Words on a page

As a freelancer, something that’s probably more than just slightly important to you is getting paid. Most of us enjoy what we do, but job satisfaction doesn’t pay the bills or fund our vices. Obviously, to get paid we need to invoice clients.

To be honest, I do quite a bit of my work in the cloud. For the longest time that included using a Web-based, for-pay invoicing application called Blinksale.

Even though I like using Web-based tools, I also prefer to have as much of our data in my hands. On top of that, I’m an enthusiastic user (and promoter) of free and Open Source software (FOSS). It not only cuts my costs, but also gives me more flexibility.

While there’s nothing wrong with Blinksale, I needed a change. A few months ago, I looked around for a FOSS invoicing solution. I dug up a few, and decided to go with one called BambooInvoice.

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That’s what it’s all about isn’t it? Even more so than doing great work (though I don’t expect anyone reading the posts in this space to would do bad work). But we all have bills to pay, vices to fund, and all of that.

I don’t know how many times I’ve been asked, either by novice freelance writers or people who are just curious, how a freelance writer gets paid.

While I’d prefer money just appearing, reality doesn’t work that way. Getting paid has definitely changed a bit since I started as a freelancer. In many ways the situation’s gotten better.

Here are some of the ways in which I, and other freelancers I know, collect payments.

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I like writing and consulting. A lot. But I also like getting paid for doing that. And a key part of getting paid is letting clients know how much they owe you. That’s, obviously, where invoices come in.

Over the years, my invoicing habits have changed. Back in the day, I’d send clients a PDF invoice (based on one of these templates), or one in the form of an HTML file. In case you’re wondering, I started using the latter when I wrote for the now-defunct Web Review. Kind of ironic, no?

A couple of years ago, though, I got tired of keeping track of the various invoice files. So I decided to look for a Web-based invoicing application. I looked at several — including many of the ones described in this article — and finally settled on Blinksale.

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As hard as we may try not to, every freelancer has to spend money from time to time. Yes, those pesky expenses. There’s always something, and you need to make a habit of keeping track of those expenses. Here’s how I do it.

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If you’re a freelance writer (or aspire to be one), then you need to seriously consider your finances and taxes. Not just the usual advice that tells you to have three to six months worth of living expenses on hand, but other matters too.

You can find some good advice in this article. It offers 13 tips on how to handle your taxes and finances.

I’d only add one piece of advice: set up a contingency account (which some call a tax account) to ensure that you have enough money to pay your taxes and various deductions and remittances at the end of a quarter or the year.

Image from http://www.sxc.hu