Invoice the month you actually ran
WhizSuite · 2026-08-09
Send the bill for the work that shipped and the work the contract still required, and be able to point at both.
Match the scope line
If the retainer says eight placements on two networks, the invoice should not say "social media services" with a round number that nobody can unpack. Use the scope language. Familiar words get paid faster.
Add change orders as their own lines. Folding them into the retainer hides the fact that the month grew.
Look at the calendar first
Before you send the bill, read what locked and what slipped. You are not discounting slipped work that was their delay unless the contract says you do. You are also not billing a shoot that never happened.
A five-minute look prevents the apology email.
Dates and due dates
Say the month covered and the date payment is due. "Due on receipt" with no date is a way to start a slow argument. Pick a number of days and use it.
Send it when you said you would. Late invoices train clients that your dates are soft, including the ones on their posts.
One place to find it
Put the invoice where they already approve work if you can. A PDF in a fresh email thread will be lost. The portal copy and the books copy should show the same status.
When they pay, mark it. An open invoice that was paid is how you accidentally nag a good client.