The short version
To write a videography invoice, bill each filming day as one line, price the edit per finished minute, list drone, permits and specialist kit separately, name the deliverables and formats, state the revision rounds included, and say what the music license covers.
What goes on a videographer invoice
Six things, in the order they belong on the page. The invoice generator opens a videographer document with the lines already in place, so most of this is checking rather than typing.
- Bill the filming day as one line. A full day is known work at an agreed fee, including setup and wrap.
- Price the edit per finished minute. Three finished minutes at a rate reads as three minutes. An open edit has no end and no price.
- Name the deliverables and formats. How many cuts, at what lengths, in which aspect ratios. A social cut down is a separate deliverable, not a free byproduct.
- Put drone, permits and specialist kit on their own lines. They carry real cost and sometimes real paperwork. Folded into the day rate they disappear.
- State the revision rounds on the edit. Two rounds on the rough cut, further rounds priced. This is where video projects overrun.
- Say what the music license covers. Licensed tracks have terms. Whether the fee includes one, and for what use, belongs on the invoice.
The lines a videographer invoice usually carries
The generator opens with these lines when you pick Videographer. The figures are placeholders to type over, not a going rate.
| Line | What it covers | Qty | Opens at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-day filming | A day on location with camera, audio and lighting, covering the coverage agreed in the brief. | 1 | $1,400 |
| Editing (per finished minute) | Assembly, cutting and titles for each finished minute, including one round of changes. | 3 | $250 |
| Drone and aerial footage | Aerial coverage where the site and conditions allow, flown to the rules for the area. | 1 | $400 |
| Color grading and sound mix | Grade the picture for a consistent look and balance the audio so dialogue and music sit together. | 1 | $350 |
Add, rename, reorder or delete any line, and set tax per line where it applies. Priced as they open, that comes to $2,900 before tax.
How to write a videography invoice, step by step
- Bill the shoot days. Open the videographer invoice and enter each filming day as one line, with the location and what the day covered in the description.
- Price the edit by finished minute. Three finished minutes at your per minute rate. The edit is usually the bigger job, so it should never be a vague line under the shoot.
- Add aerial and specialist kit apart. Drone footage, permits and any extra lighting go on their own lines, flown and paid for to the rules for the location.
- List the deliverables and the rounds. The main edit, any social cutdowns and the formats, plus how many rounds of changes were included and used.
- Name the music license, then send. Say which tracks are licensed and for what use. Deduct the booking deposit, set 14 days and send with the final files.
Videography invoice example, filled in
A three-minute fundraising film: one day of filming, the edit priced by the finished minute, drone shots and a grade and mix. The deliverables and the music license are in the note, because they are what the client asks about after the final file lands.
INVOICE
Bill to
Harbor Light Charities
Comms team, 3 Wharf Street, Port Ellis
Production
Fundraising film, 3-minute edit
Filmed 20 August 2026
| Description | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-day filming | 1 | $1,400 | $1,400 |
| Editing (per finished minute) | 3 | $250 | $750 |
| Drone and aerial footage | 1 | $400 | $400 |
| Color grading and sound mix | 1 | $350 | $350 |
| Subtotal | $2,900 |
| Tax at 10% | $290 |
| Total due | $3,190 |
Deliverables and music. One 3-minute film in 4K and 1080p, one round of changes used of one included. Music licensed for web and social use.
Subtotal $2,900, tax $290, total $3,190. The edit at $250 per finished minute is the line that explains why the film cost more than the shoot day. The note records the revision round used, which makes the next request for changes a new line rather than a favor.
Finished minutes, and why the edit is the real product
Clients price video by the shoot day because that is the part they can see. The edit is where the hours actually go, and pricing it by finished minute is what makes that visible without an argument about your evenings.
Put the count on the line: three finished minutes at your rate. Then a request for a fourth is arithmetic rather than a favor, and a request to cut six social versions from the same footage is clearly a new line rather than an afterthought.
If you bill the edit hourly instead, cap it or stage it. An uncapped hourly edit is the arrangement most likely to end with you writing off time you actually worked.
Rough cut approval, and the revision that never ends
Video revisions are unusually expensive because each round can mean re-cutting, re-grading and re-mixing. Round five on a video is not the same cost as round five on a logo.
Get approval on the rough cut before you finish anything: color, sound and titles all come after, and doing them twice is the waste. Record the approval alongside the fee so the milestone exists on paper.
Name the included rounds and price the rest. Then a client who wants another pass is making a purchasing decision rather than a request, which changes how many passes they want.
Drone, permits, music and the costs clients never see
A video invoice carries more third-party cost than most creative work, and clients underestimate all of it.
Drone work may need a licensed operator and permissions. Locations may need permits. Music almost always needs a license with its own term and territory, and stock footage the same. Each of these belongs on its own line at cost, with any handling fee named separately.
Where a license has a term, put the term on the invoice as you would an image license. A track cleared for one year of social use is not cleared for a broadcast campaign, and the invoice is where that distinction should first appear.
