How Influencers Get Paid for Brand Deals: Invoices, Terms and Timing

Brand deals usually pay by invoice. You sign the contract, send a W-9, deliver the content, invoice the brand and wait out the payment term, often net 30 from the invoice or the posting date. Bigger deals can add a deposit at signing, and if you work with a manager, the money may route through them first.

Payment terms get less attention than the rate, and they decide when the money arrives. Here's the order of operations, the terms worth pushing for and what to do when a payment runs late.

How does a brand deal payment work, step by step?

It runs in 6 steps from signed contract to cleared funds, and the contract controls every date along the way.

1. The contract sets the fee, the deliverables, the payment term and the event that starts the clock, such as signature, approval, invoice or go-live.
2. The brand's finance team sets you up as a vendor, which usually means a Form W-9 and your bank details, sometimes through a supplier portal.
3. If you negotiated a deposit, it arrives before work starts.
4. You deliver, the brand approves and the content goes live.
5. You invoice the amount in the contract and quote the purchase order (PO) number if the brand issued one.
6. The brand pays when the term runs out, and you follow up the day after if it doesn't.

Steps 2 and 5 are where payments stall. A missing W-9, an unfinished vendor setup or an invoice without the PO number can hold up money that's otherwise due, so finish vendor setup the week you sign and check the PO number before you invoice.

What payment terms should you ask for?

Net 30 or shorter, counted from a date you control, with a deposit on bigger or custom deals. In January 2026, agency executives told Digiday that "Net-30 is still the most common, but it's definitely extending," and another described terms of "up to 90 and 120 days after something has gone live."

The table covers the terms you'll see in brand contracts and what to check in each.

Payment terms are part of the price. Our guide to pricing a brand deal shows how to quote them alongside usage, whitelisting and exclusivity.

What paperwork do brands need before they pay you?

A signed contract, a Form W-9 and an invoice their accounts payable team can match to a purchase order. If any of the 3 is missing, the payment usually waits.

The W-9 gives the brand your correct taxpayer identification number (TIN) for the information returns it files, such as a 1099 (IRS). Sole proprietors and single-member LLCs put the owner's name on line 1 and the business name on line 2. If you don't provide a correct TIN, the payer may be required to withhold 24% of what it pays you (IRS backup withholding).

For payments made in 2026, a brand files Form 1099-NEC once it pays you $2,000 or more in the year, and it has to furnish your copy by January 31 (IRS instructions). Payment apps file Form 1099-K when your payments exceed $20,000 in more than 200 transactions, and you report the income whether or not a form arrives. Product-only deals count too, as our guide to taxes on gifts and PR packages explains.

An invoice that gets paid on the first pass includes:

• Your legal or business name, address and contact email.
• An invoice number and date.
• The brand's PO number, if it issued one.
• Each deliverable with its posting date and link.
• The fee for each line, such as creation, usage, whitelisting and exclusivity.
• The payment term, the due date and any agreed late fee.
• How to pay you, with bank details or the payment platform the brand uses.

What can you do when a brand pays late?

Follow up on a schedule, cite the contract and escalate in writing. Plan for it, too: 56% of creators surveyed by the finance platform Tipalti said they'd faced late payments, Digiday reported in February 2024.

1. The day after the due date, email your contact and accounts payable with the invoice attached.
2. A week late, send a second note quoting the contract's payment clause and any late fee.
3. At 2 weeks, escalate to your contact's manager or the brand's finance lead and ask for a payment date in writing.
4. Past 30 days, send a formal demand letter from you, your manager or a lawyer.

Some states and cities have freelance payment laws. Illinois's Freelance Worker Protection Act, for example, covers independent contractors whose work is worth $500 or more in a 120-day period, when they provide services in Illinois or work for a hiring entity located there. It requires a written contract and full payment by the contract's due date, or within 30 days of completing the services if the contract sets none, for contracts that took effect after July 1, 2024.

If a brand cancels the deal, the kill fee in your contract sets what you're owed. Our guide to the kill fee clause covers how to price one.

How do payments work when you have a manager?

Either the brand pays you and your manager invoices you for commission, or the brand pays the management company, which takes its commission and pays you the rest. Both work when the flow is written down.

Get these in writing before the first deal closes:

• Who invoices the brand, and in whose name.
• Which account receives the money.
• How many days after the brand pays you'll receive your share.
• The statement you'll get showing the brand's payment and the commission taken.

Our commission is 10% to 30%, and every deduction on your statement should match a line in your management agreement. Brand Partnerships and Legal & Business Affairs, which covers contract negotiation, are 2 of our 10 services. If you'd like a team negotiating payment terms with you, apply for representation.