Written by Jason Montoya. Posted in Freelancing.

How to Invoice As a Freelancer: From a Freelancer Who Effectively & Easily Gets Paid

Note: I'm a paying user of Harpoon (since 2017). I'm also an affiliate partner of Harpoon which means, if you sign up, you can help me create more content for freelancers since I get a 20% commission from your subscription.

Stop searching for that PDF or Docx freelance invoice template and just start using Harpoon instead.

Hi, my name is Jason Scott Montoya and I've been freelancing successfully since 2014. I earn six figures per year and have made $1.4 million freelancing (as of 2024).

As a freelancer and entrepreneur, I've used a variety of invoicing systems (Less Accounting, Quickbooks Online, and Freshbooks). For freelancers (and marketing agencies) the hands-down best system for invoicing is Harpoon. It's not just an invoicing system, it is an invoicing system designed for freelancers.

Let's dive into why you should be using Harpoon and what makes it so awesome.

An Invoice System's Value

Do you want to easily get paid? Yes?
Do you want a system that follows up automatically with clients for you, when they are late? Yes?
Would you like a system that automatically invoices clients' recurring invoices while following up on late ones so you can simply focus on your freelancing work? Yes?

If the answer is yes, it's time for you to sign up for Harpoon.

These three functions of Harpoon's invoicing provide the most value to my freelancing business.

I can't imagine going back to the way I used to do it.

Let's explore.

Easily Get Paid

If you need to invoice a client and get paid today, simply sign up for Harpoon, connect your stripe account and you're ready to roll.

If you don't have a Stripe account for credit cards, they also make it easy to sign up and start getting credit card payments today.

Once you're set up on Harpoon and Stripe, create your client, create an invoice and soon you'll be getting paid. It's so easy, you can create an invoice in minutes.Mine are even branded with my logo and colors.

To pay, your client simply clicks the invoice link and they can pay via credit card or ACH direct deposit.

Not yet convinced? Keep reading. These automated reminders are awesome!

Automatic Reminders

When you set up the invoice, you'll set your payment terms.

Once the invoice is late, Harpoon will immediately send an invoice reminder. You can set the templates for the subject and message of these subsequent reminders.

Freelancers don't have time to become a collection agency so this automatic reminder system is key to letting me stay focused on the project work and not get distracted by following up with clients. The low cost of Harpoon far outweighs the stress of collections and issues you'll face when payment is delayed. Instead of hiring an admin or collection company, just start using Harpoon.

What's also awesome is how Harpoon lets you know if a client has viewed an invoice (which you can see in the system and get an email notification). No more wondering whether they got it. You'll know each date they view the invoice. Get ready to see a series of view-tracking moments as your client passes through their billing department.

I had one situation where a client said they had not gotten the invoice but Harpoon had shown they had viewed the invoice. I was able to leverage this visibility to sort out the issue with my client and get paid.

Harpoon puts the power in the hands of freelancers so they get paid and don't have to get frustrated with working as a billing department when what they want to do is design or strategize.

Automatic Recurring Invoices

I've got a large enough number of recurring services with my clients that it would be way too much work and effort every month to remember what each client needs to be billed for, what amount they owe me, and how often I should send that invoice.

With Harpoon's automatic recurring invoices, I can set and forget my recurring invoices for these services and monthly client retainers.

The more clients I get on my monthly recurring invoices system, the more automated is my income. I simply do the work and Harpoon takes care of the rest.

For clients that are willing, they also have the option to pay these recurring invoices automatically so they can set and forget it too.

It's awesome to see monthly deposits go into my Stripe and then bank account all without me doing a thing.

Other Awesome Invoicing Functions by Harpoon

The value of Harpoon is not limited to just the features I've outlined above. Other awesome functions make invoicing better for freelancers.

Freelance Templates! Here's what Harpoon says about its invoice templates.

"Stunning Template Designs: Impress your clients with clean, professionally designed invoices & estimates. Add your company's logo, branding color accents, and header design. Customize all the information that appears on your invoices, and personalize the automated emails that get sent to your clients. Beautiful!"

If you are looking for freelance templates, you can stop because Harpoon is much better than an emailed PDF or Docx file.

Harpoon will also tell you how long, on average, it takes for each client to pay you. This clarity is great for gauging the quality of the client, in terms of quickly paying. It also provides a baseline to compare against if the client is late to pay. If the time that has passed is longer than the average time, it's a helpful indicator for investigating further.

Without getting too deep into Harpoon's reporting, invoices are tethered to clients and can be connected to projects. These connections allow for the total reporting of income by the client and by each project. With Harpoon's time tracking and expense tracking, these reports can also be connected with time and expense-related reports for the client and project.

And lastly, creating invoices is a breeze. Simply click the create button, add your line items and details, and hit send. Harpoon will take care of the rest.

The Cost of Harpoon & No Commitment Required

While the marketing agency package is $99 per month, the freelancer option is only $19 per month!

And, if you're just getting started with freelancing, it's only $9 per month if you have 3 or fewer clients.

Plus, if you're still not sure Harpoon is a good fit, they offer a 14-day free trial. So, sign up and give it a try. Personally discover if it's as awesome for you as it has been for me.

When I had my marketing company, I wish I had a system like Harpoon. It would have made my life and company operations so much better.

But, thankfully I discovered Harpoon as a freelancer and it's been a vital component of my freelancing success.

The Secret Sauce That Makes Harpoon So Powerful

"The goal is not to sell what we have to people who need it. The goal is to do business with people who believe what we believe." - Simon Sinek

My first book, Path of the Freelancer, is the blueprint for my freelancing success. Throughout the pages, I mapped out the proven habits and systems required to master the business of one (freelancing).

Many of these systems were ones I was managing manually using spreadsheets and other software. But when I discovered Harpoon, I didn't just find a tool that captured these functions, I discovered a company that embodied these values and vision. Simply put, the features I needed resulted from the core values we shared.

This is most clear in Harpoon's method, a set of four rules that guide the company's design of the software.

These rules so effectively translate from my Path of the Freelancer book that it's as if they read it and built the system using it as a guide.

In reality, we both discovered something that mattered and was effective in growing a freelance business. This is great because it means that their shared beliefs will guide the evolution of the software to continue making it better for us independent contractors.

For Harpoon, it's not just a software as a service but is a business partnership I couldn't image doing without them.

There are many invoicing systems out there, but Harpoon is a unique software for freelancing folks unlike any of those other options. If you're a freelancer who's ready to leap, Harpoon can empower you to focus on your freelance work. Give it a try today.