10 Smart Ways to Write A Better Invoice as a Freelancer

So, you are a freelancer. Being a freelancer, you have plenty of things to do to develop your skills and persona.

You have the flexibility of time, choice of choosing your own office environment, and type of work to excel in your career life.

To make your work countable and worthy, you have to get paid systematically.

Whether you are a freelance copywriter or in a full-time writing job, you require to calculate your working hours and send the bill to your clients.

This requirement raises the importance of writing a better invoice. 

The point to be noted is from where do you start? How will you create a professional and better invoice?

All these questions may restrict you to generate an invoice for getting paid for your work.

When you are putting your efforts and time on something, then it is important for you to being paid on time.

For that, you need to understand what you have to include in your invoice.

Before discussing the tips on how to write a better invoice, you need to know what is an invoice and what should you include in your invoice?

What is an invoice?

In very simple words, the invoice is a bill or a document in which you tell someone how much he has to pay for your services.

It reflects your balance dues for products or services you have rendered.

If you ever read the Merriam-Webster Collegiate dictionary, you have known that the invoice is “the summary of an itemized list of goods shipped usually specifying the price and the terms of sale.”

Here, “good shipped” means digital products that you have shipped through email.

Professional invoices are important for both the sender and the receiver. Because your client needs to know how much he has to pay and for what services.

It also explains what you have done for them and for which you are asking for payment.

What should you include to write a better invoice?

When you have the idea of what an invoice is meant for, move to the next step for incorporating all required factors.

If you are clear in your words, then you will get on-time payment.

Thus, it is crucial to create an effective invoice by including all the essentials elements. 

• Effective and proficient header.
• Include all required contact details of both the sender (yours) and receiver (clients).
• Add the invoice number.
• Issue dates and due dates.
• Payment mode for smooth business operation.
• Include specific requirements if any.
• Add privacy and other important information.
• Describe your services correctly
• Due amounts if any.
• Thank you note for a further and better client relationship.

Let discuss these basics elements in detail to create a correct and productive invoice.

1. You need to include a proficient header

Use your business name or full name as the first thing in your invoice. Make sure you have used readable fonts while adding a header to the invoice. 

Freelancers can use their logo if they are representing as a business entity. But don’t get stressed if you don’t have any logo because it is not mandatory.

Whether it is logo or text, ensure that you have used a little larger font than the rest of the text and bolded for emphasis.

2. Don’t forget to add yours’ and client’s contact information 

According to a senior freelancer who offers online assignment help, another important part of your invoice is the contact information.

For smooth operations, you need to include your correct contact information including mailing address, email address, mobile number, and websites under your business name.

Once you have included your information, you require to include client information for whom the invoice belongs.

The client information includes his or her name, mailing address, email address, phone number, website, and other information.

Make sure you have mentioned the correct information so that you will not face any issue in the future.

3. You require adding your invoice number

While preparing the invoice, you need to add your invoice number after the contact information. An invoice number is an identifier to keep tracking of the invoices.

This is a unique number provided by the clients to their customers. Make sure the invoice number is correct so you don’t get any problem in billing.

Generally, the invoice number is visible at the top of the page.

Invoice number helps you to keep eye on your orders so that you know which order is paid and which one is pending.

This number also allows you to track your orders systematically.

4. Pay attention to issues and due dates

It is significant to include the issue dates on the invoice because your time starts after getting the work.

In any case, if you miss the number of your invoice, the issue date can help you to differentiate the invoices. 

Due date is also vital for the payment. As per your convenience and your availability, you can choose a 30-days or 45-days timeline to submit your work.

These dates reflect the understanding of clients for your work. If you find any issue for your payment, you can refer to the due dates and also issue date if required.

5. Use easy and reliable payment system

It will help you if you use a reliable payment system. Describe all required options to your clients so that they will not have any issue while transferring your amount.

You can opt for a check, PayPal services, or cash for your payment. If you work for a company on a regular basis, then you can have your money in your account directly. 

Once you have known your client, it will become easier to get a smooth payment. Because we are working to get paid on time.

Thus, it is good for you to describe all your requirements correctly so that you will receive your payment without any hindrance.

6. Follow specific requests of your clients (if any)

There are some specific requests of clients for including different items on their invoices and you need to follow them.

If you want smooth payment for your work, follow the client’s guidelines and requirements.

It may take some extra time but you will not get any problem with your payment.

Guidelines vary from clients to clients.

If you are working for more than one client, then you have to be careful while creating invoices for them. Because if you miss any information, you may face the delay of your payment.

7. Explain your privacy policy and any other information

For better communication and business management, including your privacy policy clearly. This declaration will help to maintain good business relations with your clients.

You can also refer to this section of your invoice if you didn’t get any payment or other issues in the future.

Because a professional invoice describes your terms and also the consequences of non-payment such as additional charges.

If you don’t have any idea of terms and conditions, then it is the right time to explore.

You must clarify your thoughts to your clients such as payment like you only accept a direct transfer in your bank account or anything else.

Again, it is good to discuss important things before accepting any project so that your client would not surprise after getting this kind of information.

8. Describe your services properly

You have to describe your services for which your client is paying for.

If you are working on different services for the same client, then you should describe your services separately to make your invoice easy to read.

It is always good to include all details clearly for no issue. 

Ideally, you should incorporate your price and quantity of each service. If you are offering services on an hourly basis, then you have to mention your working hours clearly.

Choose to highlight the subtotal of your items or services at the end of the invoice. This practice will help you to attract the attention of your client at a very first glance.

9. You have to include due amount if any

We are working to earn some healthy amounts. Being a freelancer, you have to pay more attention to your work and its payment.

If anything is pending (amount), don’t forget to include it in your current invoice.

If you mention your services separately, it becomes easy to show the amount of each service. 

Lastly, count all those line items and show the full amount. Highlight this amount for emphasis so that the client can easily recognize how much amount he has to pay.

10. Mention “Thank you” at the end

It never bad to add a personal touch for a better client relationship. After calculating the amount, you can include a thank you note in the invoice.

If you want to add some additional information, then this section is a good place to append. You can use this section to offer discounts or show your desires for future projects. 

I hope these tips will work for you and you can create a professional and better invoice for your payment.

You can also include other information as well if that is not pop-up in the above list.

For better and easy work, you can use some software to generate your invoice.