Client told me my invoices were 'too confusing' and I fought them on it for weeks before finally changing my template

I had this client who kept saying my hourly breakdowns had 'too many line items' and wanted me to just put a flat fee with no details. I argued with them for like 3 weeks saying they needed to see every 15 minute block. Finally I tried their way on one project and it actually saved me arguing time. Now Im split - half my clients get detailed invoices and half get the simple lump sum. Which side do you guys lean towards?

2 comments

2 Comments

river_thompson18h ago

Ugh, I feel your pain. I had a client once who said my invoice looked like "a CVS receipt from hell" and I was so offended at first. But then I tried just sending them a simple total and it seriously cut down on the back and forth emails. Now I have a few clients who get the whole breakdown and a few who just get a number, and honestly it's way less stress.

the_rose14h ago

Oh, have you tried just telling them the total and then offering to send the breakdown if they ask? @river_thompson that's exactly what I ended up doing after someone admitted they just threw away my itemized list without reading it. Some people really do not want to see every little charge and that's fine, I just ask them up front now. It saves me the headache of explaining stuff they never even looked at. Plus it makes me look way more flexible than I actually am.