How to write a writer invoice

What goes on a writer invoice

Six things, in the order they belong on the page. The invoice generator opens a writer / copywriter document with the lines already in place, so most of this is checking rather than typing.

1. Bill in the unit you quoted in. Per thousand words, per page, per piece or per hour. Whatever the quote said, the invoice repeats, so the client is checking one number against one number.
2. Put the count on the line. Four articles at a thousand words each reads as four articles. One line saying "content" reads as a figure to accept on trust.
3. Name the revision rounds included. Two rounds included, further rounds at a stated rate. Rounds that are not named are unlimited, and a client who does not know the limit cannot respect it.
4. State who owns the work. Whether the fee transfers copyright, licenses the piece, or covers use in one place. This belongs on the invoice, not in a thread.
5. Keep research separate if you bill it. Interviews, reading and source-gathering are work. If you charge for them, name them; if they are included, say so.
6. Send it with terms in days. Editorial clients pay on cycles. Net 30 gets into a queue; "on receipt" gets into the same queue with less information.

The lines a writer invoice usually carries

The generator opens with these lines when you pick Writer / copywriter. The figures are placeholders to type over, not a going rate.

Add, rename, reorder or delete any line, and set tax per line where it applies. Priced as they open, that comes to $1,975 before tax.

How to write a freelance writer invoice, step by step

1. Bill in the unit you quoted. Open the writer / copywriter invoice and use the same unit as the brief: per 1,000 words, per page or per project. Switching unit at invoice stage is the fastest way to a query.
2. Name each piece with its count. Four articles of about 1,000 words each, with titles in the description, and five web pages. The count is what the editor checks.
3. Add editing time separately. Line editing and proofreading someone else's copy is hourly work, so it goes on as hours, not words.
4. Write the rounds and the rights. One round of edits included per piece, and rights passing on payment. Those two sentences end most disputes before they start.
5. Quote the PO, then send. Editorial clients often need a purchase order or commissioning reference. Set 30 days and send it the day the last piece is filed.

Freelance writer invoice example, filled in

A month of work for a software company: four blog articles, five website pages and some editing of existing copy. Each line is in the unit it was quoted in, and the note settles revisions and rights.

Subtotal $1,975, tax $197.50, total $2,172.50. Four articles at $220 per thousand words, five pages at $180 and three hours of editing are three different units, and keeping them on separate lines means none of them has to be converted to be checked.

Per word, per page or per project, and why the invoice must match the quote

Writers price in at least four different units and the trouble starts when the quote uses one and the invoice uses another. A client who agreed a per-word rate and receives a project fee cannot check it, so they query it, and you spend an afternoon reconstructing arithmetic.

Whatever unit the quote used, invoice in the same unit with the count visible. If the piece came in longer than quoted, show the count and the rate and let the number explain itself. If you agreed a cap, apply it and say so on the line.

The freelance rate calculator is for working out what the unit should be worth before you quote it. The invoice is for reporting what was agreed, not for renegotiating it.

Revision rounds, scope creep and the rewrite described as a correction

A common way a writing job loses money is a rewrite presented as a fix. The brief changed, but the request arrives as though the copy was wrong.

Two defenses, both on paper. Name the number of revision rounds included on the invoice and price additional rounds. And attach the brief to the quote so there is an agreed description of what was asked for, which is what separates a correction from a new commission.

When a request is genuinely a new commission, invoice it as one with its own line and its own count. Absorbing it teaches the client that scope is free.

Kill fees, and getting paid for work that never ran

Commissioned work gets canceled. A piece is spiked, a campaign is pulled, a client changes direction after you have written the thing.

A kill fee is the agreed percentage payable if the work is canceled after you start, and it belongs in the quote before it is ever needed. Fifty percent after acceptance is a common shape, though the number is yours to set.

Invoice it as a named line referencing the original commission rather than as a mystery amount. And do not quietly discount it because the piece never ran: the work happened, which is what the fee was for.

Hourly, fixed price or per unit: how writers price the work

Writing is priced per word, per piece or per day, and the trend across the profession is away from per word for exactly the reason you would expect: it pays for length rather than for the thinking that made it short.

State the revision rounds and the kill fee. A commissioned piece that is spiked after approval of the outline is work that happened, and the kill fee is the clause that decides whether it was paid for. Agree it at the brief rather than at the cancellation.

Working out what to charge

Writing rates depend on the subject, the research involved and the client, so a per word figure from a web page is no guide. The freelance rate calculator works back from the income you need, and the billable hours calculator shows how many hours a week you can actually write.

Getting paid once it is sent

Agree the kill fee when the piece is commissioned, and invoice each piece as it is filed rather than waiting for publication, which can be weeks away. 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 writer gets paid on time, and four of them are set before the work starts.

Mistakes that cost writers money

• Invoicing in a different unit from the quote. The client cannot check it, so they query it, and you rebuild the math.
• Unlimited revision rounds by omission. Rounds that are not named are unlimited. Name them and price the extras.
• Silence on rights. Whether the fee buys copyright or a license should never be discovered afterwards.
• No kill fee agreed. Canceled commissions then pay nothing for work that was actually done.
• "On receipt" to an editorial client. They pay on cycles. Terms in days get you into the right queue.

Writer / copywriter invoice questions

Free writer invoice template

The free writer 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 writers

The whole toolkit, with the reason each one matters to writers rather than in general. The four marked links open with writer / copywriter already selected.