| Back to Home > Bulletin Board > Media Issues > Topic: When do you send invoice? |
Topic: When do you send invoice?
| Author | Message |
| Righter | Posted – 1/7/2008 11:23:39 AM | show profile Just wondering at what point in the process you all typically send your invoices. Do you send it in with the story? Do you wait to hear back from the editor (and what if they take weeks to get back to you)? I'm wondering when to send an invoice to a client who pays upon acceptance. They've confirmed with me that they received the article but haven't requested changes and this was almost a month ago. Should I just send the invoice? |
| jcpatterson | Posted – 1/7/2008 1:02:14 PM | show profile If it is a flat-rate article, send the invoice when you send the submission in the first place, and then make it clear you are available for questions or revisions if needed. In your case, send that invoice immediately; don't make them ask for it, because they probably won't. If you are being paid hourly, send the submission and then ask if the editor anticipates needing additional work on the project or if he/she is ready for you to tally hours and send an invoice. This doesn't sound like your case, though. |
| joyeuxnoelle | Posted – 1/7/2008 4:12:25 PM | show profile Send it If it's been that long, I'd definitely send it. |
| wineaux | Posted – 1/7/2008 4:24:18 PM | show profile Send the invoice to them along with your initial work next time. Usually, when it is a publication, they let you know up front what their payment structure is. With private clients, I usually negotiate that right at the beginning that I will bill them upon receiving the initial documents/materials, and regardless of any rewrites, I expect payment within a couple of weeks. One client is overseas, however, and they can take up to a month to pay me. I now bill them weekly b/c of it. |
| Marie | Posted – 1/8/2008 12:08:12 PM | show profile Here's a related question. I assume everyone sends invoices by e-mail. Do you put your Social Security Number in the invoice, given the not foolproof security of cyberspace? Or do you call it in later? I know not including it could just be another thing that delays already delayed payments, but including it in an e-mail makes me nervous. Am I crazy? What do you all do? Didn't mean to hijack the thread. To answer the OP, I send the invoice with the completed work, or often a few days later. |
| rhino writer | Posted – 1/8/2008 2:07:21 PM | show profile I use an EIN, or IRS-given tax ID number, instead of my SS number. And I send invoices as attachments, not in the body of an e-mail. Sending your SS number via e-mail is not a good idea. |
| WritingEd | Posted – 1/8/2008 3:52:08 PM | show profile Regarding SS numbers, my (small) company allows freelancers to fill out an initial form with their SS number and then does not require them to resubmit the SS number each time on invoices. (We've done this for freelancers who have asked only.) Not a big deal to our accounting dept, but that may not be the case everywhere. |
