Invoicing for Freelancers: What You Need to Know

Make it easy for clients to pay you.

Image created via Midjourney

If you’re running your own business, one of the things you need from Day 1 is a way to collect payments. You need to send invoices and be able to collect payment.

If you’ve never done this before, it can feel intimidating: how does the customer’s money get from their bank account to your bank account?

Additionally, your invoice is a reflection of your business. If you simply send a request for payment via an email, instead of an invoice, an unscrupulous client might be tempted to ghost you. An invoice creates a paper trail of your request for payment and details the amount owed.

Here are a few things to keep in mind regarding invoicing software and preparing invoices for your clients.

1. Clearly outline payment terms in a contract

Always, always have a signed contract that outlines how and when you’ll be paid. If you ever run into issues — and it happens to every freelancer — it’s much easier to enforce and collect on a signed agreement.

In the contract, you’ll outline payment terms, such as:

When you’ll send invoices. You might require an upfront deposit (like 50%) or payments as different…