To help, here are 15 key elements to include on your client invoices, along with brief descriptions of what they mean and why you should include them.

1. Include the word INVOICE

Clearly mark the document as an invoice near the top or in a prominent position. There should be no ambiguity for the client about what the document is for – i.e., it’s a request for payment from the seller to the buyer. It’s not to be confused with a receipt, credit note, or purchase order. Making it crystal clear from the outset mitigates the risk of late payment.

2. Name and address

This includes your business name and address, as well as the client’s name and address. You should also include contact details, such as a phone number, email address, etc. And ensure it is addressed to the right person and department.

Note that the address you send your invoice to may be under a different project name or business address, or the accounts department may be in a different location, so make sure you check before you send it. If you are emailing the document, again, ensure you are sending it to the right person.

3. Invoice number

An invoice number is a unique identifier and, in some countries, is mandatory. It’s highly recommended that you add an invoice number for tracking and record-keeping, for tax and accounting purposes, and to avoid errors.

4. Payment terms

You should include your payment terms. This can consist of the invoice due date and any conditions. For example, if your payment terms are Net 30, the payment is due 30 days from the invoice date. You can also include early payment incentives, late payment fees, shipping fees or discounts.

5. Late payment

If you have a late payment policy, include it on the invoice. If you are including a late payment fee on the invoice, clearly state it.

With the Invoice Ninja Pro Plan, you can set up invoice late fees that apply automatically when invoices pass their due dates. These can be as a percentage of the invoice or as a flat monetary amount. Find out more here.

6. Discount

If you offer a discount, you should clearly show the discount and rate on the invoice. Again, with Invoice Ninja, you can easily enter a discount amount to apply to the invoice, either as a percentage or a flat monetary amount.

7. Taxes

These can vary depending on jurisdiction. In some countries, value-added tax (VAT) applies, whereas in the US, sales tax depends on the state and the nature of the product. With Invoice Ninja, you can configure tax rates using manual or automatic tax calculations. You can set up total taxes, line-item taxes, and localize for your region. Find out more here.

Where applicable, you should include tax ID numbers.

8. Invoice date and invoice due date

The invoice date and invoice due date can be the same, but in practice, the invoice date is usually the date of issue (when the invoice was created), whereas the due date is the date on which the invoice is due to be paid.

As always, it’s important that it’s absolutely clear exactly when the invoice should be paid.

9. Description

It’s important to provide a clear description of goods or services rendered, and if applicable, the dates and any other information pertinent to the invoice.

For example, in addition to a description, you may need to add a cost centre (or cost code), refer to a purchase order and name the person or department who requested the services or goods. You should also provide a breakdown of costs. For example, if you are a service provider that charges by the hour, then you should state the number of hours worked, the hourly rate and the relevant dates.

10. Unit cost and quantity

The unit cost is the cost per unit of goods or services. For example, one widget might cost $5.00, then you multiply this amount by the quantity sold. So, if you are selling 10 widgets at $5.00 each, that’s a total of $50.00, which will be entered as the amount due for this line item.

11. Line item

The line item on an invoice is a single entry for a specific service or product. So, if you are selling 10 widgets and also an additional product, the additional product will have a separate line item entry.

12. Total amount due

This is the total amount due after applying any discounts, adding any fees or taxes, etc. The total amount due should be clear to avoid errors or misunderstandings. This is not to be confused with the subtotal, which is the sum of line items before you’ve applied any taxes, shipping costs, discounts, etc.

13. Payment method

In addition to the due date and amount, another important detail to include is the method of payment. For example, via a bank transfer, online payment gateway, credit/debit card, check, cash, etc.

If you want your invoice to be paid fast online, you’ll need invoicing software that integrates with a payment gateway. A payment gateway is the tech that allows your clients to pay you securely and swiftly online.

Invoice Ninja integrates with some of the world’s most popular payment gateways to facilitate fast online payments, and you can even get paid in Bitcoin. Check out all our payment gateways here.

14. Your branding

If you have a logo, add this to the top of the invoice to make your invoice look professional and instantly recognizable. Invoice Ninja offers free, attractive, professional invoice template designs you can customize with your logo and brand colors. Check them out here.

