Been juggling multiple projects lately and honestly losing track of who paid what and when. Started with a simple spreadsheet but it’s getting messy fast.
Had a client insist they already sent the final payment last week when I’m pretty sure they only covered the deposit. Made me realize I need a better system before this gets worse.
Simple invoice numbers work better than dates or client names for tracking. I write the invoice number on every payment I receive, whether it’s a check or bank transfer.
Keep one spreadsheet with columns for invoice number, amount due, amount paid, and balance. Update it right when you get paid, not later when you might forget.
I just text myself when payments come in.
I take a photo of every payment as soon as it comes in. Check in the mail? Photo. Bank transfer notification? Screenshot. Saves me so much headache later.
Also started sending a quick confirmation email whenever I receive anything:
Takes 30 seconds but clients can’t argue with their own email thread. Plus it forces me to actually check my balance right then instead of putting it off.
I learned this the hard way after a similar mess up. Now I use two columns in my spreadsheet - one for deposit received and one for final payment received. Each gets a date when the money actually hits my account.
The key thing is I never mark anything as received until I can see it in my bank account. Clients saying they sent it doesn’t count. Check in the mail doesn’t count. Only when the bank shows the deposit.
Also started putting the project name and payment type in the memo line when I make deposits. Makes it way easier to match things up later when you’re looking at bank statements.
Separate payment tracking from project tracking completely. Keep a payment log with just the date, amount, client name, and the account it went into. Nothing else. Then maintain your project sheets separately with invoices and balances. When money comes in, mark it in the payment log first, then update the project sheet. This way, if clients get confused about payments, you can show them exactly what came in and when without digging through project details.
Get a receipt book and write everything down twice. One copy for them, one for you.