Freelance invoice
An invoice built for people who chase their own payments. Set terms that suit your cash flow rather than your client's, print the due date as an actual date, and keep every draft in your own browser.
Invoice
Fill in the form above and this invoice updates as you type.
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Your name and address
Bill to
Client name and address
| Description | Qty | Unit price | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| No line items yet. | |||
Why net 30 costs a freelancer more than it looks
Count the days properly. You work through March, invoice on the 1st of April, and on net 30 the money is due on the 1st of May — which means the March work is paid roughly forty-five days after it was done on average, and the first day of March is paid sixty days late. You have lent your client two months of your own income, unsecured and interest-free, on top of paying your own costs meanwhile.
The fix is not confrontation, it is a smaller default. Net 14 is entirely normal for freelance work and most clients simply pay it, because their process runs on payment cycles rather than on negotiation. Invoicing on completion rather than at month end removes another two weeks by itself. Neither of those requires a conversation.
Where a large client's standard terms genuinely cannot move, price the delay in. A rate quoted for net 45 should not be the rate you quote for net 7; the difference is the cost of financing them, and it belongs in the number rather than in your overdraft.
Late payment: what the law already gives you
In the United Kingdom, the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act gives a business creditor statutory interest of eight per cent above the Bank of England base rate, plus fixed compensation of £40, £70 or £100 depending on the size of the debt — and it applies automatically, whether or not your invoice mentions it. Across the EU the Late Payment Directive does much the same thing, capping business-to-business terms at sixty days and setting interest at eight percentage points above the reference rate plus €40.
These rights exist whether you claim them or not, and most freelancers never do. That is a reasonable commercial decision with a client you want to keep — but knowing the number changes the tone of a follow-up email, and stating the term on the invoice makes the eventual claim straightforward rather than a surprise.
The United States has no equivalent federal rule for private contracts, so there the late fee is whatever your contract says it is. Which means it has to be in the contract, and on the invoice, before it is late.
The lines a freelance invoice needs that a template forgets
A named contact rather than a department, because invoices addressed to nobody sit with nobody. The purchase-order or job number if the client uses them, since without it their system cannot match the invoice to an approved budget and it will be returned. Your tax registration number if you have one. And bank details complete enough to pay from another country.
Expenses are worth listing as their own lines with their own dates rather than folded into a fee. A client who queries one line will hold the whole invoice while they do it, and an expense buried inside a round number is the line most likely to be queried.
If you took a deposit, show it: the full amount, then the deposit already paid as a separate line, then the balance due. An invoice for the balance alone looks wrong against the quote, and looking wrong is enough to stall a payment for a fortnight.
What each term means in days
For work invoiced on Mar 2, 2026. Net terms count calendar days, not business days, so a term that ends on a weekend is not extended — which is worth knowing before you agree to one that lands on the 24th of December.
| Term | Days | Due | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Due on receipt | 0 | Mar 2, 2026 | Payable immediately. |
| Net 7 | 7 | Mar 9, 2026 | Payable within 7 days of the issue date. |
| Net 14 | 14 | Mar 16, 2026 | Payable within 14 days of the issue date. |
| Net 30 | 30 | Apr 1, 2026 | Payable within 30 days of the issue date. |
| Net 60 | 60 | May 1, 2026 | Payable within 60 days of the issue date. |
| End of month | — | Mar 31, 2026 | Payable by the last day of the month the invoice was issued in. |
Add the time you spent working before invoicing to every figure in this table. Work done at the start of a month, invoiced at the end of it on net 30, is paid about sixty days after it was done.
Common questions
What payment terms should a freelancer use?
Net 14 is a good default and is rarely questioned. Net 7 or payment on receipt is reasonable for small jobs and new clients, and a deposit up front is normal for anything substantial. Whatever you pick, print the actual due date rather than a number of days.
Can I charge interest on a late invoice?
In the UK and across the EU, statutory late-payment interest applies to business debts automatically — around eight percentage points above the central bank rate, plus a fixed sum. In the US it depends entirely on what your contract says, so it has to be agreed in advance.
Do I need to put my tax number on a freelance invoice?
If you are registered for VAT, GST or an equivalent, yes — the number and the tax breakdown are both required for your client to reclaim it. If you are not registered, do not show a tax line at all rather than showing one at zero, which invites questions.