Designers perform a range of different services, from interface design to coding websites to graphic design and everything in between. Regardless of what type of design services you provide or if you do it all, you’re going to need to get paid. And the least fun thing to design is an invoice. That’s where we come in. We provide web design invoice templates for Word and Excel so you don’t have to.
As a designer, we know you have the creative bug. Luckily, our templates are fully customizable so you can add your own personality and aesthetics, as well as tailor the design bill format to your exact needs.
As a designer, your services are specialized and complicated. What you do has more technical complexity than the typical client needs to know or cares to understand. Thus, you have a unique challenge with your invoicing—you must detail the work you have provided in a way that is simple enough to make the client understand what they’re paying for, but not too simple as to short sell your work and appear vague.
The bottom line is: if you want to get paid without hassle, your client has to trust that the work you’re providing is worth the price you’re charging—and that’s not so simple when providing such technical work. At its most basic level, a typical web or graphic design invoice should include the following:
To supplement, you may want to highlight the different aspects of the project within the description of your work—this will ensure your client has an idea of how much each step entails. A lot of work goes into any design, and your clients are only seeing the finished product—so it’s important to show what it took to get there.
As an option, you may want to include any discounts you offer clients on this form to show them the percentage deducted. This discount could apply to first-time customers or customers who are requesting a high volume of work. Making a notation of that discount is a good way to show its value to your clients.
Since a design project is often negotiated by a set of discussed parameters rather than a simple transaction, it’s common for payment to be received upon completion of the work. A design invoice should be sent along with the finished product you’re providing so the client can see in absolute terms what they’re paying for.
You may be inclined to send your invoice before the work is completed. This is an acceptable option in the case of a long-term project, in which there are phases spread over a number of weeks. For short-term or one-off projects, invoicing before the totality of the work is completed is generally not the best practice, as it doesn’t always foster a sense of trust between you and the client.
A good rule of thumb for most effective billing is to send the invoice any time after you know the client is fully satisfied.
Whether you’re part of a design team or you do it all yourself, professionalism is the key to successful invoicing—that is, the kind that clients take seriously and pay promptly. Check out these pro tips to keep you on the right track.
Design work doesn’t stop when the project is completed. Invoicing, while not the most exciting thing, is an important aspect of your job. Here are some tips for success when it comes to playing with the nuances of the process.
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