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Voice Actor Invoice Template

A voiceover invoice charges for two different things: your session (the time and performance it took to record) and the usage (what the client may do with the recording, where and for how long). Keeping them on separate lines is what makes the invoice readable later. When a 13-week regional radio term ends, you renew the usage line without a new session; if a 'web only' read turns up on broadcast, the invoice shows broadcast was never licensed. This template has a session line with what it covers, one usage line per media with territory, term and start date, a written-out buyout scope for when the client buys all future use at once, pickups and revisions on their own dated lines, and reimbursed studio or patch costs at cost. It is for non-union work you are paid for directly. On SAG-AFTRA union jobs you normally do not invoice at all: the signatory employer, usually through an entertainment payroll company, pays you as an employee. The download is an editable HTML invoice with invoice number, dates, a line-item table and totals; fill it in your browser and print it or save it as PDF.

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Download the HTML file to edit its fields, then print or save as PDF. Totals are entered manually.

What This Template Includes

  • Project, script title and client job or PO number
  • Session date, length and type: directed, self-directed or studio
  • Session fee and what it covers (time, scripts, takes)
  • Deliverables: spots, finished minutes or finished hours, file format
  • Usage line per media: media, territory, term and start date
  • Buyout scope written out in full, if sold
  • Usage renewal: previous term end and new term dates
  • Pickups and revisions, with date and what changed
  • Studio, patch or other costs reimbursed at cost
  • Licence restrictions, e.g. no synthetic-voice use without written agreement
  • Agent or casting reference, if booked through one

How to Create Your Voice Actor Invoice

  1. 01

    Describe your work

    Type a plain English description of the services you provided, the client, and the amount.

  2. 02

    AI generates your invoice

    InvoiceQuickly's AI drafts the client, line items, dates, and totals for you to review before saving.

  3. 03

    Review, download, and send

    Check every detail, download the PDF, or use Pro to email the PDF directly to your client.

Recommended Payment Terms

Short terms are normal for direct clients: due on receipt or within 7 to 14 days, with the invoice sent on the session day once takes are approved. Agencies and larger brands often work on longer terms and need a purchase order number on the invoice, so ask for it when you are booked. For long-form narration, invoice at milestones (for example after the first approved module and at final delivery) rather than carrying weeks of work. Send usage renewals about 30 days before the current term ends, with the old end date and the new start date on the line, so the client can approve budget before the spots must come down. A clause saying the usage licence starts only when the invoice is paid in full gives you leverage if payment stalls; put it in the booking confirmation first, then repeat it in the invoice notes.

Need help writing payment terms? Read our guide to invoice payment terms for best practices and templates.

Tax Information

Non-union work for US business clients: expect a Form W-9 request before the first payment. For tax years beginning after 2025, a client generally files Form 1099-NEC only if it pays you $2,000 or more in the year, and card or third-party payment network payments are reported on Form 1099-K instead (IRS, Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC). You owe tax on the income either way. Union work paid through a signatory's payroll comes with tax withheld, so it does not go on your invoices. Sales tax on voiceover services and delivered audio files depends on the state, and some states tax certain digital products that others exempt; check your state revenue department before adding tax, and apply it the same way every time. InvoiceQuickly applies one tax percentage per invoice and copies saved tax IDs to new invoice PDFs; check the saved IDs and PDF before sending. General information, not tax or legal advice.

Industry context (2026)

Union and non-union voice work are paid differently. SAG-AFTRA's producer guide for its independent interactive (video game) agreements says union performers cannot be paid as independent contractors under 1099s and recommends producers use an experienced entertainment payroll company; only signatory producers can make the union's pension and health contributions (SAG-AFTRA, accessed October 2026). SAG-AFTRA's Global Rule One also bars members from working for employers that have not signed a union agreement wherever the union has a national contract. Non-union rates are negotiated job by job; the Global Voice Acting Academy's free GVAA Rate Guide describes itself as reflecting ranges observed in the market rather than setting prices. For audiobooks, ACX distinguishes pay per finished hour from royalty share, where the narrator is paid a share of sales instead of a fee. On tax, the IRS Form 1099-NEC threshold is $2,000 for tax years beginning after 2025. Union terms change with each contract; check the current agreement. General information, not legal or tax advice; last reviewed October 2026.

