Free tool·PDF and .docx · updated Oct 2, 2026
The model invoice that gets paid.
Invoice no. 15, NOVA Studio, €1,200 — annotated line by line. Eight things an accounts department looks for before paying; miss one and the invoice sits at the bottom of the pile. Download the template, or let Odette draft it the day after the shoot.
A model invoices only direct jobs; on an agency job the agency invoices the client and pays a salary. A direct invoice in France carries eight things: a continuous number, the SIRET and status, the VAT mention, a description with the shoot date, the usage granted, a due date, the IBAN, and the late fees with the €40 recovery indemnity. Without them an accounts department has a reason to wait.
Written by the Odette team · reviewed by Arthur Feingold, Swapp Studio. About Odette
Léa Marchand — model, EI
SIRET 912 345 678 000192
14 rue de la Fontaine, 75011 Paris
NOVA Studio SAS
22 rue Oberkampf, 75011 Paris
Contact: Camille R.
Payable within 30 days
due 13 October 20266
TVA non applicable, art. 293 B du CGI3
IBAN FR76 3000 4000 0512 3456 7890 143
BIC BNPAFRPP7
Reference: 2026-015
Late fees at three times the legal interest rate; fixed recovery indemnity €40 (art. L441-10 C. com.).8
You only invoice direct jobs. On an agency job the agency invoices the client and pays you a salary: no invoice from you, a payslip from them. This template is for the e-commerce client, the small brand, the photographer who books you directly.
The eight lines.
Numbered on the invoice above. Each one answers the question an accounts department asks before paying.
Invoice no. 15 follows no. 14 — no gaps, and no restart each year unless the prefix changes, as in 2026-015. The tax office checks this first.
Your SIRET, your legal form (EI, micro-entrepreneur), your address. The client’s legal name and address opposite.
“TVA non applicable, art. 293 B du CGI” when you are under the threshold. Without it, the client may hold the payment.
“Modeling — e-commerce shoot, 12 September 2026, one day, NOVA Studio, Paris 11e.” The date links the invoice to the job and the call sheet.
“Web and social, France, 12 months from first publication.” The usage line makes the rights explicit — and renewable.
“Payable within 30 days — due 13 October 2026.” A date, not “on receipt”. The payment clock starts here, and in France it may not exceed 60 days.
Printed on the invoice, every time. Most late payments start with “we didn’t have your bank details”.
A mandatory mention in France, and the sentence that makes the reminders work.
SourcePayment terms between businesses and late-payment penalties — service-public.gouv.fr, on article L. 441-10 of the Code de commerce (in French)
Then, the three reminders.
The invoice is half the work. The other half is the same file, three times, in three tones.
“A quick note about invoice no. 2026-015 (€1,200), due 13 October 2026. Let me know if anything is missing on your side.”
“Invoice no. 2026-015, €1,200, due 13 October 2026, attached again. Could you confirm the payment date? The IBAN is below.”
“Invoice no. 2026-015 is now overdue. Under its terms, late fees and the €40 recovery indemnity apply from 14 October 2026. Please settle it within eight days.”
On a 30-day invoice the reminders fall on days 20, 28 and 31: two thirds of the way, the week before, and the day after. Odette scales them to the terms — on a 90-day agency window the same rule gives 60, 85 and 91.
Frequently asked.
Is a SIRET number mandatory?
For a direct job invoiced from France, yes — you invoice under a status, micro-entrepreneur or company, and the SIRET identifies it. Agency jobs are not invoiced by you: the agency runs payroll.
Can I invoice in dollars?
Yes. State the currency clearly, keep your IBAN or give a USD account, and note that bank fees are for the payer. Odette keeps the agreed amount and its euro value at the booking-day rate.
My client is abroad — what about VAT?
Under the French micro-entrepreneur threshold you are exempt, and the art. 293 B mention stays. For a business client in the EU, their VAT number and a reverse-charge mention are added; outside the EU, French VAT does not apply. This is the one line worth a call to your accountant.
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