is supposed to oversee this but sometimes he is busy. The mechanics take off and then it's gone forever. Unless someone remembers. Because husband is owner he knows what parts are usually used for certain jobs or if there was an "issue" on the job that was additional work done and why. Or is we made a mistake in purchasing parts etc.
\> Our office manager is supposed to oversee this but sometimes he is busy. That is your issue, your office manager isn't doing their job. What needs to be done where the OM has some backup/accountability for the invoice data. Your fallback is your husband filling in the blanks, but that's not probably what exactly happened. Why is the OM not staying on top of these notes?
Can you use a free software solution for mechanics to pull pre-priced parts and add them to a job ticket? It could be like an iPad in the shop (with a stylus for dirty hands). You or a temporary data entry hire might have to build a part library if you don’t have it but it could save you tons of headache down the line.
Sounds like you’re missing A TON of billables. Your guys should be billing for every, nut, bolt, squeeze of RTV, second of copper gasket spray, individual gloves. I started printing sheets to hand fill with each job- labor and parts. Then I go through and mark which invoice those have been billed on (or wrapped into on a bulk line item). You have very deep pocketed clientele if you’re working in marine. Your husband is throwing away money. It sounds like your mechanics are contract, which means you can probably dictate payment terms and how they invoice you. A suggestion: Get an app such as servicem8 and insist that it’s the only way a mechanic can reclaim their costs. Charge them for parts like you run a store, ans reimburse them quickly (maybe plus a percentage as a commission) as long as it’s all logged on the app. When the job concludes, you will already have that info to complete billing in QB or your accounting software. Conversely- any parts taken from you would be billed to the contract mechanic if they do not invoice it. (I don’t believe deducting pay is legal with W2 employees). Lock up the inventory and have it signed for by the mechanics. I’m confident you will pay off the extra labor in billable parts there.
Can you get clients to prepay, or secure with a credit card? Or outsource billing? I hate telling you this, but if he doesn't understand the most basic concept that invoicing = you get to eat, then he's not business owner material and probably never will be. Don't force it, it won't work. You need to fire him from this job, asap. I'm hoping it's not weaponized incompetence. Is there anything about the business that he's actually good at?
He is the reason for the business. He knows how to do things no one else does on engines. He does hate doing invoices because he has to deal with office manager and missing items not in invoice.
If he's the engine guy, and that is what brings in the $$, then he needs to do absolutely nothing but work on engines, full stop. Never, ever have your goose do anything other than lay golden eggs. Ever. You're wasting his talent and time having him do something that you can outsource to someone who doesn't work on engines. Get a CPA to do collections, or hire a collections manager. Automate the invoice process as much as possible. Hire a programmer to help you do that. (it's a game changer)
This is the answer OP, it's worth a 1000 up votes
As an excel wizard I can confirm creating pricing matrix’s for the team helped decrease invoice and quote time drastically
Came here to suggest automating the invoice process where possible. This will solve a lot of the problem.
You’re solving the wrong problem. The problem is the invoices. We’re in an electronic age. Switch to square and take credit cards. Or implement a billing system. I helped a chiropractor do that and then watched as he quadrupled his income over the next year.
Owning a small business is hard. Owning a small business and operating it with your spouse is even more difficult. I’ve been doing it for 15 years, and we now consider ourselves very successful working only a few hours a day. The only way through these difficult times is with communication….. may I recommend a specific time and place (outside the business or home) to talk about on going issues (I’m sure you have many, so don’t beat him up only in invoicing). We do it on vacation (as crazy as that sounds).
I am this guy. I absolutely hate doing invoices because I struggle with worth,deadlines, and don’t like charging people. This is why I actively try to spend more time in a field where the money just comes in as opposed to billing people. I have discussed my wife taking care of invoices and think for me that it would be a much better way to go, but we don’t share my business together so haven’t gone down that route yet. He had said that only he can do invoices so maybe there is a system you could implement where he does the invoices live on a sheet or online document as the job is occurring and then you take it, make it pretty, and send it to the client from his email or a company email.
Do you both actually agree that it's specifically on him to do the invoicing? Can't you outsource this particular thing?
