Free Freelance Writer Invoice Template

Freelance writers earn an average of 30 to 50 percent less than their actual market value because they undercharge, underinvoice, and underchase. The good writers who treat their work as a business invoice professionally, get paid on time, and end up earning two to three times what equally talented writers earn. This guide gives you a free freelance writer invoice template along with the pricing models, payment terms, and collection moves that work in the US content market.

What Every Freelance Writer Invoice Should Include

Writing invoices are often informal. They should not be. Every freelance writer invoice should include the following.

• Writer name (legal name as filed with IRS) and business name if applicable
• Federal Tax ID Number: SSN for sole proprietors, EIN for LLCs (many writers form single-member LLCs)
• Address, phone, email
• Client name, company, billing address, accounts payable contact
• Invoice number (sequential, no gaps)
• Date issued
• Project reference: PO number, project code, or contract reference
• Description of work with deliverables, dates, and rates
• Subtotal, applicable sales tax (writing services typically exempt), total
• Payment terms: Net 14, Net 30, or due upon receipt
• Late payment terms: 1.5 percent monthly service charge after due date
• Acceptable payment methods: ACH, check, wire, or card (with surcharge if applicable)
• Bank details for ACH or wire
• Project ownership and usage rights statement
• Thank you and next project hook

The most overlooked field: bank details for ACH. Most US companies prefer ACH for invoices over $500 because it is cheaper than check or card. Make it easy.

Generate clean freelance writer invoices in three minutes with the free invoice generator.

US Freelance Writing Pricing Anchors for 2026

Use these as your baseline. Adjust for niche, experience, and client size.

Per word rates (most common for content):

• Beginner content writing: $0.05 to $0.15 per word
• Intermediate B2C content: $0.15 to $0.40 per word
• Advanced B2B content: $0.40 to $1.00 per word
• Specialty (finance, medical, legal): $0.75 to $3.00 per word
• Top-tier B2B and ghostwriting: $1.00 to $5.00+ per word

Per hour rates:

• Entry-level content: $35 to $75 per hour
• Mid-career content: $75 to $185 per hour
• Senior content / strategy: $145 to $325 per hour
• Specialty editorial and ghostwriting: $200 to $500+ per hour

Per project rates (most profitable for experienced writers):

• Standard 1,500-word blog post: $300 to $1,800
• Long-form pillar content (3,000+ words): $1,200 to $5,000
• White paper (5,000 to 8,000 words): $3,500 to $15,000
• Ebook (15,000+ words): $7,500 to $35,000
• Book ghostwriting: $20,000 to $250,000+
• Sales page (long-form): $2,500 to $25,000+
• Email sequence (5 emails): $1,500 to $7,500
• Case study: $1,200 to $4,500
• Press release: $300 to $1,500

Retainer arrangements:

• Monthly content retainer (4 posts): $2,000 to $8,000
• Strategic editorial retainer: $3,500 to $15,000 per month
• Ghostwriting retainer (executive thought leadership): $5,000 to $25,000+ per month

Add-ons:

• Strategy and research deep dive: $500 to $2,500 per project
• SEO research and brief: $250 to $1,500 per piece
• Interviews with sources: $150 to $500 per interview
• Image sourcing and graphics: $200 to $1,000 per project
• Rush turnaround (under 48 hours): 30 to 50 percent surcharge
• Additional revision rounds beyond included: $150 to $500 per round

Per-word rates by content type:

• Blog posts (general consumer): $0.15 to $0.50
• Blog posts (B2B SaaS): $0.40 to $1.20
• White papers: $0.75 to $2.00
• Case studies: $0.60 to $1.50
• Email copy: $0.50 to $2.00
• Sales landing pages: $1.00 to $3.50
• Long-form journalism: $0.50 to $2.50
• Technical writing: $0.50 to $1.50
• Ghostwriting books: $0.10 to $1.00 (depends on advance and credit)
• Press releases: $0.25 to $0.75

Per-project rates:

• 800-word blog post: $200 to $850
• 1,500-word B2B blog post: $600 to $1,800
• 5-page white paper: $2,500 to $8,500
• 2-page case study: $1,200 to $3,500
• Email sequence (5 emails): $1,200 to $4,500
• Sales page (long-form): $2,500 to $15,000
• Website rewrite (5-7 pages): $3,500 to $12,000

