THE DOLLAR CLIENT KIT
GH · NG · KE FEES CHECKED — OCT 2026
04D INVOICING · USD · ACH BLOCK

The invoice that gets paid.

US companies pay invoices through accounts-payable workflows designed for one thing: zero ambiguity. An invoice with the eight required fields, ACH instructions and net-15 terms clears in days; a vague invoice with "bank details on request" ages in a queue. Here is the anatomy.

The eight required fields.

1 · Your detailsname, country, contact, invoice number
unambiguous payee
2 · Client detailscompany, AP contact if known
routes to AP queue
3 · Amount + currencyUSD, written figures + numerals
$1,500.00
4 · Date + due datenet-15 default (net-30 if negotiated)
net-15
5 · Scope referencecontract/PO reference, period covered
no ambiguity
6 · ACH/wire blockrouting, account, reference, "domestic transfer"
the fast lane
7 · Payment methodsACH primary, wire fallback
not cards
8 · Terms linelate fee + W-8BEN availability
one sentence
The instruction that cuts days off payment: label the bank details "US domestic transfer (ACH) — no wire required, no fees on your side." AP teams pay domestic ACH daily as routine; a wire request triggers their bank's fee review and adds friction you will not see but will feel as delay. Pair with net-15 (industry accepts it), a polite late-fee line, and W-8BEN offered proactively (what it is).

Fields, tone, and the fee question.

Scope reference prevents the #1 payment delay: "Project: Landing page redesign, SOW v2 (Feb), PO-4821" tells AP exactly which approved spend this matches. Invoices without a reference get parked while someone finds the paperwork. Reference the contract (pack) and the PO every time.

Never line-item fees the client does not incur. If they ACH to your USD account, their transfer is free — your conversion cost (the 0.90-7.5% rail band) belongs in your rate, not on the invoice. Line-iteming internal costs invites negotiation on your own margin. Price the rate so the invoice total is clean: rate anchoring + currency strategy cover it.

Late-fee line: one sentence — "Payment due net-15; 1.5%/month on overdue balances" (or your chosen term) — accepted universally, enforced politely. Most delay is ambiguity, not malice; a clean invoice with a due date and a reference is the cure. Keep the paid copy in the monthly tax folder (GH · NG). The Kit ships this template fill-in, with US-client and platform variants.

Template, contract, rate card.

The Kit includes this invoice (fill-in), the contract pack, and the rate card that sets the number — the three documents every direct-client workflow needs. $19 founding, 14-day refund.

Run the free calculator Get the Kit — $19 Card · MoMo · 14-day refund

Questions.

Should I charge US clients by card, PayPal or bank transfer?

Bank transfer (ACH to your USD account) — free or near-free client-side, 0.90-7.5% rail band your-side, no chargebacks. Cards cost 3.9% international, PayPal has NG receiving limits entirely and GH friction. ACH is the professional default.

What due date should I put on US client invoices?

Net-15 is increasingly standard for freelance work and accepted by most AP teams; net-30 appears in larger enterprises — accept it when the client's process requires it and price the delay into your terms. Always include an explicit date, not "upon receipt".

Do I include my tax ID on the invoice?

Include your TIN if the client or local rules require it; many US clients request W-8BEN (which carries its own tax identification field) rather than your local TIN on the invoice itself. Offer the W-8BEN proactively with the first invoice.

How do I handle partial payments or deposits?

50% upfront, 50% on delivery is standard for new direct clients — state it as terms on the invoice ("Deposit received: $750; balance due: $750 on delivery"). For retainers, invoice monthly in advance with a standing scope reference.