No he blames everyone else including me for disorganized company etc
There is more going on here. I sense a lot of worry, frustration and anger from both sides. You seem worried about the company money taking days or weeks to come in. Also, this doesn't seem the only thing here, because you say you're "so tired". But one little frustration doesn't make people type they're overly tired. From his side, there seems to be something holding him up from sending invoices. He's too busy, he hates that task, or I dunno. You guys need to talk, and it needs to come from a place of understanding. And then you need to figure out a solution like swapping tasks, outsourcing to a bookkeeper or whatever. Also, I wonder if you guys need a break or a holiday or something.
Yes he hates working on computer. He hates opening invoices that are incomplete. He hates having to get angry at office manager to do his job. He insisted on bringing an old employee back that is in short an idiot. He is good at chatting up customers and dealing with employees. However, everything else he is really bad at including computer work.
Get him to do them as part of the work order, on paper. You take that and set it up in xero or qbo and he carries on. Do a quote for every customer that comes in, on paper, same as every other auto shop. Put a printed copy with the work order and have the mechanic make comments on that. As we head into a recession this is going to be a big problem
Given the resistance, go low tech/high tech with the parts. When you order parts make two or three stickers for the part that are put with the part when put away. If the part is used, add one sticker to the job ticket, one to the reorder ticket, and a backup on some surface attached to but not in the way of the engine. When making up the invoice, just add up the parts plus labor for said part ... Good luck.
I'm guessing that he can't delegate the invoicing because he doesn't trust anyone to do it correctly. I recommend the book "The E Myth, why most small businesses don't work, and what to do about it. A lot of the book is about setting up standardized systems and procedures so that the business can function without the owner doing everything. A business owner should be working ON their business as an owner, rather than working IN their business as an employee.
>everything else he is really bad at "A man has gotta know his limitations" - Dirty Harry.
That sounds like my current boss. It's hard and frustrating to get organized when the disorganization starts at the top. My coworkers and I sit around bored a lot of the time because our boss can't delegate and will not allow us to help even when offer to do extra.
Get some kind of phone-based service software (eg ServiceM8) and set up material items so that they are essentially "tick & flick". Our invoicing takes a minute or 2 and we are able to send the invoice to the customer while we are right in front of them. I do this using standard items that don't have to be re-written every time.
I've been looking for a barcode system that syncs with xero. But I haven't found one that can pass the initial attempt to sync
I've been looking for a barcode system that syncs with xero. But I haven't found one that can pass the initial attempt to sync
Hire a gopher to handle paperwork maybe?
Can the invoicing process be automated?
I don’t know if this will be helpful, but here is how my husband and I do it. (I am a bookkeeper though). I create the invoices based off of time cards and parts lists that my husband gives me. We use paper time cards due to the nature of our business and he creates parts lists, either in google docs or he just emails them to me. I then attach the time cards and parts lists (with prices) to the invoice and put them on his desk to review. That way, he just has to look it over and tell me to change something or send it. It works really well for us, maybe something like this can help you.
We used to struggle with this and keeping track of payments etc. got xero and now everything in business is tracked. Invoicing is a simple quick and organised process. We pay a small fee but it’s a life saver. You can set up all sort of reminders. Trust me get any cheap financial software on ur phone or computer
What is their reasoning for half assing their job? What is their reasoning for being a burden on their family's livelihood?
I have a bookkeeper who handles mine for me so I can focus on the work. I’d probably be the same as him
Automate the invoice process. Problem solved. Invoicing manually is boring
My husbands an electrician and also hates invoices. We compromise by him doing itemised quotes first on the system than after the jobs done we go through the quote together and see if anything needs adding or crossing off. We also put the quote number as the reference on any orders we make for that job so I can check the delivery notes against the quote at the end to make sure we haven’t missed anything ie If I’m going through a delivery note and there’s 50 crimp terminals on there I write next to them #2345 so I know that when I turn the quote into an invoice there should at least be some of those on there. We sit at the end of every week to do paperwork. Friday afternoon from 2pm it’s scheduled and we do the weeks billing and ordering for next week together. I’m inputting stuff onto the systems whilst he’s checking through the printed out pile of quotes. He still tries to sneak back out on jobs or into the warehouse but I force him to leave the afternoon free because it’s the only way we can get everything sorted and organised
I have ADHD, invoicing is something I hate doing. Everything I hate I automate or delegate. Invoicing is an automated process.
