# Invoice terms and conditions



## DFaltPhoto (Sep 9, 2016)

Im looking to improve the terms and conditions on my invoices. 

Anyone have a route that seems to work best?

 Ive thought about charging a small 1.5% fee for late payments and inserting a small paragraph that will cover me in general for different things. 

Any thoughts anyone?


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## tirediron (Sep 9, 2016)

Invoices for what kind of work?  What T&C do you have now?  What "different things" do you want to cover yourself against?  1.5% per....  week?  Month?  Decade?


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## Designer (Sep 9, 2016)

DFaltPhoto said:


> Im looking to improve the terms and conditions on my invoices.
> 
> Anyone have a route that seems to work best?
> 
> ...


Write down what you want in your contracts and present it to your attorney to include in your contracts.


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## astroNikon (Sep 9, 2016)

on another note ...
Are commercial accounts not paying on-time?
or are individual customers not paying upon receipt of work ?

essentially, exactly what type of problems are you trying to correct in your customers from paying late?  If it's individual, then maybe don't give them all the end product until they are 100% paid.  For commercial accounts, talk more with their acctg departments to determine why they may not pay on time (some may pay 30 days, 60 days out, etc or just don't want to pay after the fact).


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## PersistentNomad (Sep 9, 2016)

Yeah, can you post a sample? And what branch of photography is this?. Commercial, events, editorial? I second @astroNikon: at my last job, from the time I wrote the check request to the time a check was received by the vendor it could be up to 3 weeks because of interoffice mail, accounting priorities, cash flow, mailing time, holidays, etc. That's why most people who don't set out well in advance the due dates for payments allow a net 30 for receipt of payment on a mailed invoice.


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## vintagesnaps (Sep 9, 2016)

Get on http://asmp.org or try PPA and look up info. on contracts, licensing, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. and learn what to do.


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## table1349 (Sep 9, 2016)

Read your credit card statement.  Pretty good example there.


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## DFaltPhoto (Sep 9, 2016)

tirediron said:


> Invoices for what kind of work?  What T&C do you have now?  What "different things" do you want to cover yourself against?  1.5% per....  week?  Month?  Decade?



Thanks for the reply!

- I invoice for a bunch of different things. Sometimes it might be an image printed in a magazine. Ive been invoicing for production assisting and photographer assisting on ad campaign shoots and my own personal shoots with couples and families but I get paid on the day of the shoot for those so I'm not worried about the personal shoots. 

- At the moment I don't have any terms and conditions on my invoices.

- I want to create terms and conditions that help me get paid sooner than later by the companies I happen to work for. It's always a new and different company and sometimes I have to wait a couple months to get paid but it varies with every invoice. The worst are the magazines... you never know when you will be paid. 

- Somehow putting t&c in my invoice so there is a 1.5% fee per day after 30 days might be good? I don't know what is normal or best. 

Ive attached one of my invoices it's so basic and could use some work.


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## PersistentNomad (Sep 9, 2016)

I mean, definitely putting at least a "due by date" would be good, and allowing (and planning) for net30 payments would probably work for most vendors.


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## DFaltPhoto (Sep 9, 2016)

Designer said:


> DFaltPhoto said:
> 
> 
> > Im looking to improve the terms and conditions on my invoices.
> ...



I don't have an attorney /:


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## DFaltPhoto (Sep 9, 2016)

astroNikon said:


> on another note ...
> Are commercial accounts not paying on-time?
> or are individual customers not paying upon receipt of work ?
> 
> essentially, exactly what type of problems are you trying to correct in your customers from paying late?  If it's individual, then maybe don't give them all the end product until they are 100% paid.  For commercial accounts, talk more with their acctg departments to determine why they may not pay on time (some may pay 30 days, 60 days out, etc or just don't want to pay after the fact).



I'm tired of waiting longer than I should to receive payments. For clients that I photograph I always collect a deposit and the remaining balance the day of the shoot. My main concern is getting paid on time from magazines and companies.


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## DFaltPhoto (Sep 9, 2016)

PersistentNomad said:


> Yeah, can you post a sample? And what branch of photography is this?. Commercial, events, editorial? I second @astroNikon: at my last job, from the time I wrote the check request to the time a check was received by the vendor it could be up to 3 weeks because of interoffice mail, accounting priorities, cash flow, mailing time, holidays, etc. That's why most people who don't set out well in advance the due dates for payments allow a net 30 for receipt of payment on a mailed invoice.



My invoices are really basic for the jobs or images I have trouble getting paid on time for. Every now and then Magazines will contact me and ask for a photo so I ask them their rates and if it's good I just send the file over with an invoice and w9. When the mags or companies pay me there is no telling when I will be paid so I wan't to do what I can to make sure it's sooner than later.


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## DFaltPhoto (Sep 9, 2016)

vintagesnaps said:


> Get on http://asmp.org or try PPA and look up info. on contracts, licensing, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. and learn what to do.




Thanks for that idea. I use PPA and will look into that now!


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## DFaltPhoto (Sep 9, 2016)

PersistentNomad said:


> I mean, definitely putting at least a "due by date" would be good, and allowing (and planning) for net30 payments would probably work for most vendors.



As of just recently I've been putting a due date of 30 days on their. But It wouldn't hurt to have a T&C giving them an incentive to pay on time. Like a small percentage everyday after 30 days. 

Your thoughts?


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## Designer (Sep 9, 2016)

DFaltPhoto said:


> I don't have an attorney /:


Well then how do you get your contracts written?


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## DFaltPhoto (Sep 9, 2016)

Designer said:


> DFaltPhoto said:
> 
> 
> > I don't have an attorney /:
> ...



