1. Agree the number before you start
Most invoice disputes are not invoice problems. They are scope problems that surface at the invoice. Before the work starts, get one message in writing that names the deliverable, the price, and what happens if the scope changes. An email saying "confirming: logo plus three revisions, £1,200, extra revisions £150 each" is enough.
Then the invoice is just a restatement of something already agreed, which is why it gets paid without argument.
2. Put the right things on it
At minimum: a unique invoice number, your name and address, the client's name and address, a clear description of the work, the supply date, the invoice date, the amounts, any VAT, and the total owed. See the self-employed invoice template for the full list, or the VAT invoice requirements if you are registered.
Two things that are not legally required but get you paid faster:
- A purchase order or reference number if the client uses one. Larger companies route invoices by PO. No PO, no payment run — and nobody will tell you.
- The name of the person who hired you. Invoices sent to "accounts@" with no internal contact go to the bottom of the pile.
3. Send it the day the work finishes
Payment terms start when the invoice arrives, not when the work ends. A week of delay in sending is a week added to being paid, every time. If the project is long, invoice in stages — a deposit up front, a milestone in the middle, the balance at the end — rather than carrying months of unbilled work.
4. Make paying easy
- Bank name, sort code and account number on the invoice itself, not in the email body.
- A payment reference — use the invoice number, and say so.
- A due date written as an actual date.
- Send the invoice as a PDF attachment. Not a photo, not a spreadsheet, not a link behind a login.
If you invoice clients abroad, invoice in the currency you agreed and state it clearly — "£1,200 GBP" removes an entire category of confusion when three countries use a dollar sign.
5. Chase without apologising
Chasing is part of the job, not a failure of the relationship. A schedule that works:
- Due date + 1: short, friendly, factual. "Invoice 0042 was due yesterday — attaching it again in case it got lost."
- +7 days: reply on the same thread, ask directly whether it is in the next payment run and who to speak to.
- +14 days: phone the person who hired you, not accounts. Follow up in writing the same day.
- +30 days: mention statutory interest for commercial debts. Do it neutrally; it is a legal entitlement, not a threat.
Never open with an apology. "Sorry to bother you about this" invites the reply that it is a bother.
6. Keep a system
You need to be able to answer one question in under ten seconds: who owes me money right now? A spreadsheet can do it. So can a folder of numbered PDFs with a paid column. So can an app. What cannot do it is your memory, and you will find that out in January.
Start with the free invoice template. When re-typing the same client details for the fourth time gets old, Invoice Easy keeps your clients, prices and invoice numbers on your phone and shows you what is still outstanding — no account, and your records stay on your device.
General information, not tax or legal advice.