5 Steps To Create A Professional Invoice as an Artist

We include the invoice number, date, and due date at the top of each invoice. You can use a six-digit invoice number format in which the first two digits are for the year in question, and the last four are used to count the invoices.

E.g., the first invoice of 2024 is 240001, the fifth invoice of 2024 is 240005, the tenth invoice of 2024 is 240010, and so on.

Set the invoice date to the date you are sending the invoice to your client. Set the due date to the date 15 or 30 days after the invoice date.

E.g., if your invoice date is April 1, 2024, your due date becomes April 16, 2024. 

Up next, we have to write down our invoice information and the invoice information of the client. Write down ‘From,’ referring to you as the seller, and make sure to include all your details, including your name, address, tax ID (if applicable), phone number, email address, and website. You could add “Hereinafter referred to as the Artist” to anticipate writing your terms of sale efficiently.

Next to your invoice information, we want to write the client’s information below ‘Bill to.’ Try to be as complete as possible here as well, but if you do not have all the information, just their name, address, or email address can be sufficient.

In the middle of the invoice, we have arguably the most important part of the document: the invoice table listing the artwork(s) they are purchasing. Make sure to include a thumbnail image of your artwork to avoid any confusion and mention the complete metadata of the artwork in the description, encompassing the artist’s name, the title, the year, the medium/surface, the dimensions, and if the artwork is unique or part of an edition. Possible additional items include more artwork, door-to-door shipping, or a discount. Enter the prices of all individual items in the final column.

In the bottom row, we can add tax costs—if applicable—calculate the total cost, mention the amount that has already been paid in case of having received a deposit, and at the very bottom, in bold, the amount that is due.

At the bottom of the invoice, we want to share the necessary instructions and details to complete payment. Specify if you wish to receive payment within 15 or 30 days, and refer to your terms of sale where the client can find more information.

Write down your bank details for a wire transfer, but I would also advise you to add a PayPal account to allow other payment methods besides a direct bank transfer (e.g., credit card, iDeal, American Express, …)—having an account is free of charge, but please note that fees may apply on the transaction, as is the case with international bank transfers. To make this process easier, you can also send your client a direct payment request with PayPal when sending the invoice to them. By doing so, the payment happens in a safe and swift way with a platform people trust.

We conclude our invoice template with an addendum: the terms of sale. A Terms of Sale document outlines the conditions under which a sale is conducted between two parties: the artist and the collector. It is a crucial component in providing a legal framework that governs the sale of art, designed to ensure clarity and agreement on various aspects of the transaction, protecting the rights and obligations of both parties involved. For instance, in the general terms of sale that we advise to use in the CAI Invoice Template, we discuss the ownership & copyright of the artwork, the care & preservation, the display & loans of the work, the conditions for resale and transfers, damage or loss, the payment terms, the shipping conditions, and to conclude the import costs.