Recurring invoices: billing subscriptions as a freelancer

Do you work with fixed monthly amounts, a service contract or a retainer? Then typing out the same invoice every month is a waste of your time. With recurring invoices you automate it. Here is how it works and what to watch for.

When are recurring invoices handy?

As soon as you invoice a client the same amount on a fixed schedule, automating pays off. Think of:

• retainers: a fixed monthly amount for ongoing availability or maintenance;
• service contracts: support, hosting or updates per month or quarter;
• subscriptions: access to something for a periodic amount.

Instead of making a new invoice each period, you record the subscription once and the invoice rolls out by itself.

Send an invoice or collect automatically?

Two flavours, with an important difference:

• Sending an invoice yourself that the client pays manually. Simple, you keep control, and the client pays at their own moment.
• Automatic direct debit, where you collect the amount. That requires a mandate from the client and usually a service like Mollie or a collection partner. Handy with many clients, but it does not arrange itself.

For most freelancers with a handful of fixed clients, an automatically generated invoice you send yourself is the nicest balance between convenience and control.

Mind the right VAT moment

Under the invoice system the invoice date counts for your VAT return, not when the client pays. A December monthly invoice paid in January therefore still belongs to the fourth quarter. With recurring invoices that is actually convenient: the pattern is predictable, so your VAT return is easy to plan.

Keep it personal

Automating does not mean losing sight of the client. Check a recurring invoice before it goes out, especially if something about the job changed, and adjust the amount if needed. A wrong amount you correct with a credit invoice.

In Finq you record a client subscription once, with interval and amount, and Finq turns it into a draft invoice each period. You check and send; pausing or stopping is always possible. See how recurring invoices work.