7 Invoice Mistakes Musicians Make (and How to Fix Them)

Most musician invoice problems aren't complicated — they're the same few mistakes repeated across thousands of gigs. Here are the seven most common, and how to fix each one.

1. Not Sending an Invoice at All

Some musicians still rely on a verbal agreement and a bank transfer. It works until it doesn't — and when a client doesn't pay or pays the wrong amount, there's no paper trail.

Fix: send an invoice for every gig, even if the client is someone you know well. An invoice creates a clear record of what was agreed and what was owed. It also signals that you run a professional operation.

2. A Missing or Incorrect ABN

If you have an ABN and it's not on your invoice, the client's accounts department is required to withhold 47% of the payment under ATO rules. Most will reject the invoice and ask you to resubmit — which delays payment.

Fix: store your ABN in your invoicing system once and have it appear automatically on every invoice. In Dashplan, this is set in Gig Manager Settings and never needs to be entered again.

3. A Vague Service Description

"Live music" tells the client nothing useful. Their accounts team is processing dozens of invoices and needs to match yours to an approved event. A description like "Live music performance — Client Name Annual Dinner, The Grand Ballroom, 14 September 2026" matches to the right event immediately.

Fix: always include the client name, event or venue name, and date in the description field.

4. No Payment Due Date

An invoice without a due date gives the client no reason to pay by any particular time. It sits in the queue indefinitely. "Payment on receipt" is a due date. "14 days from invoice date" is a due date.

Fix: always include a specific due date on every invoice. If you use Dashplan, set your standard payment terms in settings and they'll appear on every invoice automatically.

5. GST Shown Incorrectly

Either charging GST when you're not registered (incorrect), not charging it when you are registered (also incorrect), or showing a single total and writing "includes GST" without the breakdown (not a valid tax invoice for larger amounts) — all create problems.

Fix: if you're registered for GST, show three separate lines: fee ex-GST, GST (10%), total inc-GST. If you're not registered, no GST line at all. GST for musicians in Australia covers the registration rules.

6. Not Following Up on Unpaid Invoices

Sending an invoice and then waiting passively for payment is how unpaid invoices pile up. Most overdue invoices are oversights, not deliberate — a timely, professional follow-up resolves the majority of them quickly.

Fix: check your outstanding invoices weekly. Follow up by email 3–5 days after the due date if payment hasn't arrived. How to follow up on an unpaid invoice covers the full process.

7. Not Keeping Copies

If you generate invoices in a Word template and save them casually, finding a specific past invoice can be a genuine problem. If a client asks for a copy, or the ATO requests records, you need to be able to produce them.

Fix: keep a dedicated folder for invoice PDFs, organised by year. Or use an invoicing system like Dashplan where every invoice is permanently stored with the gig it relates to — searchable and regeneratable at any time.