Choosing the right invoice template for freelance work can make admin tasks a breeze, allowing you to present professional, comprehensive, and on-brand invoice paperwork to your clients, giving you more time to focus on your work!
There are several things you should always include if you’re trying to make an invoice for self-employed services manually (such as making sure to number freelance invoices). Still, an efficient template will handle all the formatting for you.
Let’s look at best practice formatting for any freelancer invoice and share some tips to get your templates up and running quickly, prompting on-time payments and ensuring you have all your records in good order.
Why Does Formatting Matter in a Freelance Invoice?
Creating invoices is important because the amount of detail you include and your documents’ appearance can influence the impression you make on your clients. Invoices are legally valid documents you’ll need for all sorts of things, from completing tax returns to chasing late payments or keeping track of your overall revenue.
Alongside those essential components, such as an invoice value, issue date, payment information, and service breakdown, your formatting should also be clear and consistent. For example, good font sizes and page margins mean a client won’t struggle to read the text, can immediately see what the invoice is for, and can either store your invoice electronically or print it off without losing the detail off the side of the page.
How Should I Format My Invoices for Freelance Clients?
The basic formatting of any business invoice starts with the logo or business name at the top, including your name (even if you trade as an individual), showing who the invoice is from. Uploading a logo and editing the header to reflect your business or freelance service keeps your paperwork on brand. For example, if you’re a graphic designer, you can insert a bespoke logo and adapt the top-of-the-page details to reflect your skills.
Next, you should include sectioned boxes that provide the payee details – this is important because if an invoice doesn’t state who the charges are payable by, it could be rejected. All invoices should also include the word ‘invoice’ preferably in bold and towards the top of the page.
While that might seem obvious, busy companies receive hundreds of documents daily. If your invoice is mistaken for a statement, quote, or anything else, it could delay your payment or mean the accounts payable recipient disregards it.
What Is the Best Way to Format Charges on a Freelancer Invoice?
Clients prefer a detailed breakdown of services, units, and individual costs. Adding one lump sum can be confusing, particularly if the person you liaise with isn’t necessarily the person you expect to remit payment.
The best option is to insert a table where you can itemize the charges line by line, summarizing at the bottom to include any relevant taxes added, plus the overall payable amount. For example, you might format your invoice like this:
- Design services for xxx logo: 2 hours x $30 = $60
- Editing services for the xxx page: 3 hours x $30 = $90
- Formatting of xxx graphic: 1 hour x $30 = $30
- Relevant sales taxes at 15% = $27
- Total payable = $207
You can see that this layout doesn’t leave room for confusion and means the recipient can see what the invoice is for, which tasks or projects are included, and any tax incorporated in the total.
Why Use a Freelance Invoice Template for Formatting?
As a freelancer, your time is your primary cost driver, but rushing paperwork or making mistakes on your invoices can affect your reputation, payments, and client satisfaction, particularly if they have to keep raising inquiries or asking for amendments.
Invoice templates designed specifically for freelancers are easy to use, highly professional, and can be tailored to your business–simply type in the details as prompted, and you’re good to go!