Freelancing 101 – IX

July 31, 2010

After negotiations one of the most annoying requirements of freelancing is billing. Unless your gigs are coming entirely from freelance sites (that handle billing for you), you have to set up a method that works for you to bill your clients for your work. One missed bill not only costs you money but could result in the client feeling you are not treating your business professionally. Here are some tips to decide how to set up a billing system that works for you as well as some free and low cost methods for billing your clients.

Tips to Get Started

The very first thing you will need to do is establish what terms you want to provide to your clients. Make sure that you are consistent – this will help you stay on track. It is recommended that you advise your clients immediately upon accepting a contract what your terms are. While you may need to be somewhat flexible, do not be a doormat for any client – ever.

When deciding on factors like date you want to be paid also decide if you wish to set up a late payment fee and if so, when that will “kick in”. Some prefer to use 15 days past due while others are satisfied with 30 days.

Systems available

Caveat: I am certain there are other systems available for use. I am only going to provide information on the ones that I am the most familiar with. Please take the time to find out what works best for you!

PayPal - This is my invoicing method of choice. Why? It’s simple to use, you can easily “remind” clients when their invoice is overdue and it’s free. All good things in my opinion! Setting up an invoice is simple in PayPal and all you need is an email address for your client. Log into your PayPal account, select “request money”, select the “send an invoice tab”, create your invoice and send to your client. This will show up in your activities tab. Late fees need to be added manually if you use them.

WR Time Tracker - If you bill your clients hourly, WR (now called Anuko) time tracker has a great built in invoice feature. The only real downside of this is that you have to log into and manually resubmit an invoice (unlike the PayPal “remind” feature). Late fees have to be added manually.

Zoho Invoice – If you only have a few clients, the free option is a great solution! If you have more clients, they have very reasonable rates and they will not break the bank. Zoho invoice has an auto-bill feature if you have client on retainer, and you can set up an option to automatically add late fees as well. They also offer exceptional customer support.

Freshbooks – Slightly more expensive than Zoho Invoice, this is another great program. They also have auto-bill and auto-late fees (certain restrictions and fees apply). They also have above average customer support.

What to include on your invoices

Depending on which system you use you should include at a minimum the following information on all invoices:

Contact Name
Contact Telephone
Contact EMail
Date of Invoice
Due Date of Invoice
Late Fees (if applicable)
Services performed
Date of Services
Rate charged
Payment options

While invoicing is not something any of us look forward to, these programs can help you get started and make sure that you are fairly compensated for your work.

About Doreen Martel

Well-rounded freelance writer who contributes to various blogs, paid to write sites and revenue sharing sites. Doreen is legally blind and has worked at home for more than 10 years. She uses the lessons learned from this experience to enhance her writing and share information with others.