Why does my client want an invoice and how to create one - advice for new freelancers

I have created and received plenty of invoice over several decades of work as a self-employed artist.

If you are a freelance artist, business owner, setting up your business or otherwise new to the idea of invoicing your clients, the idea of extra admin may seem irritating and pointless, but there are some positive reasons for invoicing.

You may be wondering why your client wants to receive an invoice from you. You did the work and you sent a money request, so what is the point of the extra paperwork?

Why your client wants an invoice from you

The thing is, as a self-employed artist, I can claim business expenses when I do my tax return. What this means is that if I spent money on my business, I can deduct it from the amount of tax I owe.

However there is a small catch. Self-employed business owners have the responsibility to keep all their receipts in case they are ever investigated.

When I do my taxes, the invoice helps remind me of a few key things:

  • Who I paid

  • The date

  • What I paid them for

  • How much I paid them

This is all very useful and if one was ever to be investigated, the receipts would need to be in-line with the business activity.

So, I hear you ask… “What’s in it for me?!”

Well, as an artist, I create invoices when it’s time paid by someone. It’s like handing a customer at a restaurant the bill (or check for US speakers!)

Some of the time it’s a company and sometimes it’s another self-employed artist. When I have completed work (or sometimes before), I receive an invitation to send my invoice which is work code for “We’d like to pay you now.”

The benefit I get out of doing my invoices is similar to what the client gets as I then have a record of:

  • Who I worked for

  • The date

  • What the job/project was

  • The payment amount

One of the useful things is knowing all this so that in the future if you need to refer to it, all the info is in one place rather than searching through email threads and your bank account.

Reasons why you might want this info in the future include:

  • Being re-hired - then you’ll remember the details of the previous job.

  • The client might not pay and you may need to chase the payment.

Ways to create an invoice


Ages ago, I made a template that I like and so I use photoshop which is a bit clunky and have a code system for the file names, but I hear there are invoicing apps that make it easy to do.

Perhaps the easiest way to create an invoice is using a word document. You could save the template before you duplicate and add the specifics.


Invoices usually have:

  • Date

  • Your name/ business name (add a logo if you have one to look more professional, but it’s not totally necessary)

  • A statement about how you pay your own taxes

  • Your business address

  • Your client’s name and company (if relevant)

  • Client’s contact details

  • Work/ job details

  • Date of work (optional)

  • Your bank details or link to payment

  • Payment instructions / conditions (most people ask to be paid within 30 days)

  • Thank you for your business or something similar (this is courteous)

  • Email/website (optional)

I would like to share a template, but I don’t have time to edit my own one at the moment! However if you search online, you’ll easily find plenty of examples.

I hope this has helped you understand a bit more about invoicing!

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creativity, art, employment, freelancing, motivation, neurodivergent artistThe Mollusc Dimension