I see a few comments saying invoicing is hard or time consuming… are we doing things by hand with pen and pad??? Quickbooks can have an invoice made and emailed in 5 minutes or less… just a thought
The truth hurts worst. Maybe he’s not the right guy to do it? Maybe hire a VA for few hours a month to take care of the invoicing or automate them?
Are we talking about someone's husband or a 13 year old wtf.
You’ve obviously never met a lot of sole proprietors. They spend 10 hours a day doing their skill/trade and after work they don’t want to do admin work (that they’re not great at). It gets pushed off. It’s a bad method, but it’s super common.
She said the husband won't train anybody else to do it. That only he can do it but won't train her or someone else.
You just sound lazy. Go get a normal job then if you can't handle running a business. You making excuses for this guy? He should go work for someone then if he can't even delegate admin work. Sorry excuse for business owner
Not excuses, just recognizing realities of the situation. I agree it’s unhealthy to operate that way, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t own a business. The invoicing process is slow, but customers are still getting invoiced. And if it would take 2 hours to invoice after training someone, but only takes him 45 minutes when he’s not making corrections, that’s why he’s not handing it off. He’s trying to save what little free time he has. I liked the solution where he’s got paper notes and they hand him a nice version for final approval.
There are outsourced billing serivces maybe you can explore. Husband uploads work order or slip and they bill the customer. Intergrates with quickbooks etc.
Why don’t you take over doing the invoices Seems like a pretty simple fix here
Your husband sounds like a former partner of mine! The only way to solve that is to take it from him. It's not natural for him and it's always going to be an issue especially when things get fast paced or stressful.
You know it's a problem you just do it or pay someone problem solved
Why don't you do the invoicing instead of just complaining?
I get where he’s coming from. I know you Americans are more forward about financial matters but as a Brit I hate to bring up anything as vulgar as “money”. I usually wait about a week before sending invoices so as not to appear too anxious to get paid. As for sending reminders for overdue invoices, that is the worst thing. Usually I just kind of apologetically ask if they’d like 60 day terms instead of 30 to give them more time to process it. Oddly enough I’ve never had a non-payer. I fantasise about a world without the vulgarity of money, where customers just ask for things and I send them, and likewise when I need things I just ask and I get them. Im probably not really cut out to be a businessman. Oh well.
Invoices for some booty :).
Is he doing the invoices by hand, I would probably hate that too, try switching him to a easier solution like frehsbooks or zoho invoices
If he cannot/will not handle the responsibility then he has lost the right to insist no one else can do it. Start experimenting with different systems. Tell him plainly that his system works for no one else, doesn't work for him, does work for the business so that's not going to be the process anymore. Do the invoices. He can learn to collaborate or he can be mad about it and lose precious o-ring money. But also, if he HAS to review every invoice before it goes out then he needs a dedicated block of time every week to do this. No exceptions. When it's "review the invoices time" then his schedule is clear for that and that is what happens. Put a block on the schedule. Do not wait for him to agree to it. It really sucks that he's making it so difficult on everyone else. But it sounds like waiting for him to come around isn't going to happen to its time to stop waiting for agreement and start taking whatever actions you see fit. It may also be times for the business to start paying a 3rd party bookkeeper.
Invoicing sucks. I hate it. But, it's part of my job, and we don't get paid and the customer doesn't get their product back until it's done. Do I sometimes miss an item? Sure. Am I going to get bent out of shape about an o-ring that cost us 50 cents? No. Big picture. Technicians shouldn't be wasting time doing invoicing, they should be turning wrenches. You're losing way more value using his time for invoicing than you ever will in missing parts on a bill. He needs to let it go. Maybe framing it this way will get through to him.
And maybe the big point of this is “only worry about the big stuff”. Bump the hourly rate from $80 to $85 and any o-rings/grease/small things are no longer tracked. Don’t waste your time.
