Translated into English, German and French
It’s time to send your invoice for services rendered, and you want your cover letter to sound and feel just as professional as your services – this Legal English Shot is for you!
While there are different ways to say the same thing, some things have been more or less standardized. And invoice cover letters are one of those things. Here are some ways to make invoice cover letters sound and feel professional.
| English | German | French | ||||
| For invoices enclosed in an envelope and mailed | Enclosed please find [my/our] invoice dated [insert date] for services rendered [and expenses incurred]. | [CH] Anbei/Als Beilage/Beiliegend erhalten Sie [meine/unsere] Honorarrechnung vom [Datum einfügen] über die von [mir/uns] erbrachten Leistungen [nebst Auslagen]. | Me [i.e. « Maître »] [insert surname] vous présente ses compliments [distingués] et vous adresse ci-joint/et vous prie de trouver ci-joint sa note d’honoraires [et de frais] du [insert date]/la note d’honoraires de l’Etude pour les services rendus au [insert date]. [Il vous en souhaite bonne réception.] | |||
| [D] anbei/anliegend/in der Anlage erhalten Sie [meine/unsere] Honorarrechnung vom [Datum einfügen] über die von [mir/uns] erbrachten Leistungen [nebst Auslagen]. | ||||||
| For invoices attached to emails only | Attached please find [my/our] invoice dated [insert date] for services rendered [and expenses incurred]. | [CH] Im Anhang erhalten Sie [meine/unsere] Honorarrechnung vom [Datum einfügen] über die von [mir/uns] erbrachten Leistungen [nebst Auslagen]. | [Same as for mailed invoices] | |||
| [D] im Anhang/beigefügt erhalten Sie [meine/unsere] Honorarrechnung vom [Datum einfügen] über die von [mir/uns] erbrachten Leistungen [nebst Auslagen]. |
In today’s fast-paced business environment, where the real world and the virtual world are sometimes blurred, the distinction between enclosing and attaching something can sometimes be lost. Still, the traditional lawyer might wish to distinguish between the two, should the need arise. If so, use “enclosed” – or “anbei”/“anliegend”/“in der Anlage” for Germany; “Anbei”/“Als Beilage”/“Beiliegend” for Switzerland – when the invoice is enclosed with the cover letter, that is, enclosed in an envelope, but not attached to the cover letter (say, not stapled). Use “attached” – or “im Anhang” in German (both for Germany and Switzerland) or “beigefügt” (more common in Germany than in Switzerland) – when the invoice is an attachment to an email or is physically attached to the invoice (say, stapled).
In French, the same cover letter can be used for both letters and emails, as French speakers do not usually use “en annexe” (enclosure) or “en pièce jointe” (attachment); they usually use “ci-joint.”