Copywriting invoice template
Writers underbill because the invoice only shows the words. The research call, the three internal reviewers, and the piece that got spiked in week two were all work. This invoice has a line for each of them.
Free · nothing reaches your client until you press Send
Turn this template into a draft invoice
Add your client's name. The line items are already filled in.
Bill per project or per day, not per word
Per-word pricing pays you least exactly when you are best — a tight 400-word landing page can take longer than 2,000 words of blog copy and is worth more to the client. Quote the project, show the components on the invoice so the client can see what they are buying, and keep your rate card to yourself. If the client insists on per-word, set a floor and bill research separately.
Kill fees are for work that is real but unused
Projects get cancelled after you have done the interviews and drafted the piece. The standard is [50]% of the fee if the work is killed after a first draft is delivered, and [100]% after the client has approved it. Put it on the invoice as its own line with the date the project was stopped, so it is obviously a term being applied rather than a number you picked.
Say who owns the words, and whether your name is on them
Copyright transfers on payment in full — before that, the client has a licence to review the draft, not to publish it. Ghostwritten work is a separate line because it is a separate product: you are selling the words and giving up the byline, which is worth more, not less. If you want to reference the work in a portfolio, agree that here rather than assuming it.
The invoice template
Free to copy and use: nothing to download, no email required. Copy the whole thing, or select the parts you need. Replace anything in [SQUARE BRACKETS] with your own details; the numbers and dates are examples, so change them to yours before sending anything.
Copywriting invoice template
INVOICE
[YOUR NAME] — Copywriting
[Street address] · [City, State/Province, Postal code]
[you@yourstudio.com] · [+1 555 000 0000]
[Business number / Tax ID / VAT number]
BILL TO
[Client legal entity name]
Attn: [Approver name], [Job title]
[Billing address]
Accounts payable: [ap@clientcompany.com]
Invoice number: [INV-0007]
Purchase order / reference: [PO-0000]
Project: [Website rewrite — 6 core pages]
Scope reference: [Scope dated 2026-06-01, approved by [name]]
Issue date: [2026-07-14]
Payment due: [2026-07-28] — Net 14 from issue date
------------------------------------------------------------------
DESCRIPTION QTY RATE AMOUNT
------------------------------------------------------------------
Discovery — [2] stakeholder 2 $[250.00] $[500.00]
interviews, [45] minutes each,
including preparation, recording,
and notes
Research and message platform — 1 $[600.00] $[600.00]
[competitor teardown, review mining,
positioning statement, proof points,
and objection list]
Copy — [6] pages: home, product, 6 $[450.00] $[2,700.00]
pricing, about, case study, contact.
[Headline options, body copy, CTAs,
meta title and description per page,
delivered in a shared doc with
section-by-section rationale.]
Revision rounds 1–2 (included) 2 $[0.00] $[0.00]
Revision round 3 — [additional, 1 $[300.00] $[300.00]
requested [2026-07-09] after legal
review]
Kill fee — [Case study 2, stopped by 1 $[225.00] $[225.00]
[Client] on [2026-07-02] after first
draft delivered. 50% of the $[450.00]
page fee, per our agreement.]
------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal $[4,325.00]
Deposit received [2026-06-05] -$[1,500.00]
[Sales tax / VAT @ 0%] $[0.00]
------------------------------------------------------------------
AMOUNT DUE $[2,825.00]
------------------------------------------------------------------
RIGHTS AND CREDIT
On receipt of payment in full, [Writer] assigns to [Client] all
copyright in the delivered copy, worldwide and in perpetuity, for any
medium. Until payment is received, [Client] has a licence to read and
review the drafts internally, not to publish them.
This work is [ghostwritten — no byline, and I will not claim authorship
publicly] / [bylined as [name]]. [Writer] may describe the engagement
and quote up to [200] words in a portfolio or case study after
[2026-09-01], unless we agree otherwise in writing.
Research sources, interview recordings, and the message platform remain
usable by [Writer] as general craft and experience; nothing in them that
is confidential to [Client] will be disclosed or reused.
PAYMENT TERMS
1. Payment is due in full by [2026-07-28].
2. What a round is. One consolidated set of comments from [Client],
returned by the agreed date, reflecting every internal reviewer.
Separate rounds of notes from separate people count separately.
Additional rounds are $[300.00] each, agreed in writing first.
3. Kill fee. If a piece is cancelled after a first draft is delivered,
[50]% of its fee is payable. After [Client] has approved a draft,
[100]% is payable whether or not the piece is published.
4. Stalled projects. If [Client] does not provide feedback or source
material for [30] days, the project is treated as complete and all
work delivered to that point is invoiced in full. Restarting later
is quoted as new work.
5. Late payment accrues interest at [1.5]% per month, or the maximum
permitted by law in [jurisdiction] if lower.
6. Accuracy. Facts, figures, claims, and any regulated or legal wording
supplied by [Client] are [Client]'s responsibility to verify before
publication.
HOW TO PAY
Bank transfer: [Account name] · [Account number] · [Routing/IBAN]
Reference: [INV-0007]
Card or online payment: [payment link]
Thank you — [Your name]This is a practical starting point rather than legal advice. Terms like late fees and payment periods are regulated differently depending on where you and your client are, so check anything you plan to enforce.
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Fill in the card at the top and what you typed becomes a numbered draft invoice with a PDF and a share link. Your client sees nothing until you press Send. Connect Stripe and the link carries a Pay button; reminders go out if it runs late.
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Use this with
Scope of work
Content writing scope of work
A content scope with word counts, keyword targets, interview access, source standards, revision limits, and a stalled-project clause.
Contract
Copywriting contract template
A writing agreement with a kill fee, byline and ghostwriting terms, an originality warranty, AI disclosure, and rights transfer on payment.
Intake form
Copywriting project brief template
A copy brief covering audience, offer, objections, proof, tone and banned words, channel, word count, expert access, and the approval chain.
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Free tool
Late Payment Fee Calculator for Overdue Invoices
Invoice amount, due date, and your annual rate in — the fee accrued so far out.
Built for
Briefs, drafts, and invoices for copywriters
One brief the client fills in before you write, a round count that holds when the rewrite is really a new angle, and an invoice that goes out the day the draft is approved.
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A client hasn't paid my invoice in 45 days. What should I do?
Send one clear message with the invoice link, then call. If that fails: pause new work, hold final files, apply the late fee your terms allow, and send a final notice.