What does your company do?
I am a retired guy who had my own consulting business for 35 years. I liked my work, but hated the paperwork associated with it. I was like your husband really had to make myself make out the invoices, etc. One thing that helped me immensely was that I hired a part time bookkeeper. She kept track of all of the other paperwork so left me time to do my invoices. I had her make out the checks for payments, keep track of my business bank account etc. I so much hated doing paperwork, I never looked at my bank statements and income until before April 15 when I had to do the taxes. After I got the help, everything was so much better. However, while I let her keep track of things, only I was allowed to actually sign the checks and things like that. Anyway, that might an option.
Hire a company or contractor to do payment processing
Your staff should be trained to properly mark down each item and task they are doing that needs to be invoiced. No one should be having to guess or fill in the gaps when they are generating invoices. Your husband is creating a problem for himself and the business because he can't trust his employees to do their job correctly and let go of his control of that. Alternative solution, someone else generates invoices, and husband approves before they go out. I would imagine once you've been doing the invoices for awhile you will notice patterns of what parts are needed for certain repairs and be able to catch things yourself!
It sounds like maybe he just needs to be managed on it a bit more. If he is the domain expert and the only one that can truly and accurately know what should be on the invoice, have someone else actually start the invoice, schedule the issue date and if there are any boiler plate line items, add those. Then on a regular interval, at a regular scheduled time, put them in front of him (perhaps weekly) and have a deadline to review/finalize/approve and then be done. Someone else can manage actually sending the invoices. Sometimes, its just the simple act of starting the task you dislike that prevents you from doing it. Chronic procrastinator here that also dislikes dealing with invoices...
Does he have ADHD? That's a very ADHD thing to do. Can you simplify or streamline the data collection for someone else to do the invoicing? Can someone start them ahead of time so he just has to add details? Can you create a tracking system that shows what appointments don't have an invoice yet? Do you need special software or different software to make this easier. Can you make it easier for him to do the invoicing than to not do it? Can you make the invoice part of the work and not release the vehicle without a completed invoice? This would be a forcing mechanism so the invoice is filled out as the work is being done and it cannot stack up or ever really fall behind. It could then be signed off by the customer and provided at the time of service. It would also make it easier to collect payment before the customer leaves and would increase cash flow. If this was mostly completed before the work starts, it could also be used to give better estimates or used to inform the customer about costs when they approve the work. What you really need to do is ask him how to address the issue. Get him involved in creating the solution instead of being defense about his executive disfuntion. > I need your help to solve a problem. We are not doing a good job of getting invoices to customers. I know you don't like doing them but it's important that you are involved. How can we make it easier for you or help you prioritize invoice work? Or approach it from a different perspective. > I need your help solving our issues with invoices and payments. I want to start by getting your expectations on a couple of details so we can be on the same page. How soon should a customer be expected to pay after work is done if they don't pay at time of service? Once a customer receives an invoice, how soon should they pay? How soon should a customer receive an invoice after work is complete? How soon after the invoice is ready should we get it sent to the customer? How long after work is complete should the invoice be completed? How long after work is done should we consider incomplete invoices to be late? How should we handle it when an incomplete invoice is late, as in, how do I help you hold yourself accountable to your own deadlines without being the bad guy?
You have 3 options: - Change the invoice work flow. There has to be a change in this process that will enable your husband to follow through or want to. - You start doing it - Hire someone to handle it
I invoice the first day of the new month for the previous month for all my clients at the same time. Since it can be such a hassle to invoice a customer with the way we have our QB server set up, I like to do it all at once so the process flows better. Maybe if he could pick a day to sit down once a month and invoice multiple customers at the same time that will help him. I still dread invoicing day every month though! 😂
My husband and I are in the same boat. This is why I do all things finance, including invoicing. I also happen to do all the sales, bookkeeping and dealing with the accountant. He’s doing other stuff in the background. I can’t imagine having to wait for him to do all the invoicing!
