It can also make bookkeeping easier since you won’t need to keep track of dozens of small payments. Using collective invoices can mean fewer transaction fees for both you and your client. services for a company, you might wait to invoice them at the end of the month rather than sending over several invoices for one or two billable hours. Or, you could consolidate everything with a collective invoice.Ĭollective invoices are just like “normal” invoices, but they group together several small services or goods.įor instance, if you supply goods to customers on a regular basis, you might invoice a month’s worth of purchases at once. Yes, you could invoice them for every little project or sale. Sometimes, you’ll find yourself doing small bits of work for a customer over an extended period of time. This invoice includes everything you’ve done for the client and the outstanding balance that is due.įinal invoices might also include a summary of past payments made toward the project, but not always. Final invoiceĪs the name implies, a final invoice is your last invoice to a client. Need to send recurring invoices? Give invoicely a try! 4. Rather than send a giant invoice at the end of each year, you can set up recurring invoices to be sent out monthly or quarterly. While an interim invoice allows you to break up payments for a large project with a definitive end, recurring invoices may be scheduled indefinitely.įor example, if you manage social media and online marketing for your clients, you might offer year-long contracts.

However, there are some key differences between these two types of invoices. Recurring invoiceĪt first glance, interim and recurring invoices might seem pretty similar. These invoices are used to break up a large project into smaller payments, which can benefit both you and your client. You can set up interim invoices to follow a regular schedule, or send them out when you complete specific pieces of a larger project. If you prefer the latter, then you’re already pretty familiar with interim invoices. When you take on a large, time-consuming project from a client, how do you handle your invoicing? Do you wait until the very end to invoice them for one lump sum? Or do you send out intermittent invoices as you hit key milestones of the project? Your client might request a proforma invoice is they need to get financial approval from multiple people to move forward with the project. Instead of giving a rough estimate of the final price, though, a proforma invoice is fairly exact (though can be subject to change). In many ways, this type of invoice is like an estimate. Proforma invoices aren’t a request for payment, but rather a notice of the payment that will be due. This invoice is sent before any work is done on the project.

In these situations, a proforma invoice can be a useful tool.Ī proforma invoice is a document listing the services and/or goods being provided and the pricing for each. Whether you deal in goods or services, most clients want to know the final cost of your work. So, to help you get started with understanding the many different types of invoices you can use, here are eight invoices freelancers, entrepreneurs, and small business owners will probably encounter during their careers: 1. This document includes information about the shipped goods and their monetary value.īut someone like, say, a freelance photographer probably won’t have any need for a commercial invoice during their day-to-day business.

If you don’t know what you’re looking for, you can quickly become overwhelmed with all of your options.įor example, businesses shipping goods over national borders typically have to issue a commercial invoice. 8 Types of Invoices and When to Use Themĭepending on your industry, there can be countless different types of invoices passed back and forth. However, knowing the correct what, when, and how of sending an invoice is ultimately up to you.įortunately, learning the different types of invoices you can send to your clients (and when it’s right to use each) is incredibly simple. In the modern age, services like invoicely make creating, sending, and filing away invoices a breeze. But there’s not just one type of invoice used in the business world, and knowing which types of invoices to use can be crucial to getting paid. While traditional employees eagerly await their paychecks, freelancers and small business owners rely on something much different for their income: the humble invoice.

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