How to invoice overseas clients?

If your offshore clients are happy to be invoiced in New Zealand dollars (NZD), you can send them invoices using the same system you use for New Zealand clients. If they want to be billed in their own currency, you may need to upgrade your invoicing system to allow different currencies. 

Do you charge GST to offshore clients?

In one word, no. GST is for New Zealand clients only. Your offshore clients won’t appreciate receiving a bill that includes New Zealand goods and services tax. When you’re generating an invoice using an online platform, you need to carefully select the ‘No Tax’ option on the invoice form.  

PRO TIP: Make sure you set the invoice form back to ‘tax exclusive’ before you create a new invoice for a New Zealand client, or you’ll forget to charge them GST. 

When the overseas client’s invoice is paid and you’re reconciling it in your accounting platform, you need to remember that it doesn’t include GST. Most online accounting software or platforms do this automatically, so you won’t accidentally end up including a ‘no tax’ invoice in your GST calculations. 

How to get paid by overseas clients?

Your client can pay you directly into your business bank account if you provide:

  • Your account name (in full)
  • Your physical street address (not a PO Box)
  • The full account number to be credited
  • Your bank’s name and street address
  • Your bank’s SWIFT BIC code (ask your bank)
  • Some countries also require a clearing code, which your bank can provide

If you’re uncertain about what to put on your invoice to make payment easy, call your bank for help. 

What about using PayPal?

Generating an invoice through PayPal can make it easy for international clients to pay you using a credit card, debit card or PayPal Credit. A standard processing fee will be deducted from the payment. The money from your PayPal account can then be transferred to your business bank account.  Some accounting platforms let you add PayPal as a payment option on your invoice. You may also be able to import PayPal transactions into your accounting platform. 

How to pay tax for money earned from offshore clients? 

If you invoice international clients from your usual invoicing platform, the money received will count as sales and be included in your tax calculations. If you use a different invoicing system for international clients, such as PayPal, you need to import these transactions into your accounting platform. 

How to get work from international clients?

If you love the idea of working for clients in Australia, the United Kingdom, the USA or any other country where language won’t be a barrier, LinkedIn search is a great way to get started. Other options include freelancing platforms like Upwork and Fiverr. 

Using LinkedIn search is straightforward. If you’re a digital designer, search something like ‘freelance digital designer’.  Use the location button next to the search box to select the country you’re targeting. A whole bunch of opportunities will show in the column on the left. You can set an alert to receive notifications of new listings.  

Another approach is to search for international clients who might use a freelancer like you and approach them directly. Choose countries that would benefit from the NZD exchange rate, i.e. their dollar is worth more than ours. 

Customer service tips for keeping international customers

When you’ve scored an international client you love working with, offer them the best service possible. The tyranny of distance won’t come into it if you’re the best freelancer they’ve ever worked with. 

  • Meet your new client on a video call, to build a relationship. Email and voice calls can only do so much. Nothing beats a face-to-face encounter to build a bond, so start the relationship with a getting-to-know-you Zoom or Teams video meeting.
  • Make yourself available for video meetings at any time. If it suits them to run a Zoom or Teams meeting in the middle of NZ’s night, say yes. Fiddling around with meeting times to avoid after-hours meetings could make you too hard to work with. 
  • Stick to your promised deadlines. Stretching deadlines because you failed to manage your time carefully (or took a day off to go surfing or fishing) is not a good look. Unless the scope of the work has changed, deliver on or before the agreed deadline. 
  • Stick to your quote. If you price up a job and the client accepts that price, it’s really bad form to put the price up part-way through or when the task is completed. If the work is taking too long, you’ll just have to bite the bullet and get on with it. The only credible opportunity to up your price is if the scope or brief changes. 
  • Check your quality once, twice, three times. In the freelance world, you’re only as good as your last job. So even if you’ve been working with a client for eons, don’t get slack about quality. Check your work carefully before you send it through and try to view it through your client’s eyes. If it was sent to you, what would you think?
  • Do favours whenever you can. If a favourite international client needs something urgently and they offer you the task (because you’re on the opposite side of the world and can work while they’re sleeping), bend over backwards to say yes. Helping clients out when they’re in a tight spot is a fantastic way to score loyalty points. 
  • Post them a Kiwi thing once a year. Make the fact that you’re based in New Zealand a special point of difference by sending them a little Kiwi something at Christmas or another seasonal occasion. Maybe a ‘Wildlife of Aotearoa’ colouring book, a kiwiana keep-cup or a Blunt umbrella will help you keep their business forever.