Get Paid: A Freelance Writer's Guide to Invoicing

This is one of the things I hate most about being a freelance writer. It took me a while to get used to the thought of handling my own invoices and chasing up payments if they don’t come on time. It’s not as hard as it sounds, though. Here’s my quick guide to help you out.

What needs to be on an invoice?

If you have never made your own invoice before, you’re forgiven for thinking that you simply write down the price for the work and the clients details. It's not that easy!

Here are all the elements that need to be added on to the invoice to make sure you get paid:

• The clients order number if they have purchased a physical product

• The name of the project or product which was purchased by the client

• Details about the work completed, including hours worked, if needed

• The total sum which needs to be paid to you by the client

• Your payment terms- add a payment deadline

• You bank details or Paypal info so that they can transfer you the money over

• Your client's name and address

• Your name and address

• Invoice number and date

• VAT registration number

• Registered business number and address

• Contact information

How to create an invoice

Now that you know what should be on an invoice, how do you wrap it up into a professional looking package that screams ‘pay me’? You can use an automated invoicing system like chaserhq.com or PayPal’s invoicing system to make sending out invoices and receiving payments easier.

I like to use PayPal’s invoice system when my clients agree to pay me through PayPal, but for checks or direct deposits, I use an invoice template I created in Word. You can use my template. Here’s the download. (If you’d like more templates like this to make your job as a freelancer easier, be sure to check out my No-Fluff Freelance Writing Starter Pack.)

How to chase up your invoice

When it comes to chasing up the payment of your invoices you might feel a little uncomfortable. Don’t worry, it is totally normal for you to feel a little weird about demanding money from your client, but just bear in mind that you need the money to finance your business and your life. Plus, you did the damn work, so you deserve it!

If you have several freelance jobs going on at once, it would be helpful for you to create a calendar with reminders on when certain payments are due. (I use Google Calendar.) If the due date comes and the invoice has not been paid, you will need to contact your customer to find out what is going on.

It could be that they simply forgot, or they have another reason for not paying you. Send a gentle reminder and a copy of the invoice in an email.

If they ignore you, I've found that sometimes it helps to send a notice to a client's boss in the company to get things moving. For example, if you usually send your invoice to your editor, contact HR or the editor’s boss.

What to do when a client won’t pay

If they refuse to pay, there are several things you can do. Pick the option that feels right to you:

• You can get the law involved since you sent them an invoice with a payment agreement on it. Send them a certified letter stating that you intend to take them to small claims court if they don't pay by a certain day. Typically, clients will get scared into action.

• You can open a payment dispute with PayPal if you sent the invoice through their services. All you need for proof is a screenshot of the email you used to send the finished article, blog post or whatever. A screenshot of the finished work on your client’s website and a copy of your contract are also good things to send over to PayPal as proof of services rendered.

• Use the non-payment as a tax write-off. Be sure to contact your tax professional for more information on this option.

For more advice, here’s my guide to dealing with clients.

A Freelance Writer's Guide to Dealing with Digital Contracts

Say you land a new freelance writing client and they send you a digital contract. How do you sign it and send it back? A few days ago, I got this email from a No-Fluffer with similar concerns:

Hi, Alina!

I'm one of your email subscribers and fans. I wanted to ask a question regarding freelance contracts:

How do these contracts work? I mean, how do you actually send them? Do I need a fax machine as a freelancer? When a client says I have to sign a contract, how exactly do I do that?

Full disclosure: I don't own a fax machine.

Thanks for reading!

Tara

Those are all great questions, and I bet many other new writers want to know the answers, too. So, I decided to whip up a post about how to deal with client contracts.

How You’ll Receive a Contract

There are a few ways that clients will send you a contract. There’s the DocuSign, PDF or a Word document.

The easiest way to deal with contracts is through DocuSign. Basically:

• Your client sends you a DocuSign link in an email

• You sign up for the site’s free account

• The site will add the client’s contract to your account automatically

• You sign everything digitally

Now, not all clients will be this easy. Typically, you’ll get your contract as a PDF or Word document. This makes things much harder because you would need to print it out, sign it, scan it and then email it back.

How to Skip the Steps

I hate the print, sign, scan process (mostly because my printer/scanner is always on the fritz), so I came up with a work-around.

If the contract is a PDF, there are two ways you can fill it out. Sometimes I take a screenshot of the page I need to sign, then use a photo editing app to add my signature and date. I keep a jpeg of my signature that I can place on any contract using the layering tool, then I use the text feature to add the date. To finish, I save the page as a jpeg and email the it to the client.

If you don’t want to fool around with photo editing software, you can also use an online site called PDFEscape. It makes the document editable (meaning your can add your signature, dates, etc.) and it’s free. Once you’re done, the site lets you download a copy that you can email to your client. I used PDFEscape for one of my last freelance client contracts.

If you get a Word document, the process is much easier. You can use the insert tool on any word processor app (like Google Docs) to add your saved signature jpeg and then just type in the date. Save the document as a PDF and you’re good to go.

How to Create a Signature Jpeg

Okay, may be a little lost when I say I have a signature jpeg. It’s literally just a photo of my signature. You can make a quick one of your own by writing your signature on a piece of white paper and then taking a photo of it with your phone. Crop your signature image very closely so there isn’t a lot of white space around the letters so it is easier to place on contract signature lines. Finish off by saving the image as a jpeg.

You can also open a new, white canvas using a drawing or photo editing app and write your signature using your finger or stylus on the touchscreen. Then, just crop and save it.

Email the image to yourself so you can download it onto your computer or laptop for whenever you need it.

What About Faxing?

Thankfully, most people don’t ask you to fax anymore. If they do, you can always go to Office Depot or FedEx and they will fax your contract for a small fee.

Got any questions? Let me know in the comments!!