Copywriting Invoice Template

Are you a copywriter? If so, you need a copywriting invoice to get paid for your work. These invoices differ with regards to their content, size, and how frequently they are sent, but the end goal is the same: to get paid quickly and in full.

The irony with copywriting invoices is that writers spend their days crafting carefully constructed paragraphs, taglines, and headlines. They think about grammar, punctuation, clarity, and relevance, and they make sure everything is neatly formatted. But when it comes to crafting a copywriting invoice, they often just throw something basic together that highlights how many words they wrote and how much they are owed.

It’s not unlike a professional chef spending their days cooking award-winning food, only to return home and throw a frozen lasagne in the microwave.

The invoice is just as important because a well-structured copywriting invoice is less likely to cause confusion. And when the client isn’t confused, it means the contractor doesn’t need to field endless questions or try to explain themselves long after the invoice should have been paid.

The 5 minutes that you save by rushing the invoice could lead to countless emails, phone calls, and video chats as your clients direct the Spanish Inquisition to your doorstep.

A copywriting invoice is used to collect payment for all services rendered, including (but not limited to) the following:

• Work Completed—Often billed on an hourly or pre-word basis.
• Additional Work—If the contract is billed hourly, the copywriter will need to allow for additional payments to cover the admin work, research, and other jobs that don’t relate directly to writing.
• Expenses—The money that the writer spends to complete the job as per the client’s instructions, including travel costs, books, and software subscriptions.
• Bonuses—Copywriting invoices may include bonus payments that are activated following the completion of specific jobs or milestones, such as when the completed posts/articles get a higher-than-normal level of engagement.

You can bill your clients by sending them an invoice. There are a few things to get right with your billing. Here’s a short list:

• You can bill by the hour, milestone, or project. 
• Hourly billing is really common and you can use Indy’s Time Tracker to track your hours easily. You can even add your time tracks to your invoices as line items.
• Milestone billing is useful for larger projects that will take place over several weeks or months. Set some milestones, such as the delivery of first stages, and send an invoice when those milestones happen. 
• Billing by the project is very common for freelancers. Once the client approves the final proof, send them the bill.
• Many freelancers take a deposit at the beginning of the project. This protects you from shady clients and sets you up for cash flow success. Deposits up to 50% are normal.
• You should set out your billing and payment terms in your contract. If you don’t have a contract, use Indy’s Contracts tool to create one before you start work.
• Once you finish the work or pass the milestone, send the client an invoice. If you don’t have an invoice, you can use Indy’s invoice generator to create a professional invoice in just a few moments.

That’s it! Those are the basics of how to bill someone for your work. 

Short answer: 

Most freelancers work 36 hours per week and charge $21 per hour according to a survey by Payoneer. Experience level is the most important factor in determining the best hourly rate to charge. New freelancers usually charge a lower amount, while experienced experts charge two to three times the average rate for their industry.

Knowing how much to charge for your work is a complicated area. We want to help freelancers, so we’re going to give you some general tips here about settling on the best amount to charge clients for your services.

Let’s think about this from a few different perspectives:

First, how much do you want/need to earn? You should create your rates to reflect what you need to earn. Keep in mind that you won’t get paid for some of the things you must do, such as preparing your taxes, looking for more customers, and weekly admin work. So, your hourly or project rate needs to be a little higher to make up for the unpaid work that is part of every freelancer’s life.

Second, how much do others charge for similar services at your level of expertise and experience? This question can be a little difficult to answer, but you can just ask. Join a Facebook group and ask. Call a local competitor and ask. Once you know what they charge, you can go under that if you’re new to the market or over it if you’re the boss.

Another massive item you should plan for is taxes. You’ll be paying your own taxes as a freelancer, so your rates should incorporate the taxes you’ll eventually have to pay. The average tax amount paid by Americans, for all taxes, is about 29%. This means you’ll end up paying $3 in taxes out of every $10 you earn. Price your work to pay your taxes and be left with the income you want.

Your best rates will be different, because everyone’s market is different. What works on the East Coast might not be successful in Nevada. Try a few different price points until you find the rate clients accept and you can live on.

This part is simple! Here’s a step-by-step guide to getting your invoice done:

1. Open one of Indy’s Freelance Invoice Templates.
2. Add your business branding and information.
3. Insert your client’s contact information.
4. Number your invoice in a useful way.
5. Fill in the lines with your work completed and the cost per task/hour.
6. Check the invoice total and details.

Once you’ve finished these six steps, you are ready to send your invoice to your client. Save it in your Indy workspace or download it as a PDF. Then, email it to your client so they can pay you.

Indy offers an all-in-one platform for freelancers to manage all their admin work. When you sign up with Indy, your invoicing gets better because the other tools work together. For example, you can use Indy’s Time Tracker to note the time spent on a project. When you’re ready, the Invoice tool can automatically pull your unbilled hours for the project onto your invoice to make it ready to use. This makes your billing more accurate and saves time as well. When you set up your customers and projects with Indy, your entire workflow becomes smoother.