15. Notes

Here, you can add additional information relevant to the transaction, such as thanking the client for their business or adding a promotional code for future purchases.

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Invoice Ninja is a leading free invoicing software and offers an incredible range of small business and freelancer-friendly features to help you get paid hassle-free and fast. You can try Invoice Ninja for free at the link here.

1. Standard Invoice

A standard invoice is a common yet important business transaction document and is most likely the main type of invoice you issue to customers and clients.

An invoice is essentially a document requesting payment for goods or services sold. It includes important information such as the invoice date, due date, and details of both the buyer and seller. It covers the transaction and includes line items such as goods or services sold, description, quantity, cost, any taxes due, and the total. It will have a unique number and include payment instructions.

Naturally, when issuing an invoice, you want to ensure that you don’t miss any important information, and this is where invoice templates come into their own.

Invoice Ninja, a leading free invoicing software, provides free access to a range of professionally designed invoice templates that you can customize with your logo and brand colors. By using professional invoice templates, you mitigate the risk of missing important information, which could result in delayed payment.

2. Proforma Invoice

A proforma invoice is a non-binding quote/estimate of the cost of services, goods, or products. It’s a useful document issued by the seller to the buyer, as it can help the buyer budget in advance or decide whether to proceed, negotiate, or obtain approval for the sale. It’s also handy for the seller, as it helps them plan ahead. 

A proforma invoice, like a standard invoice, typically itemizes costs and includes payment terms, details about the product or service to be delivered, along with the relevant dates.

3. Purchase Order

A purchase order is not, strictly speaking, an invoice, but rather a request for services, goods or materials and is typically used by businesses in the procurement process. The buyer issues this to the seller, and it includes details such as the type, quantity, and cost of the products or services being requested, as well as any relevant delivery or payment terms.

You can create purchase orders in Invoice Ninja to email out to your vendors. When they are approved, they are then converted into expenses. These expenses can be rebilled to clients or used to run reports.

4. Credit Invoice

A credit invoice, also known as a credit note or memo, can be issued to adjust an invoice that has already been issued, where the amount payable is to be reduced, for example, due to a refund, cancellation, miscalculation or error in the original invoice. 

It is used when credit is due to the client or customer and can therefore be used for discounts. It’s a record of the money owed to customers or clients.

5. Debit Invoice

A debit invoice, also known as a debit note or memo, is the opposite of a credit invoice and can be issued when the original invoice amount needs to be increased or additional charges require collection. 

It could be that the work cost more than estimated, or more hours were worked. It is used when you need to charge the client or customer more. It acts as a record of the money owed to the supplier.

6. Recurring Invoice

A recurring invoice is one that is issued regularly for the same amount. It is frequently used by freelancers who have retainer clients for services where the monthly amount doesn’t change. It can also be used for subscriptions, rentals, and service packages, to name just a few examples.

If you have clients who need to be billed repeatedly on a fixed schedule (e.g., weekly or monthly), Invoice Ninja offers auto-billing via the world’s most popular payment gateways. See them all here. Auto-billing is a feature that enables the payments system to capture your clients’ credit card details and store them for billing at a future date. This means you can save time by automatically billing long-term clients with recurring invoices.

7. Interim Invoice

An interim invoice is one that you issue before the end of the project or before the final invoice is issued. It can help with cash flow because it allows you to apply milestone invoicing, where you are paid at intervals throughout the project. An interim invoice can also be used as a deposit invoice to collect a deposit before commencing work.

With Invoice Ninja, you can set up partial payments/deposit requests, and the invoice will update itself automatically. After your client pays the partial payment, the invoice will automatically update itself with the balance due and set the new final invoice due date. Perfect for milestone invoicing and/or deposit collection.

8. Timesheet Invoice

A timesheet invoice is used when you are billing for time spent on a project and is typically used by freelancers who charge by the hour. It details the hours spent and calculates the amount due based on the actual hours worked.

Invoice Ninja’s time tracking feature allows you to accurately record every second spent on each individual task and quickly transfer timed data to the relevant invoice. When you’re done with a task or series of tasks within a project, simply click and send your work time to an invoice with 1-click!

We also have a Google Chrome task extension, so you can conveniently manage all your tasks within Chrome

9. Past Due Invoice

A past due invoice, as the name suggests, is issued when the payment date has expired and the payment has not been made. It can also include any late payment fees. 