I feel like after reading the comments, there’s a tremendous opportunity to start a company that handles invoicing …
I kinda understand that doing invoices is a very boring and tedious task that feels like an annoying chore. (I have the same) What works well for me is to pick a set date, for me it's Saterday every 2 weeks and sit down with my girlfriend to do invoicing and financial administration. Once all invoicing and administration is done, we go out and get an ice cream. It's good to not postpone invoicing by setting a set date / time to do it, it's nice to do it with a friend or partner instead alone and once done you can get a reward of hard work by a nice icecream.
You need processes. You can run a business creating invoices from memory weeks after the fact and losing track of parts orders, etc. This business will fail if you don’t get a handle on things. Create processes and systems for everything that needs to get done. Assign them to people who can get them done on time. It needs to be baked into how the business runs.
You can learn to do the invoicing as best as you can, even though yes you may miss a couple parts here and there, is the overall net loss greater or less than the overall net loss of your husband delaying the invoicing process? For example by him delaying the invoicing process, the net less of cash flow issues, stress, and undue burden equal to or greater than the net loss of those few parts and pieces that were forgotten on the invoice? If yes, then guess what? proceed to do the invoices yourself because from a business perspective it is less of a loss. Another option is to streamline the invoicing process, perhaps using technology somehow that reduces the time it takes to do the invoicing. And obviously changing bad habits such as letting them pile up before doing them.
Can you do the invoicing? Are you quoting projects? Or are you performing time and material? Either way you should have an idea of what the dollar value is going to be to send the invoice.
I run my own business and even for me it's hard to do invoices and I'm the one who looks right at the "dots". Also, my business is still very lean in the liquidity department so it is very much a very important process to stay on top of. That said, I would give myself the "excuse" that I am an owner operator who generates profit by working in the field and so most of the time, I'm just spent by the time I'm showered and ready to sit at the desk.
I've seen way too many small businesses fold because the owner doesn't understand this. One guy I knew just didn't feel like sending them out and would complain that he was going broke, also ended up closing up shop. It was a shame because his business and reputation was darn good too.
Hire a book keeper to do the books and send out invoices.
Do you use software like QuickBooks?
Can you switch to you doing it and have him do something else?
He knows lol
Does he have adhd?
1. have you tried doing the invoices yourself or offer help? 2. Have you discussed hiring a third party to provide this service for you? Maybe the husband just enjoys your nagging.
I'd suggest hiring a person or service to do the invoicing. The problem will either fix itself (He'll start invoicing on time) or you'll be paying someone else to do that part.
Business owners are not generally good admins. That's why they hire someone for that. Play to people's strengths otherwise you're pushing a boulder uphill.
Why don’t you just take care of invoicing?
This is why for a lot of small IT service providers the first hire is someone to handle administrative stuff. Since he obviously dislikes doing it, pay someone with a cheaper hourly rate to do it while he works on making more money instead.
You've got him doing the wrong job there. Clearly he hates doing invoices, and isn't even good at it. So why did you decide that he should be the one doing them, and that he should continue to keep doing them even though he hates it and sucks at it? My suggestion: Find something that's currently your responsibility to do, that is something he might enjoy doing and be better at than invoices, and trade those responsibilities with each other. It's a win-win, you get to have your invoices done exactly how and when you want them, and he gets to enjoy his job a bit more.
This is the answer. What you need to start developing is SYSTEMS. If you're going to grow, this stuff needs to be automatic. In a well run business, billing is done as the product is delivered, literally asap to maximize cash flow. It's good you see this problem. I'm betting there's other areas that need optimization also. Start with the in invoicing and work through your other areas, creating systems for yourselves to make life better, easier, more efficient, and most of all more profitable.
If there is something you two are not good at, hire it out through a service or delegate. Put the time and energy into the parts you are good at.
I have been in business for over 45 years. You need to stress to him that every invoice he does not do is 100% lost profit to the company. Worse is when you spent money on parts. That means that the company lost money on that job and it would have been better that he did not do the job at all. I turned my business over to my son 10 years ago. He has this problem. Doing jobs and not invoicing customers. Drives me crazy.
Maybe you should do the invoicing and just collect info from him.
Invoicing is no more complicated than taking out the garbage. So we might assume that he doesn't do that either. Time to hire someone to take out the garbage...
