Videographer Invoice: How to Bill Shoot Days, Editing, Kit and Travel

The shoot has wrapped, the cards are backed up and the edit is underway. Now the agency, production company or direct client needs an invoice, and video jobs have more moving parts than most freelance work: a travel day, two shoot days, a kit package, a drone, two hours over on day two, and three days of editing still to come.

Put all of that on one line marked "Video production" and the invoice comes back with questions. Lay it out line by line, in the same order as the quote the client approved, and it gets matched and paid. For the general process behind any invoice, see how to invoice as a freelancer.

How is video work priced?#

Most video jobs combine several of these. The figures below are illustrative; rates vary widely by market, kit and experience.

Shoot and edit days work like any day-rate billing: show the count and the dates. Day rate invoices goes deeper on half days, travel days and billing a long job weekly or monthly.

Should you separate labour and kit on the invoice?#

Usually, yes. Separate lines show the client what they are paying for, make your day rate comparable with other quotes, and help productions that budget crew and equipment under different headings. If the client supplies a camera on the next job, it is also obvious what comes off.

• Your own kit: charge a kit fee per day or a package fee, labelled as yours ("Camera package, own kit, 2 days").
• Hired-in kit: pass on the rental at cost or with a markup you agreed, and keep the rental house's invoice in case the client asks for it.
• Extra crew: a second shooter, sound recordist or assistant each gets their own line with role, name and days.

Only bundle crew and kit into one day rate when the client asks for a single figure, and then say so on the line: "Shoot day including camera and sound package".

If you are VAT registered in the UK, hired-in kit you used on the job is normally part of your own service, so VAT applies when you pass it on. A cost you paid purely as the client's agent, such as a permit in their name passed on at exactly what it cost, can be a disbursement outside VAT, but only if all of HMRC's conditions are met.

What counts as a shoot day, and how do you bill overtime?#

"A day" means different things to different clients, so define it when they book, in your quote, booking confirmation or deal memo:

• Day length, such as 10 hours, and whether lunch counts.
• When the clock starts: call time, arrival on location, or first shot.
• Half days: how many hours, and the half-day rate.
• Travel days: billed at a set rate, or included.
• Overtime: the rate per hour past the day length, and whether part-hours round up.

On the shoot, get overtime approved as it happens. A one-line text from the producer ("OK to go 2 hours over") settles it before anyone sees an invoice. Then bill it on its own line with the date and the hours, never folded into the day rate.

A sample videographer invoice#

Here is a two-day brand film shoot with a travel day, overtime on the second day, kit, an edit, a usage fee, flights and a deposit paid at booking.

INVOICE                                            JP-2026-031

From                                  Billed to
Jo Park Films                         Brightside Agency LLC
410 Elm Street                        Attn: Accounts Payable
Portland, OR 97205                    88 Market Street
jo@example.com                        San Francisco, CA 94105

Invoice date:   4 November 2026
Due date:       18 November 2026
Project:        Brand film, quote Q-118 (approved 1 October)
Shoot dates:    14 and 15 October 2026

Description                               Qty       Rate        Amount
Travel day, Portland to San Francisco     1 day     $400.00     $400.00
  (13 October)
Shoot days, 10-hour day                   2 days    $800.00     $1,600.00
  (14, 15 October)
Overtime, 15 October, past 10 hours       2 hours   $120.00     $240.00
Camera and lighting package, own kit      2 days    $250.00     $500.00
Drone kit, own, 15 October                1 day     $350.00     $350.00
Edit: 90-second film and 3 cut-downs      3 days    $500.00     $1,500.00
  (20, 21, 22 October)
Usage: online and social, 2 years         1         $1,000.00   $1,000.00
Flights and baggage, receipts attached    1         $380.00     $380.00

                                  Subtotal                      $5,970.00
                                  Deposit paid 2 October        -$2,000.00
                                  Balance due (USD)             $3,970.00

Pay by ACH or wire to Jo Park Films
Routing 000000000, account 0000000000. Please quote JP-2026-031.