With Invoice Ninja Pro Plan, you can create custom email reminders based on the invoice date or invoice due date. You can define date parameters to remind your clients before or after invoices are due to ensure you get paid. You can also charge a client an additional fee for unpaid invoices with our automatic late payment fee feature.

10. E-invoices

E-invoices require no manual intervention and have a structured format. The buyers and sellers’ accounting systems can ‘machine read’ each other’s invoices and receipts, therefore speeding up processing time. 

Many countries in the EU are now mandating the requirement to issue e-invoices. Invoice Ninja is among the first to support the direct delivery of e-invoices over the PEPPOL network, the EU standard for exchanging electronic documents. You can read more about e-invoicing here.

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Invoice Ninja offers an incredible range of small business and freelancer-friendly features to help you get paid hassle-free and fast. You can try Invoice Ninja for free at the link here.

In addition to having a more predictable client income, retaining freelance clients is less expensive than acquiring new ones. Having to constantly pitch to new clients every time a project ends can eat up your valuable time and marketing budget.

What’s more, it can be demoralizing if you go through a spate of not winning your pitches and client proposals.

Plus, existing clients already know the quality of your work and what you’re like to work with, and they trust you, so it’s easier to cross-sell or upsell your services for the long term.

With this in mind, let’s take a look at some ways you can boost your freelance client retention.

1. Uncover client challenges

The service and work you perform is a solution to your ideal client’s problem; it’s something they need, which is why they will hire you. Whether this is for a ‘one and done’ project or something longer term will depend on your client’s needs and your offer(s).

To turn a one-off gig into something longer-term, your job is to discover what your clients either don’t like doing, haven’t got time to do, or don’t have the knowledge or skill set to do and offer to do it for them. This practice is known as cross-selling and upselling; you can read more about it in our blog post here.

For retention purposes, your service offer should ideally be something that lends itself to retention, i.e., a service that is ongoing or needed regularly. For example, a graphic designer could be initially hired for website work but could also offer ongoing graphics for blog posts, social media marketing, and so on.

You can also be proactive in this regard by curating in-depth knowledge of what’s happening in your client’s industry or the market in general, so you can spot potential hurdles ahead of time and offer your client a solution.

2. Create friction-free processes and customize

Friction-free processes can go a long way to keeping clients happy and winning long-term business.

Clients want a safe pair of hands, so freelancers who are reliable and easy to deal with are highly sought after.

In addition to having clear communication channels, effective workflows and friction-free processes such as client onboarding, you can customize your documentation and processes tailored to your specific clients.

For example, if you have overseas clients, wouldn’t it be great to send your invoices in their own language? Invoice Ninja is a leading free invoicing software for small business invoicing, fast online payments, tracking expenses and billable tasks. It supports dozens of languages and currencies, which means you can set different languages and currencies per client. It also offers free, professionally designed and customizable invoice templates to boost your brand, while providing a smooth, branded experience tailored to your clients.

Try Invoice Ninja for free at the link here.

3. Do good work and communicate well

It goes without saying that if you produce good work, you will likely retain clients. However, consistency is key here. Sticking to deadlines and doing what you say you are going to do are all high-trust signals that clients appreciate and will reward with their repeat business.

In addition to the work you produce, good communication skills are also important so your client is aware of the status of ongoing project work via regular meetings, check-ins or shared online project management tools. Find out how your clients best like to communicate and keep them updated. Clear communications and transparency help manage expectations on both sides, especially if there are any unexpected issues. Clear communication channels mean these can be resolved quickly.

In addition to good general communications, there are other flourishes you can add to make yourself stand out.

For example, you could send handwritten thank you notes or holiday cards from time to time, share relevant industry-related news, or celebrate their wins by sharing their posts on social media, anything to boost your freelancer-client relationship.

4. Reward client loyalty

Finally, you could consider rewarding clients for long-term business through discounts, special offers, exclusive access to your content or expertise, or some other form of loyalty program or perk.

Giving long-term clients VIP treatment and prioritizing them will strengthen your client relationship and is a great way to secure client referrals and glowing testimonials, which in turn can lead to more business – a win-win!