Hourly rates:

• Entry-level generalist: $35 to $65
• Mid-career B2B writer: $75 to $145
• Senior specialist (B2B SaaS, finance, health): $125 to $250
• Strategy or consulting: $185 to $400

Monthly retainer:

• 4 posts per month at average $750 each: $3,000
• Content lead retainer (strategy plus 6 posts): $5,500 to $10,000
• Fractional content director: $5,000 to $15,000 monthly

Sample Freelance Writer Invoice

Here is a clean invoice for a B2B content writer.

Invoice INV-2026-0142

Date: 04/30/2026

Writer: Sarah Chen, Sarah Chen Content LLC

EIN: 87-1234567

Address: 482 Maple Street Suite 4, Austin, TX 78704

Phone: (512) 555-0184

Email: sarah@sarahchencontent.com

Client: Acme SaaS Inc.

AP Contact: ap@acmesaas.com

Address: 1820 Tech Drive, San Francisco, CA 94103

Reference PO: PO-2026-0421

Services Delivered:

| Date | Description | Words | Rate | Total |

|---|---|---|---|---|

| 04/08 | Pillar post: The Complete Guide to B2B SaaS Pricing | 3,400 | $0.65/word | $2,210 |

| 04/16 | Blog post: 7 Pricing Mistakes That Kill Growth | 1,800 | $0.65/word | $1,170 |

| 04/22 | Case study: How Acme Helped XYZ Scale | 1,500 | $1.00/word | $1,500 |

| 04/29 | Email sequence: 5-email pricing nurture | 2,200 | $0.75/word | $1,650 |

| Subtotal | | | | $6,530 |

| Sales tax (TX, services exempt) | | | | $0 |

| Total | | | | **$6,530 |

Payment Terms: Net 14 from invoice date (due 05/14/2026)

Late Payment: 1.5 percent monthly service charge after due date

Payment Methods:

• ACH: Routing 123456789, Account 987654321, Name Sarah Chen Content LLC
• Check: Payable to Sarah Chen Content LLC, mail to address above
• Card: 3 percent processing surcharge applies

Project Ownership: Upon receipt of full payment, all rights to the delivered content transfer to Acme SaaS Inc. Sarah Chen Content LLC retains the right to reference completed work in portfolio.

Thank you for the work this month! Project Q2-2 (product page rewrites) kicks off May 5.

This level of professionalism collects 2 to 3 times faster than the typical freelance writer invoice that looks like a paragraph in an email.

Payment Terms That Get Paid Faster

The single biggest factor in writer cash flow is payment terms. Many writers accept Net 30 because that is what the client offers. The best earners negotiate harder.

Due upon receipt: Used for one-time projects with new clients. Customer pays immediately on delivery. Best for fast-cycle work.

Net 14: Standard for established freelance relationships. Reasonable, professional, and collects faster than Net 30.

Net 30: The most common corporate default. Many large companies are slow to update from this. Push for Net 14 in your contract; many will agree.

Net 45 or Net 60: Common in large enterprise. Push back. If the client insists, build the cost of carrying the receivable into your rate.

Milestone billing for large projects: 50 percent at signing, 50 percent on delivery. For multi-month projects, 33 percent at signing, 33 percent at midpoint, 34 percent at delivery. This eliminates the writer-as-financier problem.

Retainer prepayment: Monthly retainer paid in advance, not in arrears. This is standard for serious freelance arrangements.

Never start work without either a signed contract with explicit terms or a paid deposit. Verbal arrangements are unenforceable when the client decides not to pay.

Late Payment Collection Sequence

Freelance writers lose 5 to 15 percent of revenue to late payments and write-offs without a disciplined collection sequence. Follow this.

Day 1 (due date): Friendly reminder email. Just checking on this invoice. Let me know if you need anything from me.

Day 7 past due: Polite escalation. Wanted to make sure this didn't get lost. Please confirm receipt and expected payment date.

Day 14 past due: Direct request with consequence. This is now 14 days past due. Per our agreement, a 1.5 percent monthly service charge applies. Please pay within 7 days to avoid the charge.

