Getting Paid as a Blogger? Here’s Everything You Need to Include in Your Invoice.
If you’re starting out as a blogger, getting your first client is a heady moment. You feel like your dreams are starting to manifest and that great things are heading your way.
But once you’ve landed the job, the prospect of drawing up an invoice can be quite intimidating. It can be hard to know what to include to ensure that your invoice ticks all the right boxes and that you get paid on time.
Read on to find out how to compose a slick, professional, and great-looking invoice for your blogging business.
Why do you need an invoice?
First things first, can’t you just drop the client an email telling them how much they owe you? In short, no!
Invoices are vital to running a freelance business—even if it’s your first paid-for blog. They serve as a written record of the work you have done and are planning to do. They form a de facto agreement between you and your client, outlining the expectations and timeline of the project(s).
It’s a good way to avoid nasty surprises and awkward conversations if you can point to a paper trail. And if you must have those conversations, you’ll have the records to support your claim.
What to add to your invoice
Creating an invoice is straightforward and simple. There are plenty of templates online and you’ll find that MS Word and Excel have ready-to-use templates too. There are also many websites or software that will generate the finished product for you once you’ve populated the necessary fields.
What to put in those fields is what you’re here for.
Every invoice should always include:
- The word “invoice”—makes it immediately clear what the document is
- A professional banner or business logo
- Your name and/or your company’s name, followed by a contact number and a physical address
- The corresponding details of your would-be recipient. Both should go at the top of the page, and every invoice to the same client should include this information.
- The date of issuing the invoice (vital to ensuring swift payment)
- A brief, general description of the service(s) rendered
- The invoice number—refers to the invoice for the client in question, not the number of invoices you’ve issued, although at this point, these numbers will likely be the same.
- How to pay you—this would be your bank or PayPal details, or any other payment methods you can accept.
- The terms of payment (by what time you expect the payment)
- The total amount due to you
- Depending on your local laws, you may be required to state the tax on this total amount
Blogger invoicing tips
The trick to invoices is to be as detailed as possible, without sacrificing clarity or making a spreadsheet look like a crossword puzzle. That’s why using an invoice template is a great idea, as it sets out clear guidelines that you simply need to fill in.
Whether you charge by the hour or according to a word count, indicate a corresponding rate for a quantity of one, and then indicate how many units you’re charging for. You may charge for multiple services, or ‘line items”, in which case you’ll repeat the same procedure in the next row.
As a blogger, you’ll want to include your social media handles and links to your profiles or pages. Doing so can help to boost your social media presence. It’s a good idea to include a brief ‘thank you’ at the bottom of your invoice, as this helps to cultivate good relationships with your clients.
Finally, always send your invoices as PDF files, never as Word documents. These documents can be altered, leading you back to those awkward conversations that invoices are supposed to be protected against.
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