- Invoices are wonderful
because they lead to money.
You always want to submit your invoice right away.
The sooner you invoice,
the sooner you get paid.
Freelancers far too often can take weeks
to send in invoices
and all that does is delay you getting your money.
Also, make sure all overages and changes are accounted for.
You can only bill for overages
that are agreed to during production
'cause you never want to surprise your client
with an unexpected bill.
Now, if there is a change request during production
that goes beyond the scope of your contract,
let the client know
the additional cost before you agree to do it
or before you even begin to make the changes.
Get any agreement to overages in writing
or at least in an email.
I remember one time I'd been hired
to speak at an event in South America
and I was paid for a single 45-minute talk.
I spent quite bit of time
putting it together as most people do.
However, once I was there
all the speakers were told
that we were to give three different 45-minute talks
on various subjects,
teach a class and participate
in a two-hour panel discussion.
Now, most of the speakers didn't want to make a fuss
since we were already there
but I stopped everything
and I demanded a renegotiation before I did anything.
The terms had changed and what they wanted,
so my terms of payment also changed.
The other speakers were afraid of looking bad.
Well, I wasn't.
I was mad that someone was trying to take advantage of us,
so stand up for your contract
and for what you originally agreed to.
Be up front, but be polite,
no reason to be mean,
sometimes they just don't even think about it.
If you arrive for a gig
and the client asks for much more
than you agreed to,
stop, politely renegotiate
before you do the work
'cause remember you have no power to renegotiate
once the work is done.
If you offer a discount, great
but charge the full rate on your invoice
and then subtract the given discount.
Clients seem to have really short memories
and they're only going to remember the lowest rate
that you ever charged next time they call you,
so invoice the full rate and then discount.
Typically you bill someone by giving your client
an invoice stating your name and address
and social security number
or your business ID if you've got one
and all the job information
such as the name of the client, the name of the job,
the date of the job
and the PO number if they use them
and of course, the total amount due,
the most important part.
So, get those invoices in quick
and get paid for your talent.