Writing an Invoice for Freelance Work for Production Made Easy

Writing an invoice for freelance work for Production

Congratulations. You've nailed the gig. You worked your magic. And now it's time for getting paid. Time to send the invoice. But you're not sure if you know how to do it. To ensure you get paid smoothly. It's important to know how to send an invoice properly. Whether you're a freelancer or a production company. Don't worry. I've got you covered. My name is OZ Ozmen. I'm someone who have said dozens and received hundreds of invoices for work. You follow my tips, invoice right And you are going to get paid smoothly. If you've ever wondered why your payment is delayed or got lost in the shuffle, your culprit might be your poorly crafted invoice. So let's unpack the essentials of proper invoicing. But before we get into that, let's get one thing straight. An invoice is not a record of your agreement with your client, but rather a document confirming payment for work already done. It's not an agreement. Your agreement should have been outlined in either a deal memo or a Scope Of Work agreement. S.O.W. So let’s spoke about scope of work. SOW: It's an agreement that outlines the specific tasks to be performed, the timeline for completion and the payment terms. A solid SOW ensures there are no misunderstandings or disputes down the line. Assuming you got your SOW sorted out and everything is satisfactory, now you're ready to invoice. So what exactly does a proper invoice include? First up, your contact information. That's your full name, business name, address, phone number and email address. They may send your check to the address on the invoice. Please include your apartment number. You'll be surprised how many people don't put their apartment number into their invoice. And yes, your email. Because if accounting needs to reach out to you, they are going to use that email. Next, your invoice needs a unique number. Trust me, this saves a lot of headaches when tracking payments. Having a unique number for each invoice helps you keep a track. It's like having your own personal log book of all the work you've done and the payments you're expecting. If a payment is late, you can quickly refer to your logbook and find the exact invoice and follow up with your client. It also helps you keep track of your income for tax purposes and financial planning. And let me tell you something. It is also helping the accounting department that you're sending the invoice to as well. That's how they know that that is the invoice that they haven't paid. If you don't put an invoice number, they might have assumed that they already paid you by looking at your last invoice. So make sure you put your invoice number. Next, Date. Make sure to also include the date you're sending the invoice. After that, the recipient's information. We're talking about the full name and address of the client or company receiving the invoice. And a little ATTN: goes a long way to ensure it lands in the right hands. Now, the best part. Description of services. It's time to describe the services or products you provided. And be clear. Remember, the person processing your invoice might be different from the one who hired you to spell out your services, the dates, the productions you work. Make it easy for them to understand the services you provided. If you were hired for multiple things. Break it down instead of putting it to total. Just bundling them up. Don't do that. Be specific. Put the dates. Put the productions. Be specific. Always make it easy to get paid. Now onto the total amount due. Add your payment terms here as well. That's the due date and any late payment fees. Now remember how I mentioned SOW that is when the payment terms were set and agreed. If you didn't just know a lot of companies are ‘Net30’, meaning they have 30 days to pay you. So you want to be ready in your cash flow. Your tax information and the preferred payment method, instructions for paying you also goes under your total amount due. And don't forget the paperwork. It's not only sending your invoice. You might need to add a tax paperwork like your W-9, for example. Make sure you got all that sort of that before you send an invoice. Now, if you're a production company, there are a few extra things to keep in mind. Just like a freelancer, it's crucial to have a scope of work agreement in place before invoicing. It's crucial. You might also be dealing with payments in installments. For example, a typical payment for a production company can be 50%-50% or 75%-25%. It's up to your and your client's cash flow to create a win-win. You know what? Cash flow. Let's have a quick word about cashflow. Always consider your upfront costs before you agree on a payment term. Trust me, it's not fun to find out mid-production that your costs are higher than the upfront payment you received. You might find yourself having spent the money without having received the final payments. To avoid this, I always request at least 75% of the budget before we start filming and leave no more than 25% for after delivery. I also like to include the total production cost and the percentage being invoiced in the invoice. I assume the accounting department there appreciates it. This is what an invoice from a production company might look like. So, there you have it. These are the essentials on a proper invoice. Your contact information, invoice number, Date, recipient's information, Description of services, Total amount due and payment terms. Include this key elements in your invoice. You will streamline the payment process and avoid any confusion. Before I let you go, here is my $0.02 about the approach to invoice. I always assume the person sending the money is not the same person that hired me. Remember the other side may be the one who's receiving dozens of invoices a day and their world doesn't revolve around you. If you forget everything else I've told you today, remember this. Always make it easy to get paid. And... to make things even easier for you, I put together a handy invoice template, and I'm giving it away for free. You heard right. Leave your email with me and I will email your free invoice template. No fees. Just a tool to help you get paid faster. The template includes all the important elements you need to create a professional and effective invoice. and a log. It as both freelancer and production company versions on different tabs. So you can go back and focus on running your business and doing what you love. Remember, invoicing isn't just paperwork. It's an essential part of your relationship with your clients. So do it right. Thanks for joining me today. If you found this video helpful, make sure to give it a thumbs up and subscribe for more content like this. Until next time. Until next time. I'm OZ Ozmen and you, you keep creating wonders. “Always make it easy to get paid.” “Make it easy to get paid.”