The Invoice No. Journal
Invoicing guides
Short, practical articles on invoices, templates, and getting paid — written for freelancers and small teams.
How to Create an Invoice: A Practical Guide
To create an invoice, list your details, the client's details, a unique invoice number, the issue date and a due date, line items with descriptions and amounts, the…
17 Apr 2026 · 9 min read
Templates
Free Invoice Templates for Every Profession: The Ultimate Guide
Not all invoices are the same. A photographer's invoice looks different from a plumber's invoice, which looks different from a lawyer's invoice. And they should. Th…
17 Apr 2026 · 7 min read
Freelancing
Freelancer Billing Tips That Actually Get You Paid Faster
After six months to a year of freelancing, you already know the work side. The weird part is money: some clients pay in three days, others go quiet for five weeks,…
17 Apr 2026 · 6 min read
Freelancing
I Had No Idea How to Send My First Freelance Invoice. Here's What I Figured Out.
My first freelance client was a small architecture firm that needed someone to rewrite their website copy. I'd done the work over two weeks, delivered everything in…
17 Apr 2026 · 6 min read
Getting paid
How I Finally Got My Clients to Pay On Time (After Months of Chasing)
For about eight months, I had a recurring Tuesday ritual. I'd sit down with my coffee, open my invoices folder, look at the ones marked "overdue," and compose a ser…
17 Apr 2026 · 7 min read
Guides
5 Invoice Mistakes That Are Quietly Costing You Money
There's a version of invoice trouble that announces itself loudly — a client who refuses to pay, a disputed amount, an obvious error. You deal with those. But most…
17 Apr 2026 · 7 min read
Concepts
Invoice vs Receipt: What Is the Difference and When to Use Each
People mix these two up all the time. That is not a character flaw. The words get used loosely in conversation, and plenty of software blurs the line. Still, the di…
18 Apr 2026 · 6 min read
Guides
How to Write a Credit Note
You sent an invoice. The client paid. Then you realized you overcharged them by €200 because you miscounted the units. Or a client returned a product. Or you promis…
18 May 2026 · 5 min read
Guides
How to Create a Timesheet
Friday afternoon. You need to invoice a client for the week. You open a blank document and try to remember what you actually did on Tuesday.
18 May 2026 · 4 min read
Concepts
What Is a Statement of Account?
A client you have been working with for six months emails you on a Thursday. They want to settle everything outstanding before their year-end. "Can you send me a st…
18 May 2026 · 4 min read
Concepts
What Is a Purchase Order and When Do You Actually Need One?
A purchase order, or PO, is a document a buyer sends to a supplier to formally request goods or services at an agreed price and terms. It is not a payment; it is th…
20 May 2026 · 5 min read
Guides
How to Write a Quote That Clients Actually Accept
You spend an hour writing a detailed quote, send it off, and then hear nothing. A week later a short reply comes back: "We went with someone else." No explanation.…
21 May 2026 · 5 min read
Getting paid
What to Do When a Client Does Not Pay Your Invoice
Thirty days have passed. Then forty-five. The invoice is still sitting there unpaid. You have sent one polite reminder and received no reply. At some point, the pol…
22 May 2026 · 6 min read
Guides
Invoice Payment Terms: What They Mean and Which Ones to Use
Invoice payment terms state when payment is due. The common ones are net 30, net 15, and net 7 (payment within that many days of the invoice date), due on receipt (…
23 May 2026 · 7 min read
Concepts
What Is a Credit Note and When Should You Issue One?
A credit note is a document you issue to reduce or cancel an amount already charged on an invoice. It does not delete the original invoice; both stay on file, and t…
24 May 2026 · 6 min read
Freelancing
How to Work Out What to Charge as a Freelancer
The question of what to charge is the one that stops more new freelancers than almost anything else. You do not want to price yourself out of the market. You do not…
25 May 2026 · 5 min read
Concepts
What Is a Statement of Account and When Do You Send One?
