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The Billbooks Blog

Practical guides on invoicing, getting paid, and running a small business. Written by the people who build the invoicing app.

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How to Price Carpentry Jobs: Labour, Materials and a Worked Example
Industry guides

Most carpentry quotes go wrong in the same place: the materials list is accurate to the last box of screws, and the labour is a number somebody felt good about. This guide builds a…

Read guide 10 min read

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Invoicing basics

What to include, terms, and getting invoices out the door.

106 guides

Freelancing

Rates, contracts, and getting clients to pay on time.

83 guides

Small business

The day-to-day of running a small operation, sorted.

64 guides

Running a business

Margins, cash flow, and the numbers that keep you afloat.

101 guides

Productivity

Work smarter, waste less time, get more done.

27 guides

Startups & growth

Burn rate, runway, and building something that lasts.

31 guides

Marketing

Find clients and win the work, without a big budget.

9 guides

Industry guides

Invoicing playbooks for specific trades and professions.

69 guides
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The getting-paid path

1 How to invoice as a freelancer: a simple step-by-step guideYou did the work. Now you have to ask for the money,… 3 min 2 What to put on an invoice: a complete checklistAn invoice does two jobs: it tells the client exactly what they… 3 min 3 How to get clients to pay on timeLate payment is the quiet killer of small businesses. The work is… 3 min 4 How much should you charge? A freelance rate guideSetting your rate is one of the hardest parts of going freelance.… 3 min 5 How to work out your burn rate and runwayBurn rate and runway are two of the most important numbers a… 3 min

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Industry guides
How Much to Charge for Bookkeeping Services
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Industry guides
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A billback is a charge or a credit that settles after the original sale has already been invoiced.…
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Bill Rate vs Pay Rate: How to Calculate a Bill Rate That Covers Your Costs
Pay rate is what you pay the person doing the work. Bill rate is what you charge the…
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Professional Services Software: Do You Need the Full Suite?
PSA software bundles project management, resource scheduling, time tracking and billing for firms staffing many people across many…
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Business Loan Calculator: What Actually Matters
Three inputs, one monthly payment, and that is honest arithmetic. It is not what a lender will approve…
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Industry guides
Business Expense Tracker: What Actually Matters
Search the term and you get three unrelated products in one list. What receipt capture, categorizing and mileage…
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Industry guides
Accounts Receivable Software: What Actually Matters for Getting Paid
Most accounts receivable software is built for finance teams processing thousands of invoices a month. What the category…
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Invoicing basics
Invoice Financing: How It Works and What It Costs
Invoice financing advances most of an unpaid invoice now and charges a fee per week until your client…
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Industry guides
Best Invoice App for Small Business: What Actually Matters
A buying guide to invoice apps for anyone who bills from a phone: offline drafting, photo capture versus…
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Latest from our socials

Fresh from the feeds: the last couple of posts on each channel.

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Late payment isn't a cash-flow problem, it's a terms problem. 3 wording changes that get invoices paid faster.

2 days agoView post

New on the blog: the lowest-fee invoicing tools of 2026, compared on what you actually pay to get paid.

5 days agoView post

LinkedIn Billbooks

What makes a good profit margin for a small business? We broke down the benchmarks by industry, and how to read yours.

3 days agoView post

Freelancers: your rate isn't just "market rate." Here's the break-even math most people skip.

6 days agoView post

Facebook Billbooks

Sending your first invoice? Our step-by-step freelancer guide takes you from blank page to paid.

4 days agoView post

Electricians: deposits, materials markup, job line items. The invoicing guide built for the trade is live.

1 week agoView post

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