• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

CommuniKait

A Hawaii Lifestyle Blog + Travel Blog By Kait Hanson

  • Home
  • About Kait
  • Travel
    • Africa
      • South Africa
      • Kenya
      • Morocco
    • Asia
      • Bali
      • Thailand
    • Europe
      • Italy
    • Hawaii
      • Big Island
      • Kauai
      • Lanai
      • Maui
      • Oahu
    • Iceland
    • Oceania
      • Moorea
      • Tahaa
    • USA
    • Travel Tips
  • Food
    • Eat
    • Drink
  • Lifestyle
    • Life
    • Pets
    • Fitness
    • Home
    • Beauty
    • Fashion
  • Work
    • Portfolio
    • Let’s work Together
  • Get In Touch
  • Gift Guides
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

How To Get Paid As A Freelancer

Life, Lifestyle · November 24, 2020 · Leave a Comment

Just starting out in your career as being your own boss? Here’s how to get paid as a freelancer!

If there is one thing I could go back and tell myself about being a full time freelancer, it’s that the only person who is in charge of making sure I get paid IS ME. Freelancing isn’t like a normal job where you fill out paperwork once and then just start getting an automatic paycheck deposited into your bank account. Today I’m talk a little bit more in depth about how to get paid as a freelancer…

How To Get Paid As A Freelancer - Just starting out in your career as being your own boss? Here's how to get paid as a freelancer! | Ways To Get Paid As a Freelancer - Freelance Work - Getting Paid For Freelance Work - Freelance Writing

How To Get Paid As a Freelancer

Getting paid for freelance work often means filling out the same forms over and over again. It means making sure you have an invoice template. It means following up on payments. It means keeping track of who owes what. It means tracking down lost and missing payments. And the only person who cares enough to do any of this…has to be you.

So, where do you start?

Keep Detailed Records Of Work

I cannot stress enough how important it is to track and maintain records for freelance work. In the beginning, it felt really silly to me. “Of course I’m going to remember that so-and-so owes me $400!” I can still hear those words in my head with a little post-it note stuck on my desk. But as the years have gone on and I’ve maintained clients and even taken on full-time contracting work, my workload has increased and my bandwidth for remembering it all has decreased. I keep a running spreadsheet of what I wrote, for what company, and how much is owed. This makes follow-up really easy!

Getting Paid For Freelance Work

The reality is that editors and companies are doing the same thing as you – balancing a myriad of freelancers. It is not your editor’s job to track down payments for you. Once you submit all your initial paperwork to them (usually W-9 and any requested portfolio work), it’s up to you to follow their invoice procedures to ensure you get paid. All companies tend to have different procedures, so pay attention to what information they request to avoid any payment delays.

Ways To Get Paid As A Freelancer

Different outlets pay in different ways. It’s important to note that not all companies are going to be able to pay you with direct deposit and that’s completely normal. Some pay in paper checks, some pay using PayPal, and some pay using Square Cash. When dealing with international outlets, make sure you also notate whether or not a wire transfer fee is involved and bill accordingly.

When getting paid, it’s also important to note how long it takes companies to make payments. Do they pay on net 30, net 60, or net 90? This is important to note in your record of work, because it helps for follow-up purposes. You don’t want to inquire about a “late” payment if the company pays on a net-90 basis. 

Speaking of late payments, my last piece of advice is to never hesitate to ask questions. If you have kept a detailed record of your work and payment schedule and see a discrepancy, inquire! The amount of times I’ve done this is beyond count and it has almost always resulted in my editor saying something fell through the cracks on their end. Had I not kept records, I wouldn’t have been paid! 

I hope this post has been helpful for anyone starting their freelance career. If you enjoyed this post, you might also like How To Start Freelance Writing or How To Be Productive When You Work From Home

Related Posts

  • HOW TO OPTIMIZE SEO USING KEYWORDS | How To Find Keywords For SEO How To Improve SEO Using Keyword Research
  • How To Work With Brands As A Blogger - Sharing the different ways bloggers work with brands, plus a template for pitching brands directly! | How To Make Money Blogging - Blog Sponsorships - Business Behind BloggingHow To Work With Brands As A Blogger
  • How I Hit 100,000 Page Views Per Month On My Blog - Sharing every detail for how I eventually hit 100,000 page views (or more) per month + continue to grow! - Blogging SEO - How To Start A Blog - Blogging Tips - Pageviews - Page ViewsHow I Hit 100,000 Page Views Per Month On My Blog
Previous Post: « Luxury Hotels In Cape Town – Which One Is Right For You?
Next Post: 5 Things I Love Friday »

Primary Sidebar

Kait Hanson, author of Communikait, a travel blog & Hawaiian lifestyle blog
Let's get this party started

I'm Kait, the creative behind Communikait, a travel blog & Hawaiian lifestyle blog packed with loads of color and designed to inspire you to live your very best life. Whether you've come for recipes, travel ideas, photos of Hawaii or to simply say hello - I'm glad you're here!

Hawaii Travel Blog & Lifestyle Blog

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to Communikait + receive notifications of new posts by email!

Join 106 other subscribers


THE FINE PRINT

Posts may contain affiliate links to help support my blogging activities. Cost will be the same to you, but I receive a small compensation. For more information, view my Privacy Policy. Thank you in advance for your support!

 

Hawaii Travel Blog & Lifestyle Blog

 

CommuniKait © 2021 · BRANDING BY HARPER MAVEN DESIGN · Website by 259 West