Building client relationships based on trust and value will ultimately determine your long-term success, so it’s worth taking the time to explore ways you can improve your service, help your clients and build client loyalty.

1. Start strong

Many entrepreneurs have a set morning routine, and starting your day off on the right footing and with a positive mindset makes sense. 

Naturally, how you start your day is up to you and will depend on your circumstances. Some people like to start slow and ease themselves into the day with a little bit of meditative practice such as journaling or yoga (or both), whereas others like to hit the ground running, literally, by going for a run, a brisk daily morning walk, or an intense gym workout session.

If you have care duties, consider getting up a little earlier before others in the household to make some ‘you’ time. It doesn’t have to be anything too radical; it can be just a small ritual you make into a habit, just like brushing your teeth or showering. 

The key is that it benefits you, makes you feel good, energizes you and is sustainable. You’ll be amazed at the difference a positive daily routine can make to your day.

2. Manage time

Being organized, planning ahead, and knowing what work you’ll be doing each day (creating and sticking to a schedule) can significantly improve your day. 

Some freelancers ‘time block’ which means they block out certain parts of the day or a number of days which they allocate to specific tasks. The key is to not get continuously distracted by incoming tasks and find yourself firefighting the whole time. 

Giving yourself more than enough time to complete tasks will help, too, rather than leaving everything up to the wire. If you’re always rushing about in an effort to get things done, it could lead to stress and freelancer burnout.

While there will likely be deadlines to adhere to and fast turnaround work in your freelance career, there’s no need to do everything at such a rapid pace. Giving yourself ample time to do things is all part of self-care.

3. Take regular breaks

It can be easy to get wrapped up in your work and forget about taking regular breaks, especially when you’re working from home. 

But breaks aren’t just beneficial from a physical well-being perspective, such as avoiding sitting all day, reducing digital eye strain (if your work involves looking at a screen all day) or taking a break to rehydrate, eat mindfully and exercise, but also from a holistic perspective. 

Taking breaks throughout the day can help with our creativity and allow our minds to relax. Often, during these break periods, when we take our conscious mind off the day’s task, our subconscious mind takes over and comes up with solutions. 

That’s why we’re often advised to sleep on it when it comes to important decisions or dilemmas we face. Oftentimes, something that was a problem the day before can be solved following a good night’s sleep, which brings us nicely on to our next topic.

4. Optimize sleep

Sleep is important to our well-being. And while there may be people throughout history who famously seemed able to function on less sleep, such as Winston Churchill, digging a bit deeper, we often find there was more to it. For example, he is reported to have practiced bi-phasic sleeping, so while he didn’t sleep much during the night, he topped it up during the day with his famous daytime naps.

It’s generally accepted that around 7 to 8 hours or more sleep per night is optimal for an adult.

To help get quality sleep, there are things you can do to enhance your sleeping environment, such as sleeping in a quiet, dark room, turning off your electronic devices a few hours before bed and being mindful of sleep hygiene by making your sleep environment and rituals before you go to bed work to your benefit.

These could include a warm bath before bedtime, using earplugs, lowering the lighting, avoiding alcohol (or caffeine) drinks before bedtime, or doing some gentle stretches or meditation exercises. Or you could drop off into dreamland reading a good book.

Whatever it is, optimizing sleep is an essential self-care protocol that will benefit you in many different ways.

5. Eliminate unnecessary stress

Take time to identify your business’s stress areas and triggers and take steps to eradicate or at least minimize them. 

If you have a tendency to overthink things or over-worry about things, you may find that the cure to overthinking is taking action. For example, if you find yourself being contacted by clients at all hours of the day, instead of getting stressed and worrying about it, the action you could take is to set proper boundaries and communicate your availability to your clients.

Another scenario that you may worry about is late payment of your invoices. You can help remove the stress of chasing unpaid invoices by automating the invoicing process with invoicing software that includes multiple payment options – making it easy for clients to pay you.

Invoicing software can help reduce the risk of your invoices not being paid on time. It can speed up the payment process and send automatic reminders before (or after) the invoice is due, saving you the cost and stress of getting paid late.

Invoice Ninja is a leading free invoicing software for small business invoicing, online payments, recurring invoices, tracking expenses and billable tasks. Try it for free here.

