How should a musician review an invoice before sending it?
Published · Updated · Clef
Before sending an invoice, compare the work described with your agreement, check the client and supplier details, and read the payment instructions as a first-time recipient would. Then review the email and selected supporting files together. In Clef, the final review lets you inspect the invoice alongside its delivery details.
What should I have beside the invoice?
Put the accepted scope, the client’s billing details, and any agreed changes beside the draft. Treat those as three separate checks: what you were asked to do, who should be billed, and what changed after the original booking. A message approving extra editing is useful evidence when it can be matched to the work described. If you work with external representatives or talent buyers, confirm payment terms in advance with our partner guide on how booking agents work with indie artists.
For Canadian sole proprietors and partnerships, CRA’s business-records guidance lists sales invoices and contracts among the original documents supporting income entries. Keep the agreement with your own records even when it does not belong in the client email. The CRA source is linked below; this checklist does not determine tax treatment or replace your accountant’s review.
Does the invoice describe the work you agreed to?
Start with the booking confirmation, accepted quote, or written scope. Give each charge a description your client can recognise: the recording date, the session or project, and the work delivered. If an extra revision was agreed separately, make that agreement easy to match to its own line.
Read quantities, rates, currency, and the resulting amounts together. A correct total can still contain an unclear description. Avoid using a project nickname as the only explanation when the person approving payment was not in the studio.
Who will receive and approve the invoice?
Confirm the billing name with your client, then check the destination email independently. The artist who booked you and the person handling accounts may be different people. Ask which recipient should receive the invoice before you send it.
In Clef, changing the recipient in the send-review dialog affects that email only. It does not update the client record. If the billing contact has changed permanently, review the saved client details as a separate task.
Can the client understand how and when to pay?
Read the supplier identity, invoice number, due date, and payment instructions from the client’s point of view. Check that the instructions belong to the business issuing this invoice. Resolve any uncertainty about the agreed payment terms before sending.
Give the email a useful subject and a short message naming the work. Clef includes a View & Pay Invoice link and an invoice summary in its delivery email. The message can explain the handover without copying the whole invoice into the email.
Which supporting files belong with this invoice?
Include only files that help explain this particular charge. A session timesheet or an agreed expense receipt may be useful; a folder of unrelated studio documents is not. Open the files yourself and check that they contain no other client’s details. Attach signed contracts, deposit records, or expense receipts organized through digital receipt filing that explain the billed lines.
In Clef’s review dialog, choose which supporting files to include. Check the selection before sending, and treat a file marked Previously shared as already disclosed, even if you leave it out of a later email.
What are Clef’s supporting-file limits?
Clef accepts PDF, PNG, JPEG, and CSV supporting files, with a maximum of 4 MB per file and up to 10 files on an invoice. Those are product limits checked against Clef’s attachment validation, not a recommendation to fill every available slot.
For a session invoice, one short timesheet may explain the work better than several exported screenshots. Give the document a descriptive filename and make sure any receipt belongs to the agreed charge. Keep a separate private copy of the original supporting record.
What would a final review look like for a recording session?
Constructed example, in CAD: a musician invoices a recording session for $600 and a separately agreed editing session for $200. The service subtotal is $800. These invented amounts illustrate scope review only; they do not model tax or a complete invoice.
Match both descriptions to the agreement. Check that the editing session is genuinely additional work, rather than a duplicate of something included in the original fee. Confirm the client’s billing contact, read the payment instructions, and include the relevant session record if it helps explain the work.
In Clef, use the Review & send invoice dialog to inspect the saved invoice beside the recipient, subject, message, and file selection. If you spot an amount or description that needs changing, return to editing and review the saved result again.
What else should I know?
Can I send to several recipients in one delivery?
Clef’s delivery validation accepts one recipient email address. Confirm the appropriate billing contact rather than entering a comma-separated list.
How large can the selected email attachments be?
The selected attachments must total 10 MB or less. Check the combined size, rather than assuming each file being accepted means the whole selection fits.
Can I recall an attachment that was already emailed?
Deselecting a file from a later delivery cannot recall a copy already emailed. Removing access to a stored file is different from recovering a document a recipient has downloaded.
What should I do if delivery is awaiting confirmation?
Use Retry delivery for the same pending delivery. Clef preserves its recipient, message, and files while confirmation is pending. Follow the displayed status before attempting another send.