Invoicing me

If you’re a subcontractor requesting payment, I will need a proper invoice for my records.

There are some guidelines and requirements (below) that will make sure the bookkeepers and tax authorities don’t get too worked up, but if you already have a good invoicing tool, your invoices probably comply with normal standards.

It’s easiest if you attach your invoice as a pdf to an email, and send it to christian@nextpage.no.

If you prefer to send your invoices by traditional mail, address them to:

Laytr AS
c/o Chris Nordtømme
Saltboveien 25
1560 Larkollen
Norway

Laytr’s VAT number is:

NO 912 160 475 MVA

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Requirements

Now, about those guidelines and requirements I mentioned …

The invoice should ideally be a separate document, in pdf-format (so it can’t be edited), that contains the following information:

  • Name and Address of the seller. Who is requesting payment (normally you or your company), and how may someone get in touch with you with questions?

  • Name and Address of the buyer. That would be my company’s name: Laytr AS:

    Laytr AS
    Saltboveien 25
    1560, Larkollen, Norway
    christian@nextpage.no

  • Invoice Date. Normally the date on which the invoice is created and sent. It is preferable, but not required, that you send the invoice the same month the work was delivered.

  • Due Date. The day the invoice should be paid. Please allow at least two weeks.

  • How to pay. Bank information, like account numbers, IBAN/Swift info for international payments.

    • If you wish to be paid through PayPal (despite the outrageously high fees), include the correct email address to use.

    • I would recommend Wise instead. (It is good for inexpensive, fast international payments. Sign up with my affiliate link if you make a lot of international transfers.)

    • Some invoicing tools also have integration with Stripe, for easy, inexpensive credit card payments.

  • Line items with:

    • A brief description of the work. For each separate item, a few words saying what we are paying for, as well as when and where it was delivered/done. Please be careful to specify the project or client. E.g. Design for Project X. Remote work. Delivered Jan. 1. 2018

    • Amount and Price pr. item. E.g. XX hours at $YY pr. hour.

  • Any amount already paid. I.e. deposits, advances, or other partial payments.

  • The total amount due.

Also, depending on the situation, you may have to include

  • An Invoice Number. A unique and sequential ID for each invoice is required by law for Norwegian companies, but the rules may vary from country to country. If in doubt, include one.

  • Taxes. VAT, Sales tax or other taxes and fees you collect should be clearly specified and itemized on the invoice.

  • Discounts, etc. Any discounts, rebates or advances to be subtracted from the total, should be specified on the invoice.

If your invoicing application doesn’t have all the necessary fields, there is usually a Notes Field where you can enter additional information.

Again: Please send the finished invoice to christian@nextpage.no.

Tools

If you don’t already have a good system for creating invoices, there are many tools available that can help you. For example:

  • There are many free invoice generators online. Wise has one. There’s also one available from within Stripe. These may be easiest for making just a quick one-off invoice.

  • There are more specialized invoicing webapps, like Invoicely (freemium) or Zervant (free). These may be better suited if you will send more invoices in the future, but don’t need the accounting features.

  • Fiverr Workspace (previously And.Co) is a lightweight suite of business software for Freelancers & Studios, which also includes time tracking, proposals, contracts and more.

  • A full-fledged accounting application, like Wave Accounting (free) or Freshbooks (popular, with free trial). This option might be good for you if you need bookkeeping/accounting, too.