Best Billing Practices for Staffing Firms

Your staffing firm’s billing process is crucial to running your business smoothly and effectively. An effective billing procedure goes beyond invoices, including tracking receivables, resolving disputes, and ensuring that all financial records are accurate and current. If now isn’t the time for you to automate the billing process, here is what you’ll need to avoid miscommunication and error. 

What Makes an Effective Billing Process for Staffing Firms

1. Clear Contracts

   1. Make sure that you have a clear and comprehensive agreement or contract that outlines the entirety of the services that you provide. This includes rates, frequency of billings, payment terms, and any other applicable fees or charges. 

2. Transparent Rate Structure

   1. Establish a clear rate card detailing the agreed-upon rates for the different services your staffing agency will offer. Include whether it's hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly rates for each type of contractor or service provided. The bill rate is the key element of the rate card. 

3. Clarify The Billing Instructions 

   1. Gather accurate information about your client. This includes their billing address, person/s of contact, department names, and any specific billing instructions they may have that you will need for your invoices. This information should always be as up-to-date as possible to avoid any mistakes in billing and the risk of appearing unprofessional in your services and communication channels. Let this information guide the streamlining of your entire billing process. 

4. Client Due Diligence 

   1. If you cannot run a D&B on your own, it’s imperative to verify your client's financial stability and legal status. You can do this by obtaining a certificate of good standing or conducting informal searches to ensure they are capable of fulfilling their payment obligations. D&Bs can get pricey, so working with a third-party company may be worth it to lessen any financial anxieties. 

5. Efficient Billing Tracking System

   1. Implement a robust tracking system to monitor contractor hours, project milestones, and any additional expenses incurred to ensure accurate billing. DADE is a popular system to view all digital invoices in one place, which will shorten up your DSO (days sales outstanding), or how long an invoice is open until it’s paid. For your Accounts Receivables, Quickbooks is a great option. 

6. Consistent Billing Schedule 

   1. Create a billing schedule and make it a priority. The cadence is really dependent on your staffing firm. Once you find one that works, it’s important to stick to it. Create a deadline with a procedure to follow it, keeping you on track for success. 

These keys can be boiled to maintain clear and open communication channels with your client. If the information you have on file is not up to date, the reality is that nothing else mentioned matters if you’re sending incorrect invoices out to the wrong department. 

This is a risk your staffing firm takes in operating billing procedures on your own. To learn more about how to mitigate these risks and ensure professionalism and ease of operations when it comes to your billing and payroll, check out our blog post on breaking free from outdated billing methods and advancing your staffing firm. Breaking Free From Outdated Billing Methods and Advancing Your Staffing Firm

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