Best practice for invoicing when working onsite

Question

Most of the freelance projects I take on involve working remotely, for a fixed price. I'll then take a deposit before starting work and invoice for the rest on completion.

However on occasion I find myself working at clients' offices for a day rate and I find billing a little more tricky.

In the event that there's any dispute over how many days work I've actually done, how do I prove it?

And would it be acceptable for me to invoice every week? As I feel most places expect an invoice once per month, but I dont like the idea of doing an entire month's work up front without having had any form of payment.

Answer 1

In the event that there's any dispute over how many days work I've actually done, how do I prove it?

Do these clients use a time tracking tool for their employees? If so, ask them to set you up to use it. Then track your time like an employee would.

You should also be using your own project and time tracking tool. There are a number of free and inexpensive solutions available. I use this: https://myhours.com

And would it be acceptable for me to invoice every week?

That's going to prove to be cumbersome for you and for your clients. Most businesses aren't going to accept this type of payment schedule as it falls outside of their normal practice. I bill my clients once a month for the previous month's work. The key is to adjust your personal budget accordingly.

As far as trust is concerned, the client has to trust that you're actually performing the work that you're billing for and you have to trust that they'll pay you for this work. This isn't unique. Every business, whether client or vendor, has to have trust in the other party. If you have a situation where a client doesn't want to pay you for your work then you have to resort to legal means to try and get paid.