With our GoCardless integration, you can get paid on time and stress less. As soon as your invoice is due, GoCardless automatically collects payment, so you don’t need to chase it.

Check out all our payment gateways here.

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Mastering self-care can help you in all aspects of your life and can manifest in many ways, whether it’s celebrating your wins, getting used to taking time off work to go on a well-deserved vacation, or cheering yourself up by doing good things without any expectation of anything in return and paying it forward – self-care always pays off!

Whatever the reason, it can make us view the company in a negative light. In extreme cases, we might not buy from them again.

But what are some common frustration points that clients might experience when dealing with freelancers and small business owners, and how can we fix them?

Let’s take a look:

Ensure the first point of contact is a smooth one

The first point of contact will be your prospective client’s first direct experience with your company and how you deal with client correspondence and communicate in general, so this touchpoint should be as smooth and friction-free for them as possible.

You’ll need to consider how potential clients contact you, as there could be many channels open to them. For example, if you are on several social media platforms unless you state otherwise (i.e. tell them to contact you via your preferred method), they could contact you via any of the social media platform’s direct messaging systems. If you don’t check these regularly or have notifications on, you could miss them.

Likewise, if you have a contact form on your conversion-optimized website or simply get people to email you, these notifications all need to be managed and promptly responded to. That’s where good inbox management comes in to ensure you deal with priority queries first and don’t miss any hot new leads.

If your client acquisition process includes a sales or discovery call, you may want to qualify them first by getting them to answer a few brief questions before the call. Again, this needs to be refined, so if it’s in questionnaire form, there shouldn’t be too many questions that take forever to complete, which might put the prospect off.

The more automated you can make the process, the better; for example, instead of playing email ping pong to arrange a date to get on a call or meet, use an online scheduler that links to your calendar and other streamlined work tools and automate the whole process.

These initial little tweaks will have a big impact on your client’s perception of you and your business.

Communicate well throughout the project

Once you agree to take on a new client, you’ll want to get them onboard as promptly and smoothly as possible.

Depending on your onboarding process, this could initially involve sending out your written proposal, deposit invoice, freelancer payment terms and conditions, and written contract. Again, the more automated the process and the easier it is for your client, the better. To keep things streamlined, it makes sense to make use of automation tools and helpful additions such as automatic signatures so your client can approve things quickly and seamlessly.

Having a written process in place of everything you need to do will help you put this workflow together so you don’t miss anything out. Having standard operating procedures (SOPs) for all your workflows will also make your business more efficient in any event.

Part of the onboarding experience could also involve sending out an automated welcome email sequence, which, in addition to the above items, can include general housekeeping such as file and account access.

The key is to look at the process through the client’s lens. If you were hiring someone, what would you expect as a minimum, and what would be your ‘like to haves’? What’s going to help your client and boost your brand perception?

During the project, not only is it important to keep communication channels open and schedule regular check-ins, especially when working on long projects, but you also want to agree on what communication channels you’ll be using. Before the project commences, you’ll need to establish boundaries for when you are available and can be contacted.

Poor communication can result in delays and missed deadlines. Freelancers missing deadlines can be a major headache (and worry) for clients, so absolutely avoid it where possible.

Make paying you easy

A common frustration that freelancers can face is late payment of their invoices. Not being paid on time can be due to many reasons, and we’ve listed some of them in our post here. That’s why it makes sense to get freelancer payment terms and conditions agreed upon upfront and in writing so there are no unwelcome surprises later on. 

Sometimes, a late payment can simply be a miscommunication or even an error on the invoice, such as incorrect payment information, especially if you are compiling them manually. This can be frustrating and time-consuming for both parties.

One way to mitigate this is to use invoicing software.

Invoice Ninja is a leading free invoicing software for small business invoicing, fast online payments, tracking expenses and billable tasks. It also includes attractive, professional invoice template designs you can customize with your logo and brand colors. You can also convert quotes to invoices at the click of a button, which is a great way to speed up processes and make that all-important first impression.

Try Invoice Ninja for free here.

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Remember, if a frustration point is slowing your customer down, it’s also slowing you down, so take regular audits of your processes to ensure everything is still ticking over as it should.

