"Send me the bill."

"Email me an invoice for your services."

Don't freak out when you get this message from clients, this only means that they're trying to pay you. 🙂

Working with direct clients, I have explored different options for sending invoices - from manually creating them in MS Word, emailing them as PDF attachments, and even using paid tools such as Freshbooks, Anchor, etc.

But if there's an invoicing tool I'd recommend to newbies, it would be Paypal's Invoicing Tool easily because it's free and easy-to-use.

I use this a lot these days and for a free tool, I'd say it does a great job.

Why You Should Use PayPal Invoicing:

• It's more convenient for you and for your clients.

You can send invoices in seconds and clients can pay you in a few clicks.

Remember, clients are busy, human beings and they forget things too. So the easier and more convenient your payment method is, the less likely they'll forget your pay.

• No more awkward "Where's my pay?" emails.

I don't think anyone enjoys following-up on payments.

But I'm sure we'd all do it when necessary.

• Using it is very straightforward.

Let me show you how quick and easy the entire process is.

Quick Steps on How to Send Invoices:

(1) From inside your PayPal account, simply go to Tools > Invoicing:

(2) Click on +Create.

(3) You'll find various templates or even create your own.

I like using the default one: Invoice for Amount Only because it suits most of my invoicing needs as a freelancer.

(4) Using this template, upload your logo (optional, although you can easily make one using Canva) then fill in the form as highlighted on the picture.

(5) Let's quickly look at the 2 other templates, before we proceed.

This Invoice for Hours template is great if you're on an hourly contract.

The Invoice for Quantity template might not be so applicable to freelancers. It's mostly for businesses that sell physical products.

(6) After completing the invoice details, you can either send the invoice, save it as a draft, or even schedule to send it at a future date.

The advanced scheduling feature is very helpful when managing multiple clients (especially when you're on monthly retainers), so you can avoid missing anyone.

Trust me, I've forgotten to bill clients before.  

This is how your invoice looks like. See how professional it looks? And we didn't spend much time making it.

(7) Too shy to follow-up for payments? Paypal's got that covered too.

Under Manage Invoices, just click on the Remind button to send your client a reminder email.

It should appear on their Inbox like this:

Easy enough, huh?

If you don't have a PayPal account yet, create one here. It's free!

So, what other questions or concerns do you have about direct clients in general?

Let me know in the comments below. 😉 Happy freelancing!