What is an invoice?
Invoices are financial documents that a freelancer or a small business presents to their client either before or after they have carried out work for the client.
However, remember to agree on the payment terms beforehand:
- Discuss how you are going to be paid;
- Make sure you confirm whom you are invoicing (name that should be on the invoice);
- When you are going to be paid.
How to create an invoice for an influencer or blogger
As an Instagram influencer or blogger you must create an influencer or blogger invoice through applications like Freshbooks, Lumanu and Quickbooks allow you to set up, download, create and send an influencer invoice.
If you are creating your blogger or Instagram influencer invoice template then you can use the spreadsheet on Microsoft Excel. The general things to add to your invoice are:
- Your contact information;
- The brand’s contact information;
- The invoice number and date of issue;
- The service description;
- The subtotal;
- Any taxes or discounts;
- Any additional payment terms.
How to fill out an influencer invoice
1. Invoice date and number:
Ensure you include a different unique number to each of your invoices along with the date you are sending the invoice.
This is helpful for countries that require information for tax purposes.
2. Full name and contact information:
This can be either your business name or (full) legal name. Do not forget to include your phone number, E-Mail address and mailing address.
These are typically needed by your partner. Your client will need the information from your influencer or blogger invoice to set up your payment in their system.
3. Client’s the contact information:
Include the client’s name and E-Mail address.
4. Description of work done:
These include the name of the project, any deliverables or additional information (this can include influencer or blogger payments covered) such as sponsored posts.
REMEMBER TO PICK BETWEEN an hourly rate, monthly cost, or per-post cost. You may be able to find time tracking applications so that you can include and bill the tracked hourly rate subtotal).
5. Amount:
At. the bottom of your blogger or influencer invoice includes the total amount in bold.
6. Due date:
To avoid getting backtracked with your invoices ensure you communicated a set date when you will be sending your client(s) your invoice.
Your invoice needs to include the agreed-upon payment terms including when payment is due.
7. Payment methods:
Remember to include global payment methods for foreign clients. These can include cash app, PayPal, credit card. If your client is local then you can also include a cheque payment option.
By offering brands several different payment options you can ensure smooth payment with less hassle.
Why is it important for me, as an influencer or a blogger, to know what to include in the invoice?
Influencing and blogging are serious, albeit non-traditional, professions.
You need to create contracts that are legally enforced.
But influencers and bloggers are satisfied with communicating with a client through email and verbal agreements but you need to create contracts that are legally enforced.
Blogger and influencer payments are ensured with an invoice as they help convey expectations and information between you and your client.
A lot of bloggers and influencers work for themselves without a big team behind them. It is for this reason that it is imperative to create a system. A system makes it easy for you to create content while also following up with clients (without chasing the client when a payment is late).
Establishing your billing terms early on and delivering it via an invoice (and e-transfer) makes it clear and helps the influencer and blogger maintain a paper trail for your work.