However, you shouldn’t be under a constant barrage of stress and anxiety or forever worrying about where the next client will come from or when your outstanding invoices will be paid. That’s no fun!

Here are 3 areas to review to help reduce money stress, take back control and keep your freelance business profitable and rewarding.

1. Review clients and pricing model

A lot of freelancer anxiety stems from working with clients who, for whatever reason, are not the right fit. It could be a mismatch in freelancer/client expectations, skill sets and experience, or you simply don’t enjoy working with a particular client. All this can contribute to feelings of anxiety, so make sure you attract clients who are the right fit for you and who you love to work with and pay you accordingly.

It may be that your ideal client persona or niche has changed, so it pays to review it from time to time.

You can also consider reviewing your pricing model. It might not be what you charge that is an issue, but how you charge. For example, if you currently charge hourly, would a project rate better suit your business? If you are doing a lot of short-term jobs and are constantly on the lookout for work, look to attract projects of a longer duration or long-term clients that pay you on a retainer basis to help reduce your exposure to slow months.

These strategies can lessen some of the anxiety around cash flow and fear of the freelancer feast or famine scenario, where you experience periods of buoyant finances and lots of clients and then no work and no income during dry periods.

Firming up your client acquisition strategies, ensuring you are marketing to the right people, and making sure you consistently apply them to attract and work with great clients will help reduce stress in this key area.

2. Make good use of automation tools

Using automation tools to leverage your productivity can not only free up time but considerably reduce stress. Most repetitive processes can be automated, and nowadays, there are plenty of low-cost and free online tools on the market to choose from. These tools can save you time that could be better used elsewhere, for example, focused on making the most of your number one profitable skill. Automation tools range from writing tools to scheduling and, of course, to invoicing.

Invoicing software can help reduce the risk of your invoices not being paid on time. It can speed up the payment process and send automatic reminders before (or after) the invoice is due, saving you the cost and stress of getting paid late. A money worry you definitely don’t want to deal with if it can be avoided.

Invoice Ninja is a leading free invoicing software for small business invoicing, online payments, recurring invoices, tracking expenses and billable tasks. Try it for free here.

3. Diversify income sources

It’s probably best not to have all your eggs in one basket or rely on just one source of income because even with the best will in the world, nobody can predict the future. 

For example, if you have just one client, you could find yourself with no income if the contract ends or something happens to the client’s business. Conversely, if you have too many clients, you need to be mindful of how much work you can realistically take on.

One way to help combat this over-reliance and help future-proof your business is to have several income-generating assets. These could be online courses, productized packages, paid email newsletters, affiliate and referral programs, consultancy, etc. You could even offer a subscription service to your services or products. 

Knowing you have more than one source of income makes you less likely to take on unsuitable work just for the money, and when dealing with prospects, you’ll come across as more confident and in control. 

One less thing to worry about!

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Naturally, when freelancing, it’s super important to be mindful of your work/life balance because this will have a significant impact on your performance and stress levels. This isn’t just about the hours you work but how you approach your day and manage your time.

For example, movement is essential not just for our physical health but also for our overall well-being, so make sure you are incorporating some form of movement into your day. You’ll be surprised at how much better even a short burst of exercise can make you feel. A quick walk in the fresh air to top up your vitamin D can boost mental clarity and even help solve problems you’ve been mulling over.

Likewise, getting proper rest and a good night’s sleep is vital to our general health. Poor sleep can result in tiredness throughout the working day, lower our mood and enthusiasm, and even result in poor decision-making. 

All these strategies combined can help keep the financial worry and overwhelm sometimes associated with freelancing at bay.

Fewer human errors

Even the most meticulous person can make a mistake; after all, ‘to err is human’, especially if you are doing the same task over and over again.

However, the trouble with mistakes is that even a small one can have big consequences for small businesses. 

When you automate a process, human error is much less likely to happen as there’s little to no human involvement. As long as the automation is set up correctly, you can be confident it will run and do its job without further intervention.

Increased efficiency and productivity

Automating workflows gets things done quicker, so there is usually an immediate upside to business efficiency. In turn, you can be a lot more productive with your time and spend it on more valuable and profit-making activities.

You could even use the time saved to upskill or create more client-friendly offers and products. Of course, you can also spend the extra time saved with your loved ones or do your favorite pastime activity and enhance your well-being and work-life balance.

