...or I could just send you an invoice

When I do a job of work, be it a gig, or a class, or a piece of writing or artwork, there is a simple and straightforward way of getting paid. I send an invoice - once up a time by mail, now by email - and the client sends me the money - once upon a time by cheque, now mostly by BACS. It's a system that's worked fine for all the many years I've operated as a freelance.

Now one client, for whom I am doing a one-off piece of work on one day later this month, has found a way of simplifying things. I've received this by email...

Welcome to the University of Xxxxxxxx Marketplace! (sic)

This e-mail has been sent to you on behalf of the University which is currently one of your customers. They would like to begin submitting electronic orders to you and this e-mail is to confirm that you are now registered, and will shortly be receiving orders from them by email, via the University of Xxxxxxxx Marketplace.

Background

The University of Xxxxxxxx Marketplace is a powerful, tried, tested and secure platform for e-commerce and e-procurement, built specifically for public sector bodies to buy goods and services online. Please note that there is NO CHARGE to you to receive e-orders from the University of Xxxxxxxx Marketplace.



A step by step guide on how to log into University of Xxxxxxxx Parabilis Marketplace is available at http://link

Important Next step

Please use this link to create or reset your password: https://idea.egsgroup.com/idea/useradmin/password_setup.jspXxxxxxxx

Please note, for security reasons this URL will expire on Fri, 5 May 2017 04:30:37 BST

To log into the system, please use your User ID shown below and your password:

User ID: Xxxxxxxx

How to use the Interface

Responding to orders and requests through the University of Xxxxxxxx Marketplace is simple, convenient and secure. The manual "A step by step guide to the University of Xxxxxxxx Marketplace" provides a quick overview of how to use the supplier interface.

We recommend that where possible suppliers should respond using the University of Xxxxxxxx Marketplace online interface since this helps the University to track the status of orders and requests. However, in case you have a problem accessing the Internet, full details of the order and the buyer’s contact number are also listed on the notification email beneath the hyperlink. This ensures that you will always be able to respond by email or telephone.

Or I could just send you an invoice?