Guides for service businesses

Practical answers about winning work and getting paid, from the Clientary team. Serving service businesses since 2008.

How to Write an Invoice, With an Example

The details every invoice needs, a worked example, and the mistakes that delay payment.

Invoice Payment Terms Explained: Net 30 and More

What each common payment term means, how to choose yours, and the wording to use.

How to Charge Late Fees on Invoices

When you can charge a late fee, flat vs percentage fees, and clauses for contracts and invoices.

Payment Reminder Email Templates to Copy

Five reminder emails to copy, from a heads-up before the due date to a final notice.

How to Set Up a Client Retainer, With Template

The kinds of retainer, how to price one, and an agreement template covering overages, unused balance, and cancellation.

What to Include in a Consulting Contract

The thirteen sections every consulting or client services contract needs, with an outline you can adapt.

How to Accept ACH Payments for Invoices

How ACH bank payments compare with cards, how to start accepting them, and how to get clients to pay by bank.

Estimate vs Quote vs Proposal: The Difference

What sets estimates, quotes, and proposals apart, when to use each, and how to make accepting easy.

Hourly vs Fixed Fee: How to Price Client Work

How hourly and fixed-fee pricing compare, the hybrid models in between, and how to choose for each project.

Trusted by service businesses

Freelancers, agencies, and firms run their client work on Clientary. Read their stories.

10,000+Businesses served
14 daysFaster when clients pay online
Since 2008Built for service businesses
Try it free for 14 daysNo credit card, no setup fees. Setup takes minutes.
No per-invoice feesSimple monthly plans. Payments go straight to your own processor.
Leave anytimeMonth to month. Export your data as CSV or through the API whenever you like.
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Highly Rated, Low-Key Loved.

Rated excellent: See why users rave about us

Users love Clientary on G2

Most of the time I'm paid within minutes of sending an invoice because it's so easy for someone to check that task off their list. Obviously I like this software, but most importantly to me - my clients like it.

Robin H.

Robin H.

Freelance Writer

With recurring invoices, custom templates, time tracking, expense tracking, automated invoice reminders, and so much more, the toolkit they offer has kept us organized and hugely simplified our bookkeeping. I can't count how many times our clients have asked about our 'amazing' invoicing system.

Chris M.

Chris M.

Digital Marketer / Founder

When searching for a client management and invoicing system we researched all the tools for SMBs on the market and tested them out, and Clientary was our hands down choice for ease of use and the ability to easily customize client-facing documentation. And of course the very reasonable subscription fee. As they say themselves, "all the functionality we need, and none that we don't."

Brian N.

Brian N.

Consultant / Executive Coach