You have been working with the same client for six months. There are three invoices outstanding, at different amounts, sent on different dates, some partially overd…
26 May 2026 · 5 min read
Guides
How to Invoice as a Freelancer: Everything You Need to Know
Nobody teaches you this. You finish a piece of work, a client says "great, send me the invoice," and suddenly you are staring at a blank document trying to remember…
27 May 2026 · 6 min read
Concepts
Invoice vs Quote: What Is the Difference?
A client asks you to send them a quote. You send an invoice by mistake. Or you send a quote when the client was ready to pay and waiting for an invoice. Neither mis…
28 May 2026 · 6 min read
Freelancing
Why Freelancers Should Track Their Hours Even on Fixed-Price Projects
You price a project as a flat fee, do the work, deliver it, get paid. No timesheets involved. That is the appeal of fixed-price work: you agree a number up front, b…
29 May 2026 · 5 min read
Guides
Quote vs Estimate: Which One Should You Send?
A quote is a fixed price you commit to. An estimate is your best guess at the cost, and it is allowed to change. If the client needs to know exactly what they will…
15 Jun 2026 · 8 min read
Guides
Credit Note vs Refund: What Is the Difference?
A credit note reduces or cancels what a customer owes you on paper. A refund returns money that has already changed hands. If the customer has not paid yet, you usu…
15 Jun 2026 · 7 min read
Guides
Purchase Order vs Invoice: How They Work Together
A purchase order is sent by the buyer to order goods or services and commit to paying for them. An invoice is sent by the seller to request payment once the work is…
15 Jun 2026 · 7 min read
Guides
Invoice vs Bill: Are They the Same Thing?
An invoice and a bill are the same document seen from two sides. The person who sends it calls it an invoice. The person who receives it calls it a bill. The piece…
15 Jun 2026 · 7 min read
Guides
Delivery Note vs Invoice: What Is a Packing Slip?
A delivery note lists what was sent in a shipment so the receiver can check that everything arrived. An invoice lists what is owed and asks for payment. The deliver…
15 Jun 2026 · 7 min read
Guides
What Is a Proforma Invoice and When to Use One
A proforma invoice is a preliminary bill sent before the real one. It shows the buyer exactly what the final invoice will say, so they can approve the purchase, arr…
15 Jun 2026 · 7 min read
Guides
Payment Receipt vs Invoice: What Proves Payment?
An invoice asks for money. A payment receipt confirms the money arrived. The invoice comes first and says "you owe this." The receipt comes after and says "this has…
15 Jun 2026 · 7 min read
Guides
Statement of Account vs Invoice: When to Send Each
An invoice bills a customer for one specific transaction. A statement of account summarises everything between you and that customer over a period: every invoice, e…
15 Jun 2026 · 7 min read
Guides
How to Chase an Unpaid Invoice Without Losing the Client
Chasing an unpaid invoice well comes down to timing and tone. Wait until the due date has actually passed, then send a short, factual reminder with no apology and n…
15 Jun 2026 · 8 min read
Guides
Payment Reminder Email Templates That Get You Paid
A good payment reminder is short, factual, and easy to act on. It states the invoice number, the amount, and the due date, asks one clear question, and carries no a…
15 Jun 2026 · 7 min read
Guides
What to Do When a Client Will Not Pay
When a client genuinely will not pay, escalate in clear stages: confirm the debt is valid, send a firm final demand with statutory interest, then a formal letter be…
15 Jun 2026 · 7 min read
Guides
How to Charge Late Payment Fees as a Freelancer
You can charge late payment fees in two ways: interest set out in your own contract, or statutory interest that the law grants you on overdue commercial debts even…
15 Jun 2026 · 7 min read
Guides
Net 30 and Net 15 Payment Terms Explained
Net 30 means payment is due 30 days after the invoice date. Net 15 means 15 days. Net 7 means 7 days. The number is simply how many days the client has to pay, coun…
15 Jun 2026 · 7 min read
Guides
How to Write Clear Payment Terms on an Invoice
Clear payment terms tell the client exactly when to pay, how to pay, and what happens if they pay late. Write them in plain language, show the due date as a real ca…
15 Jun 2026 · 7 min read
Guides
How to Calculate Your Freelance Day Rate
Your day rate is the income you need to earn, divided by the number of days you can actually bill, with your costs and taxes built in. Start from the annual income…
15 Jun 2026 · 7 min read
Guides
How to Calculate an Hourly Rate From a Salary
To turn a salary into a freelance hourly rate, do not just divide by 2,080 hours. Take the salary you want, add the benefits and employer costs you now have to cove…
15 Jun 2026 · 7 min read
Guides
How Much Should a Freelancer Charge?
