The question of when and how to invoice came up last night in my freelance writing class, and I thought it might make an interesting discussion here. Do you use a special program like Freshbooks or do you create your own invoices using Microsoft Office? Do you automatically send your invoices with your work or do you have to wait for a final word count? What do your invoices include? I try to be as client-friendly as possible so for those clients who want invoices submitted through Freshbooks, I use Freshbooks. Others have their own invoicing system, so I log onto their system, tally up my assignments, and submit for payment that way. Some require Excel spreadsheets, others want PDFs, still others prefer that I invoice using PayPal. Unless they have specific items they want included on the invoice, I usually list the date, invoice number (I also use the date as my invoice number), my name, address (email and physical address), a quick project description, fee, client or publication name, blood type (not really), and the phrase "SSN on file." No point in having my social security number floating around more places than necessary, right? Having such a haphazard system (if you can even call it that) is a little crazy-making, so I'd love your tips on streamlining the invoice process. Leave a comment and let us know how you handle invoices!
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