The BillBee.work blog
Invoice smarter. Get paid sooner.
Practical guides to invoicing for freelancers: day rates, hourly and retainer invoices, payment terms, reminder emails, templates and getting paid on time.
Billing by the day
Set a day rate, log the days you worked, and turn them into an invoice your client can check at a glance.
How to Invoice a Day Rate (With a Sample Day Rate Invoice)
You agreed a day rate and did the days. Here is how to turn them into an invoice the client can check in ten seconds and pay without a query.
Read the guide →Day Rate vs Hourly Rate (and Fixed Price): Which Should You Charge?
The same project can be billed by the hour, by the day or as one fixed price. Each one shifts the risk, the admin and the conversation with your client.
Read the explainer →How to Calculate Your Freelance Day Rate (Formula and Worked Examples)
A day rate is not your old salary divided by 260. Here is the formula, the days you can really bill, and worked numbers you can swap your own into.
Read the explainer →How to Bill a Client Monthly for Services (by Days Worked)
You work for a client a few days here and there, then bill once at the end of the month. Here is how to keep track and send an invoice they can check at a glance.
Read the guide →Hourly work, retainers and deposits
Bill for hours, prove the time you spent, and get paid before the work starts.
Deposit Invoices: How to Ask for Payment Upfront (50% and Other Splits)
Get part of the fee before you block out the weeks, then bill the balance without confusing anyone. Two invoices, worked through with real numbers.
Read the guide →How to Invoice for Hours Worked (With a Sample Hourly Invoice)
You have the hours in a log, a calendar or your head. Here is how to turn them into an invoice that adds up and does not come back with questions.
Read the guide →Retainer Invoices: How to Bill a Monthly Retainer (With a Sample)
A retainer gives you steady income, as long as every invoice makes clear what the fee covers. Here is how to bill one month after month without awkward questions.
Read the guide →Timesheet Invoices: How to Attach Proof of Work to an Invoice
Your client wants to see the time behind the total. Here is how to send proof of work that gets your invoice approved the first time.
Read the guide →Invoice basics
What goes on an invoice, how to number it, how to send it, and how to invoice before you have a company.
How to Send an Invoice to a Client (Email, Link or PDF)
The invoice is finished. Now it has to reach the person who pays, in a form they can approve, at the right moment. Here is how to send it so it does not get lost.
Read the guide →Invoice Number Format: How to Number Your Invoices (With Examples)
An invoice number looks like a detail until a client pays the wrong invoice or a tax office asks about a gap. Here is how to choose a format once and stop thinking about it.
Read the guide →How to Invoice Without a Business (as an Individual or Sole Trader)
Someone wants to pay you for a side job and has asked for an invoice. You do not have a company, and you do not need one. Here is how to invoice as yourself, properly.
Read the explainer →What to Include on an Invoice: The Complete Checklist
Clients pay the invoices they can approve without asking questions. Here is every field that belongs on yours, which ones the rules require, and which ones simply get you paid sooner.
Read the explainer →Getting paid
Payment terms, reminder emails, late fees and clients in other countries.
How to Get Clients to Pay on Time (12 Habits That Work)
Chasing payments is a symptom. Most late invoices have a cause you can fix before you send them. Here are twelve habits, in the order you need them.
Read the guide →How to Invoice International Clients (Currency, Tax and Getting Paid)
A client in another country is a good problem to have. Here is how to bill them without surprises in the currency, the tax, or the amount that reaches your account.
Read the guide →Net 30 Payment Terms: What They Mean and Which Terms to Use
A client says their standard terms are net 30, or your invoice has a blank next to "Terms". Here is what the common terms mean, how to count the days, and which ones get you paid sooner.
Read the explainer →Payment Reminder Emails: 6 Templates for Overdue Invoices
The due date has passed and the client has gone quiet. Here is a reminder schedule and six emails you can copy, each one a little firmer than the last.
Read the guide →Invoice templates
Ready-to-use layouts for freelancers, consultants and video crews.
Consulting Invoice Template: How to Invoice for Consulting Work
The person who approves your invoice was not in the workshop. Here is how to write a consulting invoice they can match to the contract and pay the first time.
Read the guide →Free Freelance Invoice Template (and 5 Designs You Can Fill In Online)
Copy the template below into the tool you already use and fill it in. Then decide whether you want it plainer, quicker or more polished.
Read the guide →Videographer Invoice: How to Bill Shoot Days, Editing, Kit and Travel
Shoot days, an edit, a kit package and a flight: here is how to put them on one invoice the client can match to your quote without a phone call.
Read the guide →