What currency to bill in?

Amik

I recently opened a small business and have EU clients. One in particular is in Poland. Must I bill her in Euros or can I bill her in the local Polish Zloty?

AlkalineAcid

I would choose to bill in euros because internationally it's well known. I don't think it's going to cause your customer any confusion. It's your choice so whatever you're more comfortable with.

Similar thread here.
http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/business-legal-issues-61/invoicing-european-clients-should-i-bill-euros-pounds-692709.html

Bill her in Euro, that way if the euro gets weak or strong its irrelevant to you. If you bill her in zlotys and the deal has payment terms with the final payment a month later, the zloty could easily have dropped in value and you wont collect as many euro. Bill customers in the currency your costs are paid in and its hard to loose anything else is a gamble

Amik

Thanks to both of you!!

Should I provide the Polish rate on the bill, according to the exchange rate the day before the bill is issued on? Or should it only be in Euro?

AlkalineAcid

Amik wrote: »

Thanks to both of you!!

Should I provide the Polish rate on the bill, according to the exchange rate the day before the bill is issued on? Or should it only be in Euro?

You don't have to include the exchange rate but the courtesy would probably be appreciated if you did.

ssbob

AlkalineAcid wrote: »

You don't have to include the exchange rate but the courtesy would probably be appreciated if you did.

I would advise against this as the client may take that days rate as the exchange rate and just give you the Zloty equivalent.

My advice would be:

Before you do business with a client, agree an amount in Euro for the service and agree with them that you are to be paid in Euro within X amount of days.

Once you clarify that at the beginning then there should be no issues.

Pixelcraft

Yup, as above I think it's best to bill in your own currency. I've never had any issues with it

Amik

Greatly appreciate the info!

Issuing the bill in EURO only and providing a billingual bill (English/Polish) for courtesy.

J_Wholesale

Amik wrote: »

I recently opened a small business and have EU clients. One in particular is in Poland. Must I bill her in Euros or can I bill her in the local Polish Zloty?

Depends completely on what sort of image you want to project to your Polish customers. We do most of our business with UK companies, and we always bill in Sterling. We would never even consider billing our UK customers in Euro, as that would only draw attention to the fact that we are a foreign business.

If you present yourself as an Irish business doing some business in Poland, it might not matter, but if you are presenting yourself as a direct competitor to Polish businesses in the same field, then billing in Euro could cost you business.

So, it depends.

TiGeR KiNgS

Will it be for repeat business?
If so I would recommend the Polish currency because customers don't want to be exposed to currency changes and will simply find someone else to do the service in their local currency.