A freelancer should charge enough to cover their target income, their business costs, their taxes, and their unbillable time, then position that number against what…
15 Jun 2026 · 7 min read
Guides
How to Estimate a Project Cost Before You Quote
To estimate a project cost, break the work into phases, estimate the hours each phase will take, apply your rate, add any expenses, then build in a buffer for the u…
15 Jun 2026 · 7 min read
Guides
How to Add VAT to an Invoice
To add VAT to an invoice, work out the VAT amount by multiplying the net price by the VAT rate, then show the net amount, the VAT amount, and the gross total as sep…
15 Jun 2026 · 7 min read
Guides
How to Remove VAT From a Price
To remove VAT from a gross price, divide the gross by one plus the VAT rate. At a 20 percent rate, divide by 1.20. The result is the net price, and the VAT is the d…
15 Jun 2026 · 7 min read
Guides
Do I Need to Charge VAT as a Freelancer?
You need to charge VAT only if you are registered for VAT, and you usually have to register once your turnover passes your country's threshold, though you can often…
15 Jun 2026 · 7 min read
Guides
Reverse Charge VAT on an Invoice, Explained
Reverse charge VAT means the customer, not the supplier, accounts for the VAT on a sale. Instead of you adding VAT to your invoice and paying it over, the customer…
15 Jun 2026 · 7 min read
Guides
How to Add GST to an Invoice in India
To add GST to an invoice in India, you issue a GST tax invoice that shows your GSTIN and the customer's GSTIN, applies the correct GST rate to the taxable value, an…
15 Jun 2026 · 7 min read
Guides
How to Invoice With a VAT Number in the UK
Once you are VAT registered in the UK, every sales invoice must become a valid VAT invoice: it must show your VAT registration number, a unique sequential invoice n…
15 Jun 2026 · 7 min read
Guides
How to Number Your Invoices: A Simple System
Number your invoices in a unique, sequential series, and never skip or reuse a number. Pick a format such as INV-001, INV-002 or a year-based 2026-001, 2026-002, an…
15 Jun 2026 · 8 min read
Guides
What to Put on an Invoice: The Complete Checklist
A complete invoice needs your details, the client's details, a unique invoice number, the issue date and due date, clear line items with descriptions and prices, th…
15 Jun 2026 · 6 min read
Guides
How to Send an Invoice as a Freelancer
Send your invoice as a PDF attached to a short, clear email, addressed to the person who actually pays, on the day you finish the work. Use a subject line that name…
15 Jun 2026 · 7 min read
Guides
How to Make an Invoice as a Sole Trader
As a sole trader, you make an invoice the same way any business does, with one difference: you usually bill under your own name rather than a company name. The invo…
15 Jun 2026 · 7 min read
Guides
How to Write an Expense Report
An expense report lists the business costs you incurred, with the date, category, description, and amount of each, so they can be reimbursed or claimed against tax.…
15 Jun 2026 · 7 min read
Guides
How to Write a Purchase Order
A purchase order is written by the buyer to formally order goods or services and commit to paying for them. To write one, give it a unique PO number, state your det…
15 Jun 2026 · 7 min read