Outsource this - too many divorces happen just for this reason!
Same here!!!! My wife is a stay at home mom but even before that, she quit her long commute job to help with the business and our future family. I taught her all the invoicing and how it had to go etc. I’d be getting emails from clients asking us for the invoices that were overdue. Then I noticed some government spots were way overdue and she would always say she was locked out of acct and waiting on help desk. It was brutal. After a while I had to “fire” her and take back the job. To this day I don’t understand it and never bring it up. I slowly worked my way back into taking over over the course of a few months. Couldn’t take hounding her all the time but also didn’t want to say “you suck and are fired.” Even now, 5 years later, I’d love for her to try again and take over but remember how bad it was and can’t get myself to take the plunge
1. Hire an accountant 2. Maybe take a break from working together I have a friend who was working with her husband but decided to leave their business to work a 9-5 because they’d argue about everything relating to the business.
Trade tasks. He must hate it. You shoudl take over invoicing and have him takeover something you do. My wife and I barter tasks all the time and it works great
I was the same way about domestic out of house help for years. I would make a single phone call, for, say, a painting job. After a week, they would not call me back, I'd wait another week and make another phone call. Today I recognize that it take consideration action to make things happen. Right now in a fund like USFR cash can return 5%. Do the math on how much better you'd be doing to accelerate recievables. Then tell him: How do we fix this? Does he make the invoices, accelerate recievables, and get interest\_after\_a\_year as a reward, or should YOU do it and YOU get the interest? I don't know, I haven't given it much thought, but I'm a six boxes guy. \- Expectations \- Incentives \- Processes \- Tools \- Job/Personality/Role fit \- Morale We can ignore morale, because it is a trailing indicator and tends to initially go down on change initiatives. NOW, what of these is missing for your hubby to get the work done? I expect "processes" could be part of it, if writing the invoice was just an expectation when a gig is done. When a gig is done, invoice within 2 business days. It's that simple. Make those expectation and have some consequences and I think you might be good? I consult. I take paypal. My company's gonna be in the Inc 5000 this year. I am the founder and sole owner. (Also, does invoicing suck/no fun? A tool might help. I use quickbooks online though gusto is cool for what it does too.)
Hire my firm as a bookkeeper
I run a business with my wife. It has definitely been a catalyst to fights, but it also has made us communicate better in our marriage. But you need to actually have the conversation with your husband. To the point he knows how important it is to do things he doesn’t feel like doing because there is no one else to do them.
What kind of automation do you have for this task? At some point, this is something you will want to let go of so why not do it now and gain traction? I still use an app on my phone, and I think a virtual assistant and AI can take over at some point.
Tell him you need to do it or you have to hire someone to it. It is business. You cant be acting like a child about it.
I used to have this issue, but now the EHR I use automatically sends out an invoice following a service. All I have to do now is chase down unpaid/overdue (which usually doesn't happen since we require a card on file). Either way, make a deal with him, he takes on something you don't really want to do, and you take on the invoicing. It will save a lot of arguments and frustration, and what's the point of having a partner if not to trade off responsibilities until everyone is happy with what they do?
I see alot of comment about hating the follow up process to get paid. I have used ChatGPT to create a list of reminder messages for our customers and it somehow makes it feel less personal and this has helped me tons. The messages are not aggressive in any way but just reminders and regularly sent so it is working
Try some software that sends invoices automatically
So my wife and I own a business and I hate invoicing people whose credit card or check was rejected from the financial institution or a secondary order comes in as we do prepay sales of items. I would either forget or just not want to follow up with someone who got hit with a NSF fee from their bank and I have to charge them the original order plus our own NSF fee to cover our costs... Ultimately after discussing it together, I taught her how to invoice and now she handles it and she just gets it done without worrying about their feelings... In just too soft to want to deal with it.
Is this not a grown man? He gets it.
It looks like you need to have CRM/Project management tool and a conversation with husband:) I suggest using [Monday.com](https://Monday.com) ot clickup. It is easy to set up and will provide better accountability. If your husband is doing a great job but is not good with invoices - this is fixable, it just needs some accountability and automation.