Invoicing, its how you get paid. Knowing that clients can fall behind on payment quickly, it is important that you invoice quickly and regularly. Ideally, your invoicing and payment schedule is clearly outlined in your design contract with the client. Even the smallest jobs can use some payment schedule. At a minimum, get an advance payment for some percentage of the total bill before you start work.
Fill in the invoice by providing a short description of the work done and the total amount due for that work. There is no need to itemize every dollar due. Provide separate line items for reimbursable expenses. The easies way to write the invoice description is to use the milestone description from your Project Proposal or Letter of Agreement, assuming your schedule of payment is tied to milestones (which it should be).
You should include a "Terms" section that restates the payment terms from your Project Proposal or Letter of Agreement. "Upon Receipt", "Net 30 Days", or "Net 15 Days" are typical payment terms.
[YOUR NAME]
[YOUR ADDRESS]
[YOUR TELEPHONE]
[YOUR FAX]
[YOUR EMAIL]
[DATE]
[CLIENT NAME]
[CLIENT TITLE]
[CLIENT COMPANY NAME]
[CLIENT COMPANY ADDRESS]
Re: [PROJECT TITLE], [JOB NUMBER / CHANGE ORDER NUMBER]
-- INSTRUCTION: Use the Project Title from your Project Proposal or your Letter of Agreement. Reference the job number from your Project Proposal or your Letter of Agreement, or the Change Order number if you used a change order. --
Invoice: [INVOICE NUMBER], [INVOICE DESCRIPTION]
-- INSTRUCTION: Number your invoices to keep track of them for billing purposes. The invoice description should be the milestone description from your Project Proposal or Letter of Agreement, assuming your schedule of payment is tied to milestones. --
| Description | Amount |
| Subtotal: | |
| Tax: | |
| Total: |
Terms: [PAYMENT TERMS]
| Designer Signature | Print Designer Name |
Samus Samuelson
512 Main St.
Brea, CA 99999
Tel: 555-123-7890
Fax: 555-123-7891
email@example.com
June 2, 2012
Beaufort Brimley
Owner
Fancy Meats Co.
123 Fake St.
Orange, CA 99999
Re: Meat Packing Business Website, Job No. 00009
Invoice: #00001, Preliminary Design
| Description | Amount |
| Preliminary Design | $1,250 |
| Subtotal: | $1,250 |
| Tax: | $0 |
| Total: | $1,250 |
Terms: Payment due Net Thirty (30) days from date of this invoice.
| Designer Signature | Print Designer Name |