How to invoice as a translator

In short: To invoice as a translator, show the unit you priced on, the quantity, and the rate, so a per-word job reads as “2,400 words at €0.12”. Agency work needs the purchase order number on the invoice or it will not be paid, and agencies typically settle on 30 to 60 day terms. Invoice in the currency you agreed, and record the value in your own for your books.

Translation invoicing has a shape most freelance work does not: the price is usually per unit rather than per job, a large share of the work comes from agencies with their own paperwork, and the client is very often in another country and another currency.

The example this guide runs on: 2,400 words at €0.12 a word, so €288, for an agency abroad on 30 day terms, against their purchase order.

For invoicing fundamentals, start with how to invoice a client as a freelancer. This is the translator’s version.

What makes translation invoicing different?

• You bill per unit, not per job. Per word, per line, per page, per hour, or per minute of audio. The invoice has to show the unit, or the client’s system cannot check it.
• Agencies dominate the paperwork. Purchase orders, reference numbers, their own remittance cycles, and sometimes their own self-billing process.
• The work is inherently cross-border. Different country, different currency, different VAT treatment, all as routine.
• Jobs are small and frequent. Ten invoices a month for €200 each is common, which makes admin speed matter far more than it does for someone sending two invoices a month.

How should you price the line on the invoice?

Whatever unit you quoted on, show the maths. A line that reads “Translation services, €288” invites a query. A line that shows the unit does not.

Name the language pair on the line. It costs nothing, it makes the invoice self-explanatory a year later, and agencies handling dozens of freelancers genuinely appreciate it.

Have a minimum fee, and show it as its own line. A 40-word job is not worth €4.80 once you have opened the file, queried a term and raised an invoice. A stated minimum is normal in the industry and easier to apply when it appears on the document as a policy rather than a negotiation.

How to show CAT tool discounts

If you work with translation memory, the agency will often apply a discount grid: full price for new words, less for fuzzy matches, less again for repetitions and exact matches.

Show the bands rather than a single blended figure:

It takes one extra minute and it removes the most common source of translation invoice disputes, because the agency can reconcile your lines against their own analysis file directly. Tally Crow allows up to 10 line items on an invoice, which comfortably covers a banded job with a minimum fee and a rush surcharge on top.

Invoicing agencies: the details that actually block payment

Agency invoices are rejected for process reasons far more often than for price ones.

• The purchase order number. Put it on the invoice. Many agency systems cannot match a payment without it, and nobody will email to tell you, the invoice simply waits.
• Their job reference. If they gave the job a code, repeat it on the line.
• The right entity and the right inbox. Large agencies have multiple legal entities and a dedicated invoicing address. Ask once, save it against the client.
• Their billing cycle. Some agencies only accept invoices in a window at month end, and pay on a fixed date after it. Invoicing on the 2nd instead of the 30th can cost you a month.
• Self-billing. Some agencies raise the invoice themselves on your behalf. If so, do not raise your own as well: you will create a duplicate that has to be credited.

Direct clients are the opposite: no purchase order, no portal, faster payment, and usually a better rate, but you carry the chasing yourself. See how to get clients to pay on time.

How to invoice as a translator, step by step

1. Confirm the unit, rate and any discount grid in writing before you accept the job.
2. Get the purchase order or reference number at the same time, not at invoicing time.
3. Raise the invoice with its own number, in your normal sequence.
4. Show the language pair, the unit and the quantity on each line.
5. Add any surcharge separately, for example a rush or weekend rate, rather than inflating the word rate.
6. Handle VAT for a cross-border client correctly (below).
7. Set the agreed terms, usually 30 days for agencies, and send it inside their billing window.

Saving each agency as a client with its own currency and payment terms is what turns this from a ten-minute job into a two-minute one. In Tally Crow each client carries its own due date, anywhere from 1 to 365 days, so a 30 day agency and a 14 day direct client each get the right date without you working it out.

Getting paid in another currency

Most of a translator’s client list is abroad, so this is routine rather than exceptional. The short version: invoice in the currency you agreed, state it clearly, and record the value in your own currency on the invoice date for your books.

Two practical points. Bank transfer works for any currency, while an online card payment link covers the currencies your processor supports, which for Tally Crow is the set Stripe supports. And international transfers can arrive slightly short because of intermediary bank charges, which is worth stating on the invoice before it happens.

The full detail, including exchange rates and who pays the transfer fees, is in how to invoice a client in a different currency.

On VAT: cross-border services between businesses in the EU often use the reverse charge, where your business client accounts for the VAT instead of you, and your invoice shows no VAT but says why and carries the client’s VAT number. Agencies will usually tell you exactly what they need.

VAT treatment of cross-border services depends on where you and the client are based. Check your obligations, or ask an accountant.

A worked example: a 2,400 word agency job

• Client: the agency’s correct legal entity, with their VAT number
• Reference: their purchase order number, on the invoice
• Line 1: EN>FR translation, 2,400 words at €0.12 = €288.00
• VAT: reverse charge, with the note and their VAT number
• Total: €288.00
• Terms: 30 days, sent inside their month-end billing window
• Payment: bank transfer to your euro account, IBAN and BIC on the invoice

One line, one number, and everything their system needs to match it. For the full checklist of what belongs on any invoice, see what to put on an invoice.

Small invoices, sent fast

Translation is a high-volume, small-invoice business, so the value is in speed and in not losing track of any. Saved clients with their own currency and terms, numbering handled for you, VAT and reverse charge on the document, and a clear view of which agencies have not paid. Tally Crow does that in any currency, starting free with 2 invoices a month and no credit card. See features and pricing.