When you’re running your own photography or videography business we all know that going out and shooting is only a small portion of the job. You have to make the connections to get the job. You have to go through the process of meeting with the client and assessing the needs to get the desired finished product. Then you have to find out the client’s budget and figure out how to accommodate them while charging properly for the shoot. After all that is said and done, and the project is finally coming to fruition the final thing left to do is send out the invoice for the job.
While it’s a very common thing in our field of work we don’t always put too much thought into them besides getting the basic details included. While this will work for a lot of scenarios but once we get into bigger and higher paying projects you need a professional invoice. That’s why when I saw this video from Jakob Owens I knew it was something all of us need to see.
Jakob Owens is a director based out of Los Angeles, California and has made a name for himself through directing music videos for some of the biggest names in the music industry. Needless to say, his knowledge of the industry and how to ensure you’re running your business properly is extensive. In his latest video, he outlines how he came up with the template for his invoicing and how he uses it to lay out the framework for all of his projects. He also goes on to explain the importance of having a properly formatted invoice as well. This is the sort of information that both newcomers to the industry or established veterans can take at least some knowledge away from watching this short video.
A 2 minute google search will serve you much better than this video. I guess it'll get the job done but it looks MS word level, not really what I'd call proper.
No line items on invoice? That would not work for any of my clients.
I'm sorry but this is a bad invoice. No description of object/service, no detail, just a a general phrase.