Finished work, no invoice? A 10-minute check for freelancers

Review every piece of work periodically

Once a week, take each delivered or active collab in turn. Write down what was agreed, what was delivered, whether approval is required and still outstanding, whether the billing trigger happened, whether a PO/reference is missing, and whether an invoice was actually issued. Give the next action an owner and a review date. If approval is not a condition, do not manufacture an approval chase.

Collab and agreed work

Delivered and date

Approval required? Status

Billing trigger reached?

PO/reference missing?

Invoice issued and sent?

Next action

Action owner and review date

First, find the agreed billing trigger

Finished does not always mean invoiceable. Your agreement might trigger invoicing on delivery, client approval, a project stage or a fixed date. Find the actual term before creating anything. If approval is required and has not arrived, ask for it; do not quietly rewrite the deal because your files are complete.

This check matters in both directions. It catches money you have earned and prevents you from invoicing the same fee twice.

A ten-minute check

1. Open your active and recently completed jobs.
2. Compare each job with the agreed brief and billing trigger.
3. Check delivered files, links and the dated message that sent them.
4. Check approval messages only where approval was agreed, and any unresolved feedback.
5. Compare the job with your invoice list: no invoice, draft or sent?
6. Check bank or payment records for deposits, part payments or a payment under a different payer name.

If you use a bank CSV, note what dates it actually covers. An old import cannot tell you whether the client paid yesterday, and no bank file is still useful information: it means you need to check manually before chasing.

A worked example

Name the real state

Two messages you can adapt

Subject: [project] — completion and approval

Hi [name],

The agreed [deliverables or milestone] for [project] were delivered on [date]. If our agreement requires approval before invoicing, could you confirm approval or send the remaining consolidated feedback by [date]? If approval is not required, I will use the agreed delivery or milestone trigger instead.

Under our agreement, [approval / delivery / milestone] is the trigger for the next invoice. Once that trigger is met, I will send the invoice to [billing contact or accounts email].

Thanks,
[your name]

Subject: Invoice [invoice number] — [project]

Hi [name],

Attached is invoice [invoice number] for [deliverable or agreed milestone], issued on [date] and due on [due date]. The amount due is [amount and currency].

Please let me know if this needs a purchase order number or should go to a different accounts contact.

Thanks,
[your name]

Before you send the invoice

Confirm the billing entity, accounts email and any purchase order number the client requires. Record the invoice issue date and the date you actually sent it. Calculate the due date using the payment terms you agreed. A PDF sitting in drafts has not been issued.

Keep the brief, delivery proof, approval, invoice and payment record together. DUE can help you keep that chain visible; it does not automatically send invoices or connect to a live bank feed. The checklist works just as well without an account.