Worked example

Worked example (illustrative rates, not market data): a non-union voice actor narrates a three-module compliance course for a software company's internal training, and the company also wants a 30-second cutdown for paid social. The booking confirmation of 2 November 2026 sets $15.00 per finished minute for e-learning (editing and internal use included), a $150.00 pickup minimum, a $350.00 usage fee for the cutdown, and payment within 14 days. Invoice VO-0027 is issued on 20 November and due 4 December. Line 1: e-learning narration, modules 1 to 3, edited WAV files, 42 finished minutes × $15.00 = $630.00. Line 2: pickup session, 18 November, revised product name in module 2, 1 × $150.00 = $150.00. Line 3: paid social cutdown, :30, recorded in the same session, no separate session fee. Line 4: usage, paid social, United States, 1 year from 1 December 2026 to 30 November 2027, 1 spot × $350.00 = $350.00. Total $1,130.00 ($630.00 + $150.00 + $350.00), tax 0% after checking the state's rules. Notes: 'PO 7731. E-learning licence limited to internal training. Paid social licence limited to the media, territory and term above. No use of these recordings to create or train a synthetic voice without separate written agreement.' The internal-use course has no term, because internal use was included in the per-minute rate; the social cutdown does, so on 1 November 2027 a renewal invoice for the usage line alone goes out.

Common mistakes to avoid

One line called 'voiceover'

'Voiceover, $900' says nothing about what was licensed. Split session and usage, and give usage its media, territory, term and start date.

Missing the renewal date

If the term ends and nobody invoices, the client keeps running the spot and you lose the renewal. Invoice 30 days before the end date.

Charging a session fee on a renewal

A renewal licenses existing recordings. Adding a session fee invites a dispute; bill usage only.

Invoicing a union job

Sending your own invoice for SAG-AFTRA work, or agreeing to be paid on a 1099 for it, sidesteps the payroll, tax and pension and health contributions the agreement requires.

Free pickups by default

If the client changes the script after approval, that is a new session. Say in the quote which pickups are billable and bill them on their own dated line.

Invoicing Tips

  • 1Write usage so nobody can misread it: 'Usage: paid social, United States, 1 year from 1 December 2026', not 'web usage'.
  • 2Spell out a buyout ('all media, worldwide, in perpetuity') instead of writing the word alone. Clients and talent often mean different things by it.
  • 3Put the session fee's scope in the description ('up to 60 min, 2 scripts'). Then a third script or a long overrun is clearly a new line, not a favour.
  • 4Bill pickups on their own dated line and decide in your quote which are billable: script changes by the client usually are, fixes for your own errors usually are not.
  • 5Set a calendar reminder 30 days before each usage term ends and send the renewal invoice then, with no session fee.
  • 6If the booking is a SAG-AFTRA union job, do not send your own invoice; check the payroll payment against the session terms and raise problems through your agent or the union.

Related Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

What should a voice actor invoice include?

Your name and contact details, the client and their PO or job number, the project and script names, an invoice number and dates, the session date and fee with what it covers, one usage line per media with territory, term and start date, any pickups, reimbursed costs, the total, the due date and how to pay.

What is the difference between a session fee and a usage fee?

The session fee pays for your time and performance in the booth. The usage fee pays for the right to use the recording in specific media, in a specific territory, for a specific term. A renewal charges usage again without a new session.

How do I invoice a buyout?

Put it on one usage line and write out the scope in full, such as 'Buyout: all media, worldwide, in perpetuity, for the two scripts recorded 3 March 2026'. Because it replaces every future renewal, it should be priced well above one limited usage cycle.

Do union voice actors send invoices?

Normally not. Under a SAG-AFTRA agreement the producer must be a signatory and pays you as an employee, usually through an entertainment payroll company, with tax withheld and pension and health contributions added. Keep your own record of the session instead.

How do I bill a usage renewal?

Send a new invoice with only the usage lines, the previous term's end date and the new term's dates, about 30 days before the current term ends. There is no session fee, because nothing was recorded.

How should I price per finished minute or finished hour?

When a job is priced per finished minute (as in the e-learning example on this page) or per finished hour (PFH, used for audiobooks on ACX), show the finished length times the rate, and say whether editing and internal use are included. Rate guides such as the GVAA Rate Guide describe market ranges; they do not set prices.

Can I make a voiceover invoice in InvoiceQuickly?

Yes. Type or say what you recorded, for example 'session $450 plus regional radio usage for two spots, 13 weeks', and InvoiceQuickly drafts an editable invoice you review before saving. Each usage line is a normal line item; InvoiceQuickly does not track usage terms or remind you about renewals, so keep your own renewal calendar.