Day 30 past due: Formal demand. This is a formal demand for payment of invoice X in the amount of Y, originally due Z. Failure to pay within 14 days will result in suspension of services and potential legal collection action.

Day 45 past due: Stop work, send to collections, or file in small claims for amounts under your state's small claims threshold (usually $5,000 to $15,000). Small claims is cheap, fast, and effective for unpaid invoices.

This sequence recovers 80 to 90 percent of late invoices. The remainder may be uncollectible but is documented for tax write-off.

Project Ownership and Usage Rights

Writing work is intellectual property. Without clear ownership language, the writer and client may have different ideas about what was sold.

Work-for-hire (default in most B2B content): Upon payment, all rights transfer to the client. Writer retains right to portfolio mention. This is the standard for content marketing work.

Licensed use: Writer retains copyright; client gets a license for specified usage. Common in ghostwriting books, journalism, and some editorial work. The license should specify duration, geography, and format.

Exclusive vs non-exclusive: Specify whether the client has exclusive use or whether the writer can resell or repurpose the work.

Portfolio rights: Writer should always retain the right to reference completed work in portfolio, with reasonable confidentiality protections for client information.

Byline rights: Specify whether the work will be published with the writer's byline or as the client's content. Ghostwriting agreements should explicitly state that the client owns the work and writer waives byline rights.

State ownership terms in the contract and reiterate on the invoice. This prevents disputes when the client wants to repurpose work or the writer wants to add it to portfolio.

Building a Stable Freelance Writing Business

The freelance writers who earn $100,000+ annually all have one thing in common: they treat the business of writing as seriously as the craft.

• Maintain a list of 3 to 8 anchor clients on retainer or recurring monthly work
• Diversify so no single client is more than 35 percent of revenue
• Invoice the same day work is delivered. Never end a Friday with unbilled work on your desk.
• Auto-send payment reminders 3 days before due, on due date, and 7 days past due.
• Track every dollar of income and expenses for tax purposes. Self-employment tax is brutal if you under-track expenses.
• Pay quarterly estimated taxes (April 15, June 15, September 15, January 15). The IRS penalty for underpayment is small but real.
• Increase rates annually with all clients. Most clients accept 5 to 15 percent annual increases without complaint.
• Form an LLC and get an EIN. Separates your business identity from your SSN and limits personal liability.

Eonebill.ai automates invoicing, recurring billing, payment reminders, and 1099 income tracking. The right software collapses 4 to 8 hours of weekly admin into 30 to 60 minutes, which is enough margin to take on one more project per week.

See pricing for plans built for freelance writers and solo content businesses.

The freelance writing market is hyper-competitive but rewards professionals who run it like a business. A polished invoice and disciplined collection are the basic infrastructure. Build yours today in the invoice generator.

Revenue stability framework for freelance writers:

The biggest income killer for writers is feast-or-famine billing. The fix is portfolio construction:

• Anchor clients (40-60 percent of revenue): 2-4 retainer clients paying $2,500-$8,000 monthly. These pay rent.
• Project clients (25-40 percent of revenue): One-off white papers, sales pages, case studies. Higher rate per word but unpredictable.
• Long-term partnerships (10-20 percent of revenue): Annual content lead roles or fractional content director engagements at $5k-$15k monthly.
• Equity or royalty stakes (0-10 percent): Founders sometimes offer equity in exchange for content work. Rare but lucrative when it hits.

Annual revenue targets by experience level:

• Year 1-2 full-time freelance: $45,000-$85,000
• Year 3-5: $85,000-$185,000
• Year 6+ with established niche: $150,000-$400,000+

Tax considerations specific to writers:

• Quarterly estimated taxes (federal and state) - missing these triggers penalties
• Self-employment tax: 15.3 percent on net earnings (Social Security + Medicare)
• Home office deduction: simplified method is $5/sqft up to 300 sqft or $1,500/year
• Subscriptions and software: Grammarly, ProWritingAid, Asana, Notion, ChatGPT Plus - all deductible
• Professional development: courses, books, conferences
• Health insurance premium: deductible if self-employed

Set aside 25-30 percent of every invoice into a tax savings account the day the deposit hits. See pricing for tiered plans with accountant-ready P&L export.