How to Invoice a Brand for a Sponsored Post (Free Template)

Brands don't have an AP department waiting for your invoice the way a freelance client's finance team might. The marketing manager who booked the deal usually has to forward it to someone else to get you paid — which means a vague or incomplete invoice doesn't just get paid slower, it gets lost.

Here's what actually needs to be on it, and when to send it.

What to include

Invoice number. Doesn't need to be fancy — INV-0001 is fine — but it needs to exist. It's the reference the brand's finance team uses to match your invoice to their PO or approval. No number, no easy match, more likely it sits in someone's inbox.
What you delivered, described the way the contract described it. If the contract says "1 Instagram feed post + 2 stories," your invoice should say exactly that — not "sponsored content." Mismatched wording is one of the most common reasons an invoice bounces back for "clarification."
The date the deliverable went live, not the date you're invoicing. Brands often pay on a clock that starts from posting, not from signing.
Payment terms. Net 15, Net 30 — whatever you agreed to. If you didn't explicitly agree to terms, default to Net 15 and say so on the invoice itself, so it's not ambiguous after the fact.
How to pay you. Bank details or a payment link. Don't make them ask.
Your business info, even if "your business" is just you. Name, email, and a mailing address if you're in the US and might need to send a W-9.

When to send it

Immediately after the deliverable goes live — not before. Brands are (reasonably) wary of paying for a post that hasn't posted yet, and invoicing early is a common reason payment gets held pending "confirmation of delivery." Post first, screenshot it, invoice same day.

The follow-up problem

This is where most solo creators actually lose money — not from brands refusing to pay, but from an invoice quietly going stale in someone's inbox while you're busy with the next deal. A brand goes quiet, three weeks pass, and chasing a two-month-old invoice feels awkward enough that people just... don't.

Treat unpaid invoices the same way you'd treat an unanswered pitch: a follow-up at day 7, another at day 14 if needed. Net-15 terms with a reminder that actually fires on day 16 recovers more revenue than a strongly-worded contract ever will.

Free tool

The free invoice generator covers everything above — invoice number, line items, tax and discount fields, notes for payment terms — and exports straight to PDF, no sign-up. If you're already tracking the deal itself somewhere, SponsorDesk generates the invoice straight from a closed deal and reminds you when it's overdue, so the follow-up step above isn't something you have to remember to do manually.

Related: what to put in a creator media kit covers the document that gets you the deal in the first place.