Bill for the thing you agreed, in the words you agreed it in
If the proposal said "brand identity, phase 1", the invoice line says "brand identity, phase 1". A line that paraphrases the agreement forces the approver to go and find the agreement, and an invoice that needs research waits.
Put your own details on it, properly
- Your legal name or business name — the one on the account you want paid into
- A postal address, because many payers cannot file a document without one
- Your tax identification, where the client needs it to pay you
- One email address, monitored, for queries about this invoice
Decide the payment terms before you need them
Terms written after a client is late read as a threat; the same words written on the first invoice read as how you work. State the number of days, the late fee if there is one, and what happens to work in progress if payment stops.
Send it the day the work lands
Most payment terms run from the invoice date, so an invoice sent a fortnight late is a fortnight of your own money lent to the client for nothing. Sending on delivery also puts the invoice in the same conversation as the work, which is when its value is most obvious.
Keep the follow-up boring
A short, unemotional reminder on the due date, and again a week later, collects more money than one furious message a month on. It also leaves a record that reads well if the matter ever goes further.
Common questions
- Do I need a company to send an invoice?
- No. A sole trader invoices under their own name. What matters is that the document identifies who is owed the money and how to pay them, not what kind of entity issued it.
- Should I charge a deposit?
- For any engagement long enough that walking away would cost you real time, yes. A deposit is not a sign of distrust; it is what turns a booking into a commitment for both sides.
- What if the client wants their own portal used?
- Use it, and still send the PDF by email. Portals lose invoices and go unwatched; the emailed copy is what you refer to when nobody can find it.