Compliance

Automating essential tasks means you can remain compliant with regulatory or other industry standards and rules in your specific sector or location.

Automating regulatory tasks so they get done when needed reduces risk and could even save your business from receiving an unwelcome fine, especially if you are in a highly regulated industry.

Another aspect is data protection compliance and how private information is stored and processed. Encrypted automation tools can help keep documents and information secure.

Cost reduction

Automation tools save you from the cost of doing something yourself, which will typically take longer and pull your focus away from other, more labor-intensive tasks. They also save you the cost of outsourcing the task to another person to perform. Automation tools often work out a lot cheaper than hiring someone. In fact, there are plenty of free and low-cost tools available.

Another way automation can save you money is by reducing the risk of your invoices not being paid on time. Invoicing software can speed up the payment process and send automatic reminders before or after the invoice is due, saving you the cost and hassle of getting paid late. 

With Invoice Ninja, a leading free invoicing software for small business invoicing, online payments, recurring invoices, tracking expenses and billable tasks, you can set up first, second, third or endless reminders to help you get paid fast and on time.

Try it for free here.

Helps you stay competitive

In today’s technologically advanced age, automating processes is a necessity that few businesses can afford to ignore if they want to remain competitive. 

Most clients expect a degree of automation, especially in front-end customer processes and services where speed, precision, and efficiency count.

For example, a welcome email sequence can be triggered when a customer buys something from you or when you onboard a client. It would act as a great introduction to your brand and lay out what steps are required next and what they can expect from you.

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At the end of the day, technology is a tool, and the success you experience very much depends on how you use it within your business. Now may be a great time to review all the repetitive tasks you spend valuable time on to see which processes you might want to automate to free up time, streamline your business, and improve cash flow.

And remember, it’s not just dry processes you can automate, but fun things too, such as sending out client thank you notes, client meeting scheduling, and prompts to follow up on hot new leads-all imbued with your unique personal branding. 

1. Social media scheduling tools

If you post social media content for your brand or your clients, a social media scheduler tool to help you plan content in advance is helpful.

Online schedulers automate all your social media content, giving you more time to focus on your business.

Most schedulers can also provide helpful analytics so you can see how well your social media campaigns are doing. Examples of schedulers include Hootsuite, Vista Social and Buffer.

To help create and plan timely posts for key dates and events throughout the year that are relatable to your brand, a quick search online for ‘key social media dates’ can help you make the most of these dates, special awareness days, and events.

2. SEO research tools

If you are an SEO copywriter, you’ll likely need an online SEO tool for keyword research.

These can vary in price, and some do have a limited free version or free trial period.

In addition to the big names such as Semrush, Moz, and Ahrefs, it’s worth shopping around as more products and apps are appearing in the market to help with keyword research and SEO without the hefty price tag.

Other options include Ubersuggest, a free keyword research tool, and Keywords Everywhere, a freemium Chrome extension.

3. Wireframe tools

While generally used by designers to create a mockup of a website or design, wireframe tools can also be useful for website copywriters when working in conjunction with website designers. They can also show the client where the copy and content might be best placed to allow for the most conversions.

Examples include tools such as Whimsical, Figma, Balsamiq, and Lucidchart.

So, if your work includes UX copy or website copy, wireframe tools can guide your clients as to where the copy should be best placed and how it will look when ‘live’.

4. Invoicing software

When it comes to billing your clients and getting paid on time, invoicing software that comes with professionally designed templates (so you don’t have to put together the invoices yourself and can avoid errors) is a must-have for any freelance writer who wants to come across as professional and trustworthy.

Invoice Ninja is a leading free invoicing software for small business invoicing, online payments, tracking expenses and billable tasks. It also includes attractive, professional invoice template designs you can customize with your logo and brand colors.

A super helpful feature for managing client work is Invoice Ninja’s tasks and project feature, which allows you to create projects and tasks and track time spent on billable work. When you’re done with a task or series of tasks within a project, simply click and send your work time to an invoice with just 1-click!

Try it for free here.

5. Video makers

While a video-making tool might not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about tools for freelance writers, in today’s fast-paced digital world, visually appealing video content is becoming ever more popular.

