laura@volaura.com

973.747.6800

  • Home
  • Demos
    • Demos
    • YouTube Bumper Demo
    • Commercial
    • Covid Response And Emergency Management
    • Radio Imaging
    • TV Affiliate
    • Narration
    • Audiobooks
    • Political
    • Tours
    • Character
    • Kids Voices
    • Baby Voices
    • Promo
    • eLearning
    • Explainer
    • Telephony
    • Government
    • Medical Narration
    • French Commercial
    • French Narration
    • Podcast
    • On Camera
  • Copy Writing
  • Studio
  • Clients
  • Coaching & Demos
    • Voice Over Coaching
    • Book Online
    • Business Coaching
    • Demo Production
    • Prepaid Scheduling
  • Blog
  • Contact

paypal

Voice Over Invoicing

January 26, 2022 by Laura Schreiber

Why Your Voice Over Invoicing Should be Set Up the Day You Launch

I learn so much and am often so inspired by my voice over students. Recently, a very talented student new to voice over who had all his demos done and his website up and running booked his first gig! YAY! He reached out and wanted to know how to send an invoice. I was surprised by this. I was less surprised that he did not know and more surprised that I did not make it clear. So here I am, making it clear: if you are at the point where you are auditioning for work and ready to accept booked work that the universe sends your way, you had better have your business bank account up and running, and your voice over invoicing software set up and ready for use. Even though we had talked about invoicing and talked about CRMS, apparently I did not make it straightforward enough, so this is me making it clear. Do not start looking for work if you do not know what you are going to do when that work comes in. Why? From start to finish, you want you your client to have a seamless, professional experience, and if they have not taken every single step that you have discussed, then they are not ready to launch yet. Period.

https://youtu.be/NBdoZFhEi30

My Personal Voice Over Invoicing Preference: Wave App

Over my years as a working voice talent, I have tried many different types of billing programs. I strongly prefer Wave App for several reasons. First of all, it’s free. Next, it is integrated rather seamlessly into the CRM I use, Voiceoverview. Because of this integration, I can create the invoice, modify, edit, and send it all within VOV. I can create shareable links and download PDFs of the invoice. I was able to customize the design to include my logo and the fonts that I prefer. All in all, of every option I have tried for invoicing over the years, this has been my absolute favorite.

Fresh Books

I very much liked using Fresh Books and its features and the only real downside is the heft monthly cost. I liked the look of the invoices it created. I liked that I could accept bank transfers, credit cards, and PayPal! I liked that I could add taxes for different countries. I very much liked the time tracking features. When I have done copywriting work, I used this feature and could do precise, to the second invoicing with ease. I also liked that for clients in other countries this program could sort out VATs and all of that and my effort was very little. Again, if it were free I would likely still use it.

PayPal

I love that you can create invoices for free. I do have some clients who specifically ask for PayPal invoices and I am happy to send them. Because they do not integrate with my CRM, I prefer Wave App to this, simply for ease of record keeping. This is fine, but not as great.

Square

I tried Square for several months several years ago. Other than to say it was lackluster compared to other invoicing systems, I do not have much to see. The look of the invoices was “ehh.” It was not as easy to work with. My overall experience was mediocre. Not bad, just not exciting.

Quicken

I have never endeavored to use Quicken, but much like Fresh Books those who do use it seem to love it very much. Quicken provides many features, and can both invoice and work as your accounting software. Again, like Fresh Books, you have to pay to use Quicken.

Voice Over Invoicing Best Practices

As small business owners with a client-centered approach, we need to be mindful of what is best for our clients. Typically, every time I deliver finished audio I invoice within the same email with a shareable payment link. As my billing software will also invoice directly, after that email, I also send a specific invoice-only email. Some clients specifically ask for either a downloadable PDF or for a PayPal invoice, and if that is the case I send that upon delivery of the email. In my invoice, I also have a “footer” message giving very clear and specific instructions with all the ways that I accept payment. I do know some nice talents who invoice weekly, but I prefer to send the invoice as the job is completed. The only time I make an exception is when I have a client who requests a monthly invoice. If that is the case I hold the invoice until the end of the month and invoice for everything at once.

Sometimes, it can be hard as business owners to balance what is right for our clients and what makes the most sense for us as voice talents. For example, sometimes clients request sessions at times that conflict without family responsibilities. In this instance, it is actually possible to both meet our client’s needs and to make the sound choice for our own business.

Filed Under: Business Management, Coaching, Voiceover Tagged With: Business, business bank account, client centered, commercial bank account, CRM, Fresh Books, Invoice, invoicing, payment link, paypal, professional voice actor, Quicken, shareable payment link, small business owner, Square, VO, voice over, Voice Overview, voice talent, voiceover, VOV, Wave App

Welcome to My VO Store: Voice Over Buying Made Easy

January 3, 2021 by Laura Schreiber

It’s 2021 Now…

You don’t need a middle man if you need a voiceover for your next project. Instead, with a revolutionary online store front, you can shop for you voice over needs just like online food marketing or buying shoes. This client-centered approach is about making it easy and clear for you, the buyer. Let me explain how it works. Here’s the online store:

Laura Schreiber Voice's website's services page

Voice Over Buying Made Easy

So let’s say it’s 2 am and you have just finished editing your explainer video. You have a super fast turn-around and you need a professional female voice talent who does not need a lot of direction, you tell her what you want, and voila, pristine audio will arrive fully-edited and according to your specs.

