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You can type up any kind of piece of paper and call it an invoice. Making some simple sort of letterhead for yourself that has your address, ph #, web info etc and some indication of what you do is a good idea. At the top put the contact name, company name and full address of who the invoice is being sent to. There needs to also be a line at near the top that clearly states what the job was, who it was for, the dates of the job, and your client's job number, if they have one. (You should be sure to use the same name for the job that your client's use, esp if they don't number their jobs). Somewhere also near the top should be the word INVOICE, so they know this is a bill, not a letter. After that there is a simple listing of what you "sold" them: labor, equipment or studio rental, any equipment subrentals, "expendables" like DVD stock, batteries etc., mileage etc (unless they have a specific form for this) and a total. If your total is over a few hundred dollars, or you have or will work for these people again this year, you should also send along an IRS W9 form--sooner or later they will need your SS# for their tax reporting, and you will save them the trouble of having to track you down later if you hand over the form w/ your invoice. Now, how you keep a record of who you worked for and if they've paid you...the suggested software apps are a great idea.
Philip Perkins
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