How to invoice a publication (which is not like invoicing a client)

Every guide to freelance invoicing assumes your client is a company with an accounts department and net-30 terms. If you write for publications, almost none of that applies.

Here is the version for writers.

First: you may not be sending an invoice at all

A large share of publications invoice you rather than the other way round. They issue a contributor payment form, a self-billing document, or simply ask for your bank details and pay against their own internal record.

So before you build a template, ask one question on acceptance: "What do you need from me to get paid — an invoice, or do you have a contributor form?"

That single sentence saves more chasing than any software. If they have a form, your beautifully designed invoice is noise, and returning their form quickly is the entire job.

What a publication invoice actually needs

If they do want an invoice, keep it short. Publications are not procurement departments.

Essential:

• Your full legal name and address (the name your bank account is in)
• Their name and the name of the commissioning editor
• An invoice number and the date
• The title of the piece, and where and when it ran or is scheduled to run
• The agreed fee, exactly as agreed, in the currency agreed
• Your payment details — bank name, account number, sort code or routing number, IBAN and SWIFT/BIC for international
• Your tax reference if your country requires one on invoices

Usually pointless:

• Hourly breakdowns. You were commissioned for a piece, not for hours.
• Elaborate branding. Nobody in an editorial accounts inbox is impressed.
• Payment terms you invented. Their terms govern, not yours — see below.

The one thing writers forget: the piece title. An accounts clerk who cannot match your invoice to a commission will park it, and nobody will tell you.

Payment terms: "on publication" is not "net 30"

This is the difference that catches people.

Much editorial work is paid on publication, not on acceptance or on invoice. A piece accepted in September and published in February is paid in February. That is not late. That is the deal.

Others pay on acceptance, which is much better for you. Some pay within a stated window — The Markaz Review states an honorarium within 30 days of publication; Medium initiates payouts by the 10th of the month for the previous month, then 5–7 business days to the bank.

Establish which one applies before you write. Ask: "Is this paid on acceptance or on publication, and roughly when should I expect it?" Editors answer this without blinking.

And turn off your invoicing software's automatic late-payment reminders for these clients. A tool that assumes net-30 will start nagging an editor who has done nothing wrong, on your behalf, without you seeing it. It is a fast way to not be commissioned again.

Kill fees need their own line

If a commissioned piece is dropped before publication, many publications pay a percentage of the agreed fee. That is a kill fee, and it is normal.

Invoice it as a distinct line item naming the piece and the agreed percentage — "Kill fee, 'Title of Piece', 50% of agreed £400 commission" — or it will look like you have invoiced the wrong amount and it will bounce back.

Currency: usually the biggest cost on the invoice

For international writers this is the real number, not the software.

A UK magazine paying £150 into a non-UK account can lose meaningfully more to conversion spread and receiving fees than any invoicing subscription costs for a year. On small editorial fees, a 3–4% combined cost is normal and a bad bank can double it.

Three practical moves:

• Ask to be paid in your own currency where the publication can do it. Many can.
• Give foreign account details via Wise, Payoneer or similar rather than taking a SWIFT wire into a local account. See payment platforms for writers.
• Do not let the fee be quoted in one currency and paid in another without agreeing who absorbs the conversion.

When and how to chase

Do not chase before the stated terms have elapsed. If it is paid on publication and the piece has not run, there is nothing to chase.

First chase, one week after terms elapse. Short and warm, to the commissioning editor, not to accounts:

Hi [name] — just checking in on the invoice for "[Title]", sent [date] for [amount]. No rush if it is in the system, but let me know if you need anything else from me.

Second chase, two weeks later. Same tone, and now ask for a route: "Could you point me to the right person in accounts?"

Third chase. Now go direct to accounts, copying the editor, and attach the invoice again.

Almost always, the cause is boring. Invoices get stuck because the piece title did not match, the bank details were mistyped, or the editor forgot to forward it. Assume administrative failure, not bad faith, and you will get paid faster and stay commissionable.

A minimal template

``` INVOICE #2026-014 Date: 6 September 2026

From: [Your legal name] To: [Publication name] [Address] FAO: [Commissioning editor]

DESCRIPTION AMOUNT "[Title of piece]", published/scheduled [date] £375.00 TOTAL £375.00

Payment details Account name · Bank · Account number · Sort code IBAN · SWIFT/BIC (international) [Tax reference if required in your country]

Agreed terms: paid on publication, per commission email of [date]. ```

That is enough. Anything more is decoration.

Before you send

• I asked whether they want an invoice or have a contributor form
• The piece title is on it and matches what they commissioned
• The fee matches the commission email exactly
• The name on the invoice matches the name on my bank account
• I know whether this is paid on acceptance or on publication
• Automatic late reminders are switched off for this client
• For international payment, I have given details that avoid a SWIFT wire

Work out what the piece needs to earn before you agree it, using the freelance rate calculator.

Payment timing examples are from publications' own stated terms as recorded in BRYME's database and dated on each listing. This is general information, not tax or legal advice.