Hourly, fixed price or per unit: how videographers price the work
Video is priced by the project, because the client is buying a finished film rather than a day of filming. Day rates exist for crew work, but for anything you deliver yourself the project price with defined rounds is what keeps post-production from eating the job.
| Model | Where it wins | What it quietly costs you |
|---|---|---|
| Project fee | Brand films, promos, event coverage, anything you deliver finished | Post is where projects overrun, so the revision rounds have to be in the price |
| Day rate for crew | Shooting for an agency or another production, as a hired hand | Someone else owns the client and the license, and your rate is the ceiling |
| Retainer or content package | Ongoing social and marketing output for one client | Scope drifts month by month unless the deliverable count is written down |
Define the revision rounds and the delivery formats in the price. Video is the discipline where a client can request a change that costs a day and sounds like it costs nothing, and the only defense is a number agreed before the edit starts.
Working out what to charge
Video prices depend on the crew, the kit, the edit and the usage, so a figure from a web page will not price your production. The freelance rate calculator starts from the income you need, and the cost estimator adds up kit, crew and edit time before you quote.
Getting paid once it is sent
Take half on booking so the shoot day is covered, and send the balance with the final files so delivery and payment happen together. If the due date passes, the late fee calculator works out what your terms allow and the due date calculator sets the new date.
Five dates decide whether a videographer gets paid on time, and four of them are set before the work starts.
Mistakes that cost videographers money
- Billing the shoot and leaving the edit open. The edit is where the hours are. Price it per finished minute.
- Social cutdowns treated as free. They are separate deliverables with separate effort.
- No rough cut approval. Color and sound get done twice, and the second time is unpaid.
- Music license unstated. Term and territory matter, and the invoice is where they should first appear.
- Drone and permits inside the day rate. Real third-party costs that vanish when folded in.
Videographer invoice questions
How do I invoice for video work?
Bill the filming day as one line, price the edit per finished minute, name the deliverables and formats, put drone and permits on their own lines, and state the revision rounds. The generator opens a videographer invoice with filming, editing, drone and grading already listed.
How should I price video editing?
Per finished minute is the clearest unit, because it puts a countable number on the invoice and makes an extra minute arithmetic rather than a favor. If you bill hourly instead, cap or stage it.
Are social cutdowns included in the edit fee?
Only if the invoice says so. Cutdowns are separate deliverables with separate work, so they belong on their own line with their own count and aspect ratios named.
How many revision rounds should a video invoice include?
Two on the rough cut is a common default, with further rounds priced. Video revisions are expensive because each pass can mean re-cutting, re-grading and re-mixing.
Do I need to put the music license on the invoice?
Yes, with its term and use, in the same way an image license is stated. A track cleared for a year of social use is not cleared for a broadcast campaign, and the invoice is the record of which was bought.
How do I bill drone footage?
As its own line, because it carries real cost and sometimes a licensed operator and permissions. Any permit fees belong on a separate line at cost.
What should a videographer invoice include?
Your details and the client, an invoice number and date, filming days, editing by finished minute, deliverables and formats, drone and permits, music licensing, revision rounds, the total and your terms.
What does a videography invoice look like?
Like the example on this page: your business and the client at the top, an invoice number, the issue date and a due date 14 days out, then full-day filming, editing (per finished minute), drone and aerial footage and color grading and sound mix as separate lines, each with a quantity, rate and amount. Below them sit the subtotal ($2,900), tax on its own line and the total due ($3,190), then the payment terms and a note on deliverables and music.
Free videographer invoice template
The free videographer invoice template opens with the lines above already priced, in any of 30 designs made for the trade, and exports a print-ready PDF with nothing saved to a server. Opening a design needs a free account.
Invoicing guides for related trades
Everything on this site, set up for videographers
The whole toolkit, with the reason each one matters to videographers rather than in general. The four marked links open with videographer already selected.
Make the document
Three of these arrive with videographer already selected, so the first line reads full-day filming rather than nothing.
- Invoice Generatoropens set to this trade. The videographer invoice this guide describes, priced and ready to edit.
- Quote Generatoropens set to this trade. Quote first: always, with rounds and deliverables listed. Converts to the invoice without retyping.
- Receipt Maker
- Recurring Invoices
- Purchase Order
- Work Order
- Cost Estimatoropens set to this trade. Build the job up from materials, labor and margin before you quote it.
Templates and files to send on
The same videographer lines, in whatever file the client accounts team wants.
- Videographer invoice template
- 30 invoice designs for this tradein this trade’s colors. Put those lines in any of the 30 and keep the one you like.
- 72 Word templates
- 72 Excel templates
- 72 fillable PDFs
- Google Docs templates
- Google Sheets templates
- Blank invoice templates
- Quote templates
- Estimate templates
- Receipt templates
- Work order templates
Work out the number first
- Freelance Rate Calculator
- Service Price Calculator
- Profit Margin Calculator
- Break-Even Calculator
- Discount Calculator
- Sales Tax Calculator
Get it paid without the awkward email
Terms of 14 days is the shape this guide assumes. Deposit: fifty percent on booking is normal.
- Payment links and QR codes
- Late fee calculatoropens set to this trade. Works out what your own terms allow and writes the chasing letter.
- Payment terms guide
- Deposit invoices
- Chasing an unpaid invoice
- Progress billing
- Invoice numbering
- Change orders
Read next
What this is. A guide and template written by Jessica Brown. It is not legal advice. Deposit, cancellation and late fee rules differ by state, so have any wording you rely on checked for your state before it goes on a real document.
Last reviewed by InvoiceTools, Houston, Texas, on 18 September 2026.