Or you have a commercial. You are looking for that quintessential millennial voice. You know, the authentic girl-next-door that sounds like a real person. You want it for a regional broadcast, and you need a live session via source connect. It’s 10 am, and you need the audio in the next day. Easy, you just click, and set up your session.

https://youtu.be/p31p69CD_sM

Here’s another potential scenario in which client’s love this online store. You’re looking to change your office voice mail recording. A holiday is coming up, so you want it to be seasonally appropriate, your hours are changing, and you need Laura to work with a professional engineer to add music to match your branding. Here are two recent samples where Laura was hired directly by the client to redo their IVR, and she customized the sound for them with a talented engineer.

https://youtu.be/9VHT-SawW5E
https://youtu.be/5Y1Ojjw4BVU

All of this is possible without even a single phone call, all with online purchasing through Laura’s voice over store.

The Process is Simple

  • First, the client would go to the “Services” page in the menu.Laura Schreiber Voice's website's services page
  • Then, select your category from the “menu” of service items.

category options in online store

  • Note that many of the categories differentiate the length of usage. It is important not to simply choose the cheapest option. Instead, you must actually select the real usage for your project.
  • When you are in the correct category, select the “Buy Now” button.
  • Choose the option that is appropriate and select “add to cart.”
  • To check out, click “view cart”

  • Then click “Proceed to Check Out”

Proceed to Check Out Option On Services Page

  • When you are in the check out screen, there is a notes section for any special notes about the booking. This is where you can make any directional requests about tone or pace.

Add Order Notes Form

  • All that’s left to do is to pay! That’s it, it’s that easy.

Rates…

As a full-time working professional with years of experience and top brands as my clients, maintaining industry standard rates is essential to my business ethics. What are you paying for when you hire an established voice talent? You might think you are paying for the actual voice over for a given project and the usage of that voice over, but the rates stand for even more. The rates are based on the years of coaching and the on-going training that a professional has to understand what is current and booking in the industry. The rates are in a certain zone because professional talents maintain broad-cast ready studios with expensive equipment so that the audio quality is pristine every single time. The studios typically offer costly methods for live sessions, including Source Connect. Lastly, when you book a job in a certain range, you have are getting the guarantee of revisions and availability of that talent. The rate being in a certain range, then, should come as a quality assurance. Conversely, rates that are surprisingly low should serve as a red flag and alert you that either a talent is inexperienced or lacking in one of the areas and you should run for the hills.

Other Perks of Easy Shopping

Again, the purpose of the online store is to make the shopping experience as easy as possible for the client. When shopping in this online store, transparency is a given. You know what you are getting upfront. If you need pickups or revisions with your booking, they always come with jobs $250 and higher. Live sessions are always final delivery. Laura always delivers her bookings in 24 hours and typically much faster. If you need RUSH work delivered in less time, whether it is for a commercial, an explainer, IVR, eLearning narration, or another project, simply let Laura know and with an additional $50 fee (as is industry standard) Laura is happy to accommodate.

welcome 2021It’s 2021. We’re still in a pandemic. We need what we need quickly. Laura gets it and she wants you to have perfect audio without a fuss at the click of your mouse. Let Laura know how she can help you!

Filed Under: Client Relationships, Rates, Studio/booth, Voiceover Tagged With: audio quality, client centered, commercial, credit cards, easy, elearning, explainer, female professional, happy, IVR, live session, millennial, online store, paypal, phone messages, pickup policy, pickups, revisions, Rush, self direct, Source Connect, upbeat, VO, voice over, voiceover, warm

Primary Sidebar

Loading

Laura Schreiber Voiceovers Recent Post

Recent Posts

  • Lessons Learned From Recent Live Session
  • How to Publish a Public Domain Audio Book
  • Having VO Industry Friends Matters
  • Lessons From My First Audiobook
  • Why Positivity Matters in a VO Coach
Laura Schreiber Voiceovers Categories

Categories

  • Laura answers every correspondence with a smile and a prompt reply. In addition to RUSH jobs and quick turnarounds, guided sessions are available and Laura works hard to make every project perfect. Do not hesitate to call or email anytime :) The one exception to this is erotica. Should you need someone for adult content, all the best to you, Laura is not your gal, do not reach out.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Laura Schreiber Female Voice Over Talent Contact Image

973.747.6800

laura@volaura.com

SKYPE: lauraschreiber324

ipDTL: Laura Schreiber Voice

Laura Schreiber Female Voice Over Talent Sourceconnect

LAURA IS REPRESENTED REGIONALLY IN THE UNITED STATES AND ABROAD.

©2023 Laura Schreiber Voice. All rights reserved. PRIVACY POLICY.

Voice Over Site by Voice Actor Websites  // Site design by notobelladesigns.com.