How to invoice a brand for a UGC deal (with template fields)

Most late UGC payments start with an invoice that's missing something the brand's accounts team needs: a PO number, the right billing contact, or a clear list of what was delivered. Here's a field-by-field checklist you can copy into any invoice tool, doc or spreadsheet. It isn't tax or legal advice; your contract with the brand wins if it says something different.

The fields every UGC invoice needs

1. Your details: your name or business name, email, mailing address, and how you want to be paid (bank transfer, PayPal and so on).
2. Brand billing details: the company's legal name, the billing or accounts-payable email (often not the same person as your marketing contact), and their address.
3. Invoice number and date: use a simple running sequence (for example 2026-014) so you and the brand can refer to it.
4. PO or campaign reference: if the brand gave you a purchase order number or campaign ID, put it near the top. Many accounts teams can't pay without it.
5. Line items: one line per deliverable, with quantity and price. Keep usage rights as their own line so the brand sees what it's paying for.
6. Payment terms and due date: copy the terms from your agreement (for example net 30) and write the actual due date, not just the terms.
7. Deposit already paid: if you took a deposit, show it as a credit so the balance due is clear.
8. Notes: where the files were delivered (link and date) and the date the brand approved them.

Fill-in-the-blank layout

Example layout only. The brackets are placeholders, not real rates.

When to send it

Send it the moment the trigger in your agreement happens: on approval, on delivery, or on a set date. Waiting a week to invoice pushes your payment back a week too. Log the invoice date, terms and due date in your tracker the same day, and put a follow-up on your calendar for the day after the due date.

If the brand asks for a W-9

US brands often ask creators for IRS Form W-9 before paying. The IRS says Form W-9 is how you give your correct Taxpayer Identification Number to the person who is required to file an information return reporting, for example, income paid to you. Payments to independent contractors are commonly reported on Form 1099-NEC, which the IRS says is used to report nonemployee compensation. Get the form from the IRS site, not a link in an unexpected email, and ask a tax professional if you're unsure what applies to you.

What to keep for your records

The IRS lists invoices and deposit information among the supporting documents that show the amounts and sources of your business income, and it says to keep them organized, for example by year and type of income. Its general rule is to keep records for 3 years, with longer periods in some situations listed on its page. Save each invoice with the agreement, the brief and the payment confirmation in one folder per deal.

Next steps

• Track every deal through to Paid with the pipeline in how to organize UGC deals.
• Keep invoices, due dates and payments in one place with the tracker below.
• Grok Bot can read your deal list each week, tell you which invoices are past due, and draft follow-ups for you to approve before anything is sent.

Sources

• IRS: About Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification (checked 2026-11-01)
• IRS: About Form 1099-NEC, Nonemployee Compensation (checked 2026-11-01)
• IRS: What kind of records should I keep (checked 2026-11-01)
• IRS: How long should I keep records (checked 2026-11-01)

Last checked 2026-11-01. TikTok changes its programs often; confirm in your own TikTok Shop and TikTok Studio dashboards.