The work I'm invoicing for isn't something that needs a contract. Like yesterday I invoiced a mag for an image being printed one time. It wasn't an image I'm afraid will be used again or anywhere else so I don't feel a need for a contract. Other things I have been invoicing for are photo assisting work, production assisting work and stuff that doesn't need a contract.


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## PersistentNomad (Sep 9, 2016)

DFaltPhoto said:


> Like a small percentage everyday after 30 days.


That's the kind of thing that might dissuade clients from working with you. Everyday?! If it were me who's been going so long without due dates, I would keep doing the net30 and see if that makes things steady out a bit. 
In addition, terms and conditions are usually for things that outline how the product service will be used/rendered, what is and is not allowed by either party, etc. Just wanted to toss that in there since we've all become a little fixated on the due date dilemma.


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## AlanKlein (Sep 9, 2016)

I'm not in the photo business but did run a contracting firm for 20 years.  I usually had net 30 days on my invoices but that was really something to fill the page.  No one pays interest on a $750 invoice or $750,000 invoice unless you sue them which you're not going to do.  It's not going to force them to hurry up the payment.  

It's really the people you're dealing with.  If it was a larger company with an accounting department who regularly only do payments, the invoice would have to be approved by the originator who requested the work that I sent it too first before it went to accounting.  So the key is to call that person you sent the invoice too and ask him if he processed it and if not would he do so.  If he doesn;t have it handy, ask him if you could email one right now so he can process?  In the old days, I would fax or mail, but the trick is to get it done while he's hot to help you (if he is.)  If you suspect he's got a problem with your work, be upfront about and clear up the problem.  If he actually approved it and it went to accounting, then its how fast that company processes checks and gets them signed.    

If my work was for a small company were the buyer just handed it to his secretary to issue the check, I would follow the same procedure.  The key is personal relations and persistence, but with a smile.  And call.  No one pays attention to the terms.   So you have to push, but politely.


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## tirediron (Sep 9, 2016)

DFaltPhoto said:


> I don't have an attorney /:


It is virtually impossible to overstate the magnitude of the folly of this statement.  You NEED the services of an attorney if you are in business.  It sucks; they're soul-less leeches but if and when you need them, they're the "muscle" that will get your fat out of the fire.  

You can put Net 30, or Net 1000,000,000 and payment penalties of 1,000,000,000,000,000% per minute if you want, but the simple fact is that as a small supplier, a big company will pay you when they pay you.  It sucks, but it's a fact of life.  Some companies respect deadlines and pay on, or ahead of time, but others will take 60 or 90 days.  Most aren't trying to gyp you, it's just a matter of them getting to it.


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## KmH (Sep 10, 2016)

DFaltPhoto said:


> The work I'm invoicing for isn't something that needs a contract.


But does at least require a use license, which is a contract.
Do you register your copyrights?

Invest $25 in your business:
Best Business Practices for Photographers, Second Edition

You should also consider joining:
Benefits for Members - Join - ASMP


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## DFaltPhoto (Sep 10, 2016)

AlanKlein said:


> I'm not in the photo business but did run a contracting firm for 20 years.  I usually had net 30 days on my invoices but that was really something to fill the page.  No one pays interest on a $750 invoice or $750,000 invoice unless you sue them which you're not going to do.  It's not going to force them to hurry up the payment.
> 
> It's really the people you're dealing with.  If it was a larger company with an accounting department who regularly only do payments, the invoice would have to be approved by the originator who requested the work that I sent it too first before it went to accounting.  So the key is to call that person you sent the invoice too and ask him if he processed it and if not would he do so.  If he doesn;t have it handy, ask him if you could email one right now so he can process?  In the old days, I would fax or mail, but the trick is to get it done while he's hot to help you (if he is.)  If you suspect he's got a problem with your work, be upfront about and clear up the problem.  If he actually approved it and it went to accounting, then its how fast that company processes checks and gets them signed.
> 
> If my work was for a small company were the buyer just handed it to his secretary to issue the check, I would follow the same procedure.  The key is personal relations and persistence, but with a smile.  And call.  No one pays attention to the terms.   So you have to push, but politely.



Good to know Alan! Thanks for that input. Thats pretty much how I have been handling invoices so i feel like I've been doing something right.


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## DFaltPhoto (Sep 10, 2016)

KmH said:


> DFaltPhoto said:
> 
> 
> > The work I'm invoicing for isn't something that needs a contract.
> ...



Hey KmH,

Under certain circumstances I have software that produces a license use agreement. These situations are rare with me and the work I have been doing lately. If I shoot a wedding I have a contract and if I sell an image to be used by a large company or printed on a billboard I use FotoQuote Pro to produce licenses. I actually don't register my copyrights. I haven't seen a need to. If someone steals my work which happens all the time it's a use thats so small Its not worth going after.


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## astroNikon (Sep 10, 2016)

The problem with being an independent contractor, especially if you have a small consistent group of customers is that you don't have many options if they pay late.  If they pay late you could simply not do any more work for them, which means you reduce your income potential unless you find new customers.

If you follow up a late paying customer with a letter from a lawyer, then you risk losing them as a customer.  They'll probably pay you and find someone else to do business with.

The only real option is to expand your customer base, and then you can "pick and choose" your customers.  But I'm sure being in Hawaii you also have a limited customer pool.

Could always stamp on your invoices "Due Upon Receipt" or"Net 15 days" or "Net 30 days".

I think the first step is just stamping your invoices with something, Before you really need it, might be your best bet.  ie, if you really want payment in 30 days, then stamp payment in 15 days.
Just also be prepared to send a reminder of payment at the Net day to the customer, if you want.   If you continue to have late paying customers then either get new customers or just deal with it.


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