Sales tax and VAT rules for video work vary by place, so check your local rules before adding a tax line. For a blank layout to start from, see the freelance invoice template.

How do deposits and payment timing work for video jobs?#

A booked shoot date stops you taking other work that day, so a deposit when the client confirms the date is sensible protection. A common split is 50% to book and the balance on delivery; longer projects often use stages, such as booking, shoot and final delivery. Deposit invoices covers how to word the deposit invoice and how to show it on the final one. Agree cancellation and rescheduling terms at the same time, in writing.

When to send the rest depends on the job:

• Shoot and edit within a few weeks: one final invoice on delivery, less the deposit.
• A long edit: invoice the shoot when it wraps, and the edit on delivery.
• Crew hired by a production: invoice the way the production asks, often per job or weekly.
• Revisions: state how many rounds are included in your quote, and bill extra rounds as a separate line.

Some videographers share watermarked or lower-resolution previews until the balance is paid. If you work that way, put it in your booking terms so it is not a surprise.

Usage, licensing and who owns the footage#

Usage is part of the price, so it belongs on the invoice. Who owns the footage depends on your contract and your country, and this is not legal advice, but two official rules are worth knowing.

In the US, a video you are commissioned to make as part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work counts as a "work made for hire", owned by the client, only if you both sign a written agreement saying so (or you are their employee). In the UK, selling or transferring copyright needs a written, signed document, often called an assignment; otherwise you can license the use instead.

On the invoice, show what the client is buying on its own line: "Usage: online and social, 2 years, worldwide", or "Copyright assignment, as per contract". If the client wants the raw footage, price it as its own line too, so it is clear it was not part of the edit fee.

How to make a videographer invoice step by step#

1. Start from the approved quote

Copy its lines and order. The client's accounts team will check the invoice against it.

2. Add the job references

Project name, quote or PO number, shoot dates and location. In the UK, invoices must show the date the service was provided as well as the invoice date, so the shoot dates belong on it anyway.

3. Add labour by type of day

Travel, shoot and edit days on separate lines, each with dates and quantity.

4. Add overtime, kit, usage and expenses

Each on its own line, with dates where they apply and receipts ready for expenses.

5. Show the deposit and the balance

List the deposit paid with its date, then the balance due with the currency code.

6. Check against your call sheets and send

Do the days and overtime match what the producer approved? Then send it to the accounts contact, not just the producer.

Videographer invoices in BillBee.work#

BillBee.work, a free invoice maker for freelancers, suits day-based video work well:

• Save the client once, with their currency, an invoice number prefix and your services: "Shoot day", "Edit day" and "Travel day" as daily services at their rates, and a kit package as a fixed line, or as a daily service if you charge it per day.
• Mark days on the service calendar as the job runs. Each service has its own colour, so shoot days and edit days are easy to tell apart.
• Auto-fill the invoice from the logged month, then add fixed lines for usage or anything else. Daily and fixed lines mix on one invoice.
• Turn on the work log to print a small calendar of the days you billed, so the client sees the shoot and edit dates at a glance.

Be clear on the limits. There is no overtime or half-day type, so add overtime as a fixed line ("Overtime, 15 Oct, 2 h × $120") and save a "Half-day shoot" service with your half-day rate, or add it as a fixed line. There are no expense lines, so add flights or permits as fixed lines and send the receipts yourself. There are no negative lines either, so BillBee.work cannot subtract a deposit from an itemised total: for the final invoice, use one fixed line that states the sum ("Balance due: brand film, total $5,970 less $2,000 deposit paid 2 Oct") and send your itemised quote with it. Every invoice gets a share link the client opens without an account; PDF download is a Pro feature, and BillBee.work does not email the invoice for you.

Common videographer invoice mistakes#

A clear video invoice reads like a short version of the job: who, which days, what kit, what was delivered, and what the client can do with it.

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