When to Use Jewellery Design Invoices?

If you own a jewellery business you will need detailed and professional invoices to collect payment for your work. Jewellery designers have a wide range of specialized services to offer their clients and this free invoice template may be used for any number of services such as: 

• Custom jewellery design 
• Jewellery polish 
• Jewellery repair 
• Watch repair 
• Jewellery restoration
• Jewellery appraisal 

What Items Should Be Included on Your Jewellery Invoice?

Your invoice may include items like bracelets, rings, and necklaces that you’ve bought wholesale. Other line items may include cost of materials, cost of outsourcing some portions of the design – such as metal casting – and total labour hours. Some jewellery designers also include a retainer fee if their pieces are highly sought after.

Additionally, before you send the invoice, be sure to include: contact details, a unique invoice number and invoice payment terms on your document. The payment terms will ensure you are using the correct financial terminology to establish the exact terms of the exchange.

Wholesale Products: You might purchase some jewellery at wholesale for selling to customers who don’t require a designed piece. You can markup prices in order to see a profit for these items.

Materials: For your designed pieces, you may need sterling silver, karat gold, or platinum for particular pieces. You might also need gemstones, wood, beads, and other types of materials, which can be ready-to-use or raw, depending on the piece. 

Labour: With labour, you charge for the entire design process, from inception to final product. You can bill for sketch time, CAD design, metal casting, gemstone faceting, and any other labour that is necessary to finish the piece.

Retainer Fee: If you find that you get more orders than you can handle as a freelance jewellery designer, it’s a good business practice to create a waiting list for clients. To place clients on the waiting list, however, you may first require a deposit, or retainer fee. You can later apply this fee to their finished piece.

How Much Should Jewellery Designers Charge ?

Since most of your sales will be unique pieces that vary in complexity and time required, you will need a pricing formula for deciding your baseline. And, don’t forget – depending on how much you sell during the year, you may owe income tax, as well.

According to PayScale, the average hourly rate for a jewellery designer is $22.50. For the year 2022, incomes ranged from $40,950 to $51,431 annually for jewellery designers. If you’re a freelance jewellery designer working one-on-one with clients, you will need an invoice. If you are a freelancer working with a company or you are employed by a company, chances are you will not need to invoice, as your employer will take care of that and pay you at regular, mutually agreed upon intervals.

When Should You Send a Jewellery Invoice to Your Clients?

Depending on the scope and complexity of the work you perform, it may be necessary to obtain a deposit before you start the design. In that case, create a jewellery invoice highlighting the entire project, including all materials, labour, etc., and show the total charges. Beneath that, show that you are only requesting a portion of the total as a deposit. You can also invoice incrementally or send a jewellery invoice upon completion.

Whatever method you choose, it can be a great time saver to use automatic invoicing with QuickBooks invoicing software.