The person who commissioned the work may not handle invoices

Imagine your first project for a small business. The owner approves the quote, marketing reviews the deliverable, and after you send the invoice, accounting asks for a project reference and the name of the person who accepts the work. Everyone knows part of the project; nobody has the whole picture.

Don’t leave this conversation until invoicing day. Once the scope is agreed, ask your contact how the handoff works at their company. You don’t need another form. A short message saved with the project will do.

Five questions for the right people

Separate acceptance of the work, agreement on price, and receipt of the document. One person may handle all three—or three different people may be involved. Ask about this client’s actual process rather than reusing the arrangements from your previous project.

  • Who confirms that the deliverable matches the agreement?
  • Who handles changes to scope or price?
  • Which business entity should the invoice be issued to?
  • Which email address or portal should receive it?
  • What internal reference does the client use to identify the project?

Send your understanding, not a blank questionnaire

The more details you already have, the easier it is to reply. Include the agreed scope and known contacts, then ask for confirmation of anything uncertain. For example:

Select the text, copy it into an email and fill in the details in square brackets.

Receipt of an invoice is not acceptance of work—or payment

Before sending the first invoice, compare it with the latest agreement, not just the original quote. If a deliverable was added during the project, you should be able to find the agreed price for that addition too. Then send the document through the requested channel; with a new contact, check that it arrived.

“We have it” confirms receipt of the document. It does not automatically mean the client accepted the work, completed internal approval, or paid. Record those separately. If the invoice comes back, find out why: a wrong address needs a different response from a question about the price.

Keep the confirmed details with the client for the next project. HeyRup handles incoming email PDFs; your own sales invoicing belongs in the system where you already manage clients. The aim is to avoid starting the same conversation from scratch next time.