You don’t have to be a YouTube sensation or even appear in your videos, but tools like Lumen5 can make your content stand out – it can even be used to re-purpose existing blog posts into social videos that you can share.

Other similar video-making tools include Camtasia, InVideo, and Filmora. There are lots of video-making tools on the market now – so it pays to shop around and choose the best one for your needs and budget.

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All the tools mentioned above can be used to help you in your freelance writing business. If you know of anyone else who might benefit from knowing about these tools – please share. Thank you!

Create a compelling headline

With a case study, you are telling the story of your client’s transformation, so, just like a traditional story, it will have a beginning, a middle, and an end. But first, you have to get people invested in the case study; why should they read it? You can do this by using a compelling headline that answers the question, ‘What’s in it for them?’. In other words, your headline should make your reader want to read the rest. 

For example, instead of heading the case study Case Study for Client X, you could use the result, How Client X Went From Zero Leads to Six Figures in X Months, so it is results-driven, or, if it’s a good one, you could even use a short quote from the client as the headline.

Following the headline, the case study can include the name of the client, any team members involved, and the goals of the project.

The case study is more of a collaboration between you and your client than a solo achievement, so the more you can get your client involved in the case study, the better.

Paint the picture

Your intro starts with what your client’s life was like before they hired you and what problem they were trying to solve. Here is where you really dig into their pain points. Include their own quotes if you have them. You can also include any relevant stats and figures here, too.

Paint the picture of the vision the client was after, why they came to you and how they found out about your services. What were they expecting to resolve as a result of hiring you?

Also, what had Client X tried before, and what was the outcome? By laying down the foundations of the client transformation story, you are also talking to the reader so they can envision themselves in the story.

Whatever their specific problem is, you want them to recognize themselves in the customer journey, so they are nodding their head and thinking, “Yup, that’s the exact same issue I’m dealing with” or something similar.

Highlight your processes and ways of working

The next part of the story is how you identified and solved your client’s problems; this is a great way to showcase what it’s like working with you, your unique approach and processes, and how you solved the issues better than anyone else.

Also, include if there was any deadline you needed to adhere to, how you dealt with any potential roadblocks, any eureka moments, how you communicated with your client, and how you ensured everything went smoothly. 

In short, you are showing off your working methods, highlighting what a joy it is to work with you and how you are the safe pair of hands your next potential client is looking to hire.

Show results and client transformation

Part three of the story is where you relay the positive, quantitative results you achieved and the client transformation.

Again, it’s good to include any relevant stats and figures here, i.e., time and money saved or increased sales. You might also include a quote from the client.

It would be helpful to list the key takeaways here, too; this could be in the form of a bulleted list—an ‘at a glance’ that readers can easily skim over.

You can also have a Call To Action (CTA) here where you direct the reader to what they need to do next if they want to hire you/get a quote, etc.

Have a client-friendly format

To make the case study as reader-friendly as possible, break up the text with subheadings and images where applicable so it is easy to digest. You can also use sound bites from the text in the layout/design (which you can then use as memes/posts for social media).

If you are creative, this is an excellent time to show off your creative flair with an appealing template that includes your logo and brand colors. Even if you’re not a professional graphic designer, you can think of ways to deliver the message in a format that suits your ideal client.

The format doesn’t have to be written either; you could create a video case study. However, the video case study should still follow the story format, compelling headline, and transformation story.

You can also create case studies showing different aspects of your work. For example, one could highlight a specific product, and another could be an add-on service. Or highlight different elements, such as turnaround times or a particular methodology you applied.

Case studies show the value of your work to potential clients and can be included in your proposals or even when asked for a sample of your work. They can be made into blog posts or even used as lead magnets as part of your email marketing strategy.

The key is to make your case studies as compelling, relevant (cut out any fluff) and appealing as possible.

And, of course,  once you’ve got yourself a great case study and are using it to win your ideal clients, you’ll want to have some equally good software to streamline your invoicing and make it easy for clients to pay you.

Invoice Ninja is a leading free invoicing software for small business invoices, fast online payments, expense tracking, and billable tasks. It also includes attractive, professional invoice template designs you can customize with your logo and brand colors.

It’s perfect for freelancers and small businesses.

Try it for free here.