You've filed the piece, the editor has replied with a cheerful "lovely, thank you", and now comes the part nobody teaches you: turning a finished draft into money in your bank account.
Most freelance writers lose more hours to unpaid invoices than to difficult interviewees. The good news is that a handful of habits fixes most of it. Get the invoice right, agree the terms before you start, and chase with a light touch and a clear timetable.
An invoice is not a request. It's a record of a transaction and, if it ever comes to it, evidence. Whatever template you use — a Word document, a spreadsheet, a bit of accounting software — the same details need to be on it:
If you're a sole trader below the VAT threshold, you don't charge VAT — but check the current threshold on GOV.UK rather than relying on what you remember. Getting the bank details wrong is the single most common reason a payment bounces back.
Payment terms are much easier to set at the commissioning stage than to impose afterwards. Thirty days is the traditional default; fourteen is common for smaller clients and perfectly reasonable to ask for. What matters is that it's written down and that both sides have seen it.
A line in your acceptance email does the job: "Happy to take this on — my fee is £X, invoiced on delivery, payable within 14 days."
For anything substantial, consider a deposit. Half up front on a long project protects you from doing three weeks of work for nothing. Ask about kill fees too: if a commission is cancelled after you've started, what are you owed? Editors are used to the question.
Also ask who pays the invoice and how. Some publications route everything through a central accounts department that has never heard of you. Find out before you send.
Payment is due within 14 days of the invoice date. Late payment may incur interest under the relevant UK legislation. Please quote the invoice number with your payment.
That's a general starting point rather than personalised advice — if you want a clause that carries real weight in your circumstances, it's worth taking proper legal or accounting advice.
Send your invoice the day you deliver, unless the commission says otherwise. Every day you delay is a day you're waiting.
Then do three small things. Save it as a PDF named clearly, with your name and the invoice number, so it's findable in someone's inbox months later. Send it to the accounts address and copy in the editor who commissioned you. And log it: a simple spreadsheet with columns for client, invoice number, amount and due date is enough for most freelancers.
When nothing has been paid by the due date, you'll be glad you kept that list.
Chasing feels awkward. It isn't. You did the work; the invoice is just admin that hasn't been processed yet. Most late payments are disorganisation rather than refusal. Keep the tone warm and the facts plain.
Keep everything in writing and in one thread, so the history is easy to find. If you speak on the phone, follow up with a short email summarising what was agreed.
There's a point where politeness stops being useful. For small sums, a formal letter before action — stating the amount, the deadline and what you'll do next — often does the job on its own. Beyond that, Money Claim Online is the usual route for straightforward debts in England and Wales, with different procedures in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The practical questions are whether the fee is worth the time, and whether you want to work with that client again. Both are legitimate reasons to stop.
The most reliable cure for late payment is a client list where it doesn't happen. Notice the patterns: does one editor always need a nudge? Does a particular publication pay reliably but slowly? Price that in.
For repeat offenders, ask for payment on delivery, or a deposit, or simply stop accepting commissions. You're allowed to do that.
Invoicing and tax are two sides of the same habit. If you're self-employed, you'll need to register for Self Assessment and keep records of your income and allowable expenses for several years. Keep every invoice, every bank statement line and every receipt for equipment or software in one place.
Set aside a proportion of each payment as it arrives rather than scrambling in January. For anything beyond the straightforward — company structures, VAT registration, overseas clients or a disputed debt — pay for proper accounting or legal advice. It's cheaper than getting it wrong.
The writers who get paid on time aren't the pushiest or the luckiest. They're the ones with a routine: same template, same terms, invoice sent the day the work lands, a note in a spreadsheet, and a reminder in the diary a few days after the due date.
Aim for boring. It's the most profitable habit you can build.
Photo: stevepb / Pixabay
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