The WebSmartIdeas aims to promote and disseminate good creative ideas to improve society.

We use creativity in our letter writing to attract attention and encourage action in our direction. Why not be creative with other paperwork? 

• Use different fonts, under-linings and bold text to direct attention to key information.
• Ensure your accounts terms and conditions are printed on the back of each invoice. Make sure there is a clear reference to these on the front. 
• Request action, "Please pay". The term "Total Due" is passive, and essentially only advisory.
• Do not include extended ageing dates; customers will always try to take advantage of them. On a similar note, any mention of discount for early payment will often be abused and the time/effort taken to deal with the misunderstandings makes the process unprofitable. A better way is to make a rebate offer should "full payment" be banked/cleared within a certain period (allow for banking delays). The invoice still reflects the original total.
• Put only one address on the invoice … the payment address.
• State, "Please ensure that any applicable invoicing conditions are complied with to avoid our routine debt collection follow-up process".