Invoicing Software for Graphic Designers

Put the price on an estimate before you start, with a line for each part of the work: the concepts, the revision rounds included, the final files and any usage fee. Billed's help center says: "Click 'Add a line item' and fill this section to add new items and services." Billed's features page says you can "Save products and services in Billed App and pull these products quickly in your invoices." Services you sell more than once, such as a logo package or an hour of revisions, then don't need retyping.

Billed's features page also says "your clients can approve or reject your estimates online", and that you can "Attach important files and images with your estimates." A brief or a mood board can go with the quote. Once the client approves, you can "Convert your estimate to invoice with a single click after getting approval from your client."

In the US, the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook (page last modified October 29, 2026) says "Graphic designers held about 253,100 jobs in 2025", and its table of the largest employers lists self-employed workers at 20%. Among the duties it lists are "Meet with clients or the art director to determine the scope of a project" and "Incorporate changes recommended by clients or art directors into final designs".

Billed's help center says "A payment schedule lets you add a payment plan to the invoices." When you set one up, you "Choose a suitable option among percentage or flat amount" and "Fill out the payment amount and due date of each payment." The article adds that "the sum of all the payments should be equal to the total balance of the invoice."

For a brand project, that can be a deposit due when the client approves and the balance due when you deliver the final files. The help article says clients "can make payments on due dates as per schedule."

These are sample figures. A designer quotes a brand identity for a cafe on one estimate: logo design 1,200.00, brand guidelines 600.00 and a usage fee for packaging 300.00, a total of 2,100.00 with two revision rounds included.

The client approves the estimate, and the designer converts it to an invoice with a payment schedule: 50% (1,050.00) due on approval and the other 1,050.00 due on delivery of the final files.

Halfway through, the client asks for a third revision round. The designer sends a new estimate for 3 hours at 75.00, or 225.00, and starts once it's approved.

In all, the client is billed 2,325.00. The sample leaves out sales tax, so ask your accountant whether design work or a usage fee is taxable where you work.

When a client asks for more rounds than the estimate included, price the extra round on a new estimate and start once it's approved. The original price and the extra work then sit on separate documents, each with its own approval. A usage or licensing fee can go on its own line, named for what it covers, so the client sees it apart from the design work.

In the US, the Copyright Office's circular on works made for hire (Circular 30, revised August 2024) says: "Ordinarily, the author is the person or persons who actually created the work you intend to register." It also says a work made for hire can be one where "a certain type of work is created as a result of an express written agreement between the creator and a party specially ordering or commissioning the work." Who owns a design and what the client may do with it depends on your contract. This page doesn't cover copyright transfers or licensing terms, so ask a lawyer.

For a client who needs design work every month, Billed's invoice software page says: "For clients you bill on a schedule, set up a recurring profile once." Billed's time tracking page says "Billed breaks your time down by day and by week, so a missing entry is easy to spot before you bill."

When you pay for printing or stock images for a client, Billed's expense tracking page says: "Attach the receipt when you record the expense, and it stays with that entry in your Billed account." Add the cost to the client's invoice as its own line, so it's separate from your fee.

Billed's invoice software page answers "How do my clients pay invoices online?" with: "Connect Stripe and each invoice gets a pay button for card payments, or connect PayPal to add a PayPal option. Payments made by check or cash can be recorded in Billed as offline payments."