This is sort of a follow on from my last post about setting my pay rates as a solo performer.

Had my first gig at one of my new jobs this weekend. It went pretty well. The guy in charge told me to email him my invoice and that's how he'd pay me (we had agreed on my pay rate via email.)

Usually for my performance gigs, I just get cash in hand. I'm not sure how to do up an invoice? Do I need to get an ABN for tax reasons if I am submitting an invoice? I don't want to get caught put at tax time.

Can someone help?

Jim did some computer work on the side for my uncles company for years, and they asked for an invoice one time, and we were sort of in the same boat. We were like "Invoice? Zuh?"

We just went on Excel, and they have an invoice template, and we used that.

You should do your taxes as you'd normally do them. He just needs the invoice so he can show his accountant where their money is going.

I work for an accountant and we do an invoice system. If you'd like me to e-mail you the basic format I use, I certainly can. Just PM me your e-mail.

Otherwise, I usually do a 'header' with my name

Include the date of the invoice, your contact information and address, their contact information and address, and then a listing of the hours you worked, what you did, your pay rate, any additional cost (Ex, if there was anything they said they'd cover for you such as food,drink) and then a total. I also have 'Thank you for your business!' because it seemed nice.

I had the same reaction the first time I was asked for an invoice. I just googled invoice templates, looked at a few and then combined elements to make one that worked for me. It seems intimidating, but really it's just a document so everyone has the same records. Once I thought about it like that the whole thing seemed more manageable. I can send you one of mine if you like, just PM me your email.

Getting an ABN might be a good idea. Even if you don't need it for this gig, you likely will for others. I didn't do it until I had to, but I usually get paid for gigs as a contractor, so I needed an ABN. It's pretty easy to do really, I put it off for ages but it doesn't take long and you can do it online.

You only have to have an ABN if the money you have been/will be paid due to the activity is your primary source of income or you will receive $50 000 or more per financial year as a result of this activity.

If you don't charge GST, you don't claim GST on anything which you purchase in order to carry on the activity.

The mistake folks make, is thinking they have to pay GST because most Aussie invoice proformae you find, will have a GST row at the bottom.

I know it is old fashioned, but a duplicate invoice book from your local business chain shop will be fine. Your employer probably just wants it in electronic form because- a)he is young and doesn't know you can write an invoice out; b)he is running an electronic bookkeeping system; c)both a) and b)!

A couple of my colleagues do private work outside the department and use blue carbonless invoice books to charge their clients, whether individuals, small businesses, or government departments. Having a duplicate makes it easy to track who has paid and when, both now, to preserve your cash flow, and at tax time to balance everything.

Oh, and just because you don't claim the GST on goods you buy, doesn't mean you can't claim the actual puirchase on your tax return as a business expense. Again, using my colleagues as an example, their travel expenses from one place of employment to another is a legitimate expense, as is buying the invoice book!

PM me if you'd like more info. If I can't answer any query, I'll ask my mother- she's a forensic bookkeeper.

^That's not true. If you are operating a business in Australia, no matter how small, you need an ABN. The people contracting you can withhold a significant amount of your payment as "tax withheld" if you don't quote your ABN. Applying for an ABN is really easy. Once you have an ABN, you can do things like apply for a .com.au domain.

You don't need to register for GST unless your turnover is more than $50K per year.

If you want to see what my invoices look like, I can email you one.

Helen

Sorry, Helen is correct.