You’re running a business, and that means you need tools that work hard to make your life easier. With ShootProof photography invoices, you can spend less time worrying about collecting payments and more time booking clients! After all, you need to get paid, right?! A ShootProof’s photography invoice template is completely customizable, contract-friendly, and easy to use – for you and your clients! (Photographs by SWEET SNAPPIN’ PHOTOGRAPHY)
Getting paid by a client can be as simple as a Venmo request or a Ca$h App click. But if you’re building a sustainable business, you should use a photography invoice template with every client contract. Here’s why a photography invoice template is critical, and how a ShootProof’s photography invoice make getting paid simple.
Photo: Sweet Snappin’ Photography
Give Each Client A Customized Experience
Each ShootProof’s photography invoice is completely customizable for every client. Create an invoice template for commonly-used photography packages, or begin with a blank invoice. Add new products or services to your invoice, or select previously-saved items from your drop-down list.
Link Invoices to Contracts
Extra steps often mean extra work and extra opportunity for your client to “forget” a piece of your process. That’s why you can–and should–link your client’s contract and invoice together, and send them both in one beautifully-branded email! This means your client reads and signs the contract, model release, or other documentation, and then is taken swiftly over to pay. No more “I didn’t see it”s or “Where is it?”s or “I didn’t get it!”s to listen to!
Photo: Sweet Snappin’ Photography
Installments
Let’s face it: When you charge what you’re really worth, that sticker price can sometimes be shocking. Give your clients options and allow them to pay over time! Offer your clients a payment plan for those big photography packages they want, or simply let them pay their total in equal (or unequal!) installments. It’s easy to set up on an invoice and you can set individual due dates for each installment. Collecting recurring payments is a snap!
You can create payment solutions unique to each job and client. Here’s how:
- Divide your invoice template into multiple payments. Calculate these payments by dollar amount or percentage of the total, then define the payment due dates.
- Mark up-front payments as Retainer, Deposit, or Non-Refundable Payment to align with your contract language.
- Charge sales tax only on the products or services that are taxable in your area.
With installments, higher package prices are more palatable to budget-conscious clients. As a bonus, managing your cash flow is even easier when payments are spread out.
Photo: Sweet Snappin’ Photography
Smart Discounts = Happy Photography Clients
Add discounts to your ShootProof photography invoice template with the click of a button. It’s easy to provide flat-rate or percentage-off discounts and save your most commonly used discounts as an invoice template.
>>> LEARN: How to offer discounts and still make a profit!
Your photography invoice template should include any discounts you offer for two primary reasons:
- Invoice your clients with a full, non-discounted price on their invoice. This reinforces the value of their discount.
- In many locales, discounts are a tax deduction! But to enjoy the deduction, you need to include these discounts in your bookkeeping process.
ShootProof Invoices Are Safe & FREE!
ShootProof photographers don’t pay a dollar more to create and send a free invoice template. And with any paid ShootProof account, you can even link a client photography invoice template to their ShootProof Contracts for a seamless booking experience.
Photo: Sweet Snappin’ Photography
Auto-Pay for Easy Earning
When you let your clients enroll in AutoPay, they’ll never miss a bill date! A credit card is saved safely and securely and is billed automatically on the due dates you’ve specified. (You can also now refund a payment on an invoice, should a session be canceled or a payment be made in error. No more worrying about looking professional in front of your clients!) Enable your clients to pay with a credit card, cash and check, or both. Credit card users can opt to securely save their payment details, so future payments are even easier to complete.
ShootProof Payments
With ShootProof Payments, you don’t need to establish a separate account to process credit cards. Simply enable ShootProof Payments within your ShootProof workspace. There is no monthly fee to use ShootProof Payments, and your processing fees match the low rates offered by alternative processors.
Photo: Sweet Snappin’ Photography
What to Include in a Photography Invoice
As you’re building out your photography invoice, you should consider including the following:
- Itemized List: This details all the information on the project. You can put the required hours for the shoot and the corresponding hourly rate.
- Detailed Markup Cost: A markup cost covers the expenses and needs while making sure your work remains profitable.
- Usage rates: This covers the fees for supplies provided by you, including props, costumes, or backdrops.
- Discounts: If you’re giving clients a discount, make sure this is clearly outlined in your invoice.
- Total: The subtotal due for all services, including taxes, penalties for late payment, and final balance.
An invoice helps clients have a complete understanding of the payables. Consider creating the following different types of invoices:
Hourly and Lump-Sum Invoices
When you make an hourly invoice, you get paid for the time it takes for you to finish the project. One advantage is that you have control over your time. Likewise, you can charge the client when the work extends beyond the agreed timeframe.
For instance, the client hired you for a 2-hour corporate event. However, they had to extend the program by an hour and want you to cover it. Before the event, make sure that the client is aware of possible additional fees in case you need to extend the shoot.
For this, the clients get a fixed price for the service. Determine how long the work will actually take, along with your cost of doing photography business to create your pricing. Oftentimes, photographers will come up with set packages that include various products and services, and from there, clients can select one of these packages.
A La Carte and Travel Cost Invoices
If you prefer to avoid pre-created packages, you can also sell your products and services a la carte. In this invoice template, each product your client orders would be a separate line item.
Use this photography invoice template when you need to charge travel and other related expenses, such as accommodation and food. If the photoshoot requires you to travel to a province or another country, it’s understandable to impose travel expenses.
Some professional photographers bill per hour or per mile traveled. Others calculate the expected expenses and add it to the invoice.
Licensing Invoice
This invoice template helps customers find vital information about how they can use the images after they’ve paid for them. This ensures fair payment for the project. It’s your best protection from getting your photos used in a way not agreed upon.
The licensing information explains if the client can use the photos commercially or not, who has the right to the use of the pictures, and how long the customer has the right to use the images. In some cases, you can grant exclusive rights to the client.
Have you considered including a retainer fee? Hint: you should.
You’ve done your homework and you know that telling a client a payment is non-refundable doesn’t make it so. Specify the first payment on an invoice as a Retainer, a Deposit, or a Non-Refundable Payment, and forge ahead worry-free. Plus, when you require clients to pay a fee to snag a session date or to book a mini-session time, adding a retainer to an invoice makes securing their spot on your calendar a breeze.
Work Smarter, Not Harder
Do you use the same invoice for every client? Have a contract or Model Release that you need to be signed each time?
1. Create an invoice template that you can use again and again.
2. Make an invoice from that template.
3. Link it to a contract or model release so your client can handle everything all at once.
4. Send.
5. Get paid (and get your document signed)!
Like to create invoices on the fly? Need something quick and simple?
1. Create an invoice. Add items, set prices, pick a due date (or a few), set sales tax rates, and even assign automated emails.
2. Send.
3. Get paid!
When your payments, contracts, and galleries are all in one place, you can Focus On What Matters Most to you! Spend more time building your dream photography business; and enjoy more of the experiences that make life so worth living.
Written by ANNE SIMONE | Photographs by SWEET SNAPPIN’ PHOTOGRAPHY
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