Guides

Guides and templates for freelancers and small studios

Written for people who work with international clients but sit outside the US, Canada, UK or Australia: how to scope, bill and get paid — and how to see whether a project actually made money.

Scope & contractsChange order template for freelancers: stop scope creep without fighting your clientA free change order template, a 4-step process and the exact wording to turn 'quick extra request' into paid work — plus how an AI scope check helps.InvoicingMilestone invoicing for freelancers: deposit splits that protect your cash flowHow to split a project into deposit, milestone and final invoices: 50/50, 30/40/30 and 30/70 examples, what to write on each invoice, and when to start work.RetainersHow to set up a freelance retainer (and invoice it without chasing)What a retainer is, how to price it, what to put in the agreement, and how to automate weekly, monthly or quarterly invoices with included hours.Getting paidLate payment reminder emails: 5 templates and when to send eachCopy-paste payment reminder emails from friendly heads-up to final notice, with a simple schedule: 3 days before, on the due date, then 3, 7 and 14 days late.Tax formsW-8BEN for freelancers outside the US: line-by-line guideWhat the W-8BEN is, when US clients ask for it, how to fill each line, how long it stays valid, and what to do when your country has no treaty.PaymentsPayPal vs Wise vs Payoneer: how to work out what you actually keepA repeatable way to compare payout fees for freelancers: receiving fee, currency conversion spread, withdrawal fee. Includes a worked example and a checklist.Time trackingFreelance time tracking to invoice: turn hours into a clean billHow to track billable hours, describe them so clients accept the invoice, avoid double-billing, and convert tracked time into an invoice in a few clicks.Agencies & TeamsPaying subcontractors and measuring real project profitHow freelancers who bring in contractors can track cost per project, bill markup fairly, and see margin by project, client and team member.Agencies & TeamsRun a small studio without surprises: budgets, timesheets and workloadHow to set project hour and cost budgets with alerts at 80% and 100%, lock timesheets after invoicing, and see whether your team is over- or under-booked.Hợp đồng & phạm viMẫu phụ lục thay đổi phạm vi (change order) cho freelancer: chặn scope creep mà không mất lòng kháchMẫu change order miễn phí, quy trình 4 bước và câu chữ sẵn dùng để biến yêu cầu “thêm chút xíu” thành việc có báo giá và có xác nhận bằng văn bản.Biểu mẫu thuếHướng dẫn điền W-8BEN cho freelancer Việt Nam: từng dòng mộtW-8BEN là gì, khi nào khách Mỹ yêu cầu, cách điền từng dòng, hiệu lực bao lâu và cách xử lý phần hiệp ước thuế khi Việt Nam chưa có hiệp định.PaymentsHow to get paid internationally without a US bank accountPayoneer, Wise, Skrill and crypto compared for freelancers working with clients abroad.Getting startedFrom full-time to freelance: your first 90 days after a layoffA practical guide to pricing, finding first clients and avoiding first-timer mistakes.