Influencers get paid for brand deals by invoicing the brand, or the agency that hired them, on whatever payment terms the contract sets: a deposit with the balance after delivery, staged milestone payments, or one payment due a fixed number of days after the invoice or the post goes live. Those terms are negotiable, they should name who pays, what triggers payment and what happens if it is late, and in some places, including New York City, New York State and Illinois, the law fills in a deadline when the contract is silent.
The payment structures you will meet
Each structure moves risk between you and the payer. The more of the fee that arrives after delivery, the more you are relying on the brand's accounts team.
| Structure | How it works | Where the risk sits | When to propose it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paid in full before work starts | The whole fee is invoiced on signing | With the brand, which pays before seeing content | Small one-off posts, new brands with no history, rush jobs |
| Deposit and balance | Part of the fee on signing, the rest on approval or posting | Shared: the deposit covers your early time | Most single campaigns |
| Milestone payments | Fixed amounts as each deliverable is approved or published | Limited to the stage in progress | Multi-month ambassadorships and series |
| Net terms after delivery | One payment due a set number of days after invoice or posting, for example net 30 | With you, until the money lands | Established payers with a public payment record |
| Paid through an agency or marketplace | The intermediary collects from the brand and pays you on its own schedule | With the intermediary's solvency and terms | Whenever the intermediary signs the contract with you |
| Commission or affiliate earnings | A share of tracked sales, sometimes settled only after a returns window | With you entirely; no sales means no pay | As a bonus on top of a fixed fee, not instead of it |
| Gifted product | Goods or services instead of cash | You still do the work, and may owe tax on the value | Only when you would genuinely choose the product |
The gifted row has a tax angle. The ATO's page on what income to include says that when a business receives goods, services or other benefits as full or part payment for what it provides, their market value is included as income. Rules elsewhere differ; ask a registered tax agent or accountant how gifted products are treated where you live.
Payment-terms checklist
Agree every item below in writing before you start work. If any line is blank in the contract, raise it at the redline stage rather than after the invoice is overdue.
- The paying entity: the legal name of whoever owes you the money, whether that is the brand or the agency that signed you.
- The trigger: what starts the payment clock, such as signing, approval of the draft, the post going live or receipt of your invoice.
- The due date: a number of days after the trigger, written as a number rather than “promptly” or “in line with our usual cycle”.
- Deposit terms: how much, when, and whether it is refundable if the brand cancels.
- Approval deadlines: how long the brand has to approve or request changes, and what happens if it says nothing.
- Kill fee: what you are paid if the brand cancels after work has started.
- Currency and transfer costs: which currency you are paid in and who absorbs bank, conversion or platform fees.
- Payment method: bank transfer, a payment platform or the marketplace's payout system, and the details its finance team needs.
- Invoice requirements: purchase order numbers, tax registration numbers and the accounts payable address, collected before you invoice.
- Expenses: which costs, such as props, travel or a location, are reimbursed and how quickly.
- Late payment: interest or a late fee, and whether the brand's licence to use your content depends on payment in full.
Invoice layout itself is a separate job, but the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman's guidance on the Payment Times Reporting Scheme includes invoicing tips worth adopting: find a contact in the payer's accounts team, check what they need to process your invoice, and confirm it has been received once sent.
Clause wording options
Starting points to adapt with your own figures; a lawyer can tighten them for your jurisdiction. They slot into the payment section of the influencer contract template.
- Deposit: “The Brand will pay [deposit amount] on signing this agreement. The deposit is non-refundable once the Creator has begun pre-production.”
- Balance: “The Brand will pay the balance of [amount] within [number] days of the Creator's invoice, which the Creator may issue when the final content is approved or published, whichever comes first.”
- Deemed approval: “If the Brand does not approve or request changes within [number] business days of receiving a draft, the draft is treated as approved.”
- Kill fee: “If the Brand cancels after signing, it will pay [percentage or amount] of the fee for work not yet started and the full fee for any deliverable already submitted.”
- Late payment: “Amounts unpaid after the due date attract interest at [rate], and the Brand's licence to use the content takes effect only on payment in full.”
- Costs of payment: “Payments are made in [currency] and the Brand bears its own bank and transfer charges.”
Official model contracts can help you check your wording. The Illinois Department of Labor publishes model freelance agreements, including optional late-fee and retainer sections, on its Freelance Worker Protection Act page, and the New York State Department of Labor offers a model contract on its Freelance Isn't Free Act page.
Laws that set payment deadlines
Several places give independent contractors, including creators, statutory rights to timely payment, and some also require a written contract. Whether a law covers you depends on where you or the hiring business are, and on the contract value; read the linked page for the scope.
| Place | Contract rule | Deadline if the contract is silent | Where to complain | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York City | Contracts worth $800 or more, alone or over any 120-day period, must be written and state the work, pay and pay date | Within 30 days after you complete the work; late payment can entitle you to double the unpaid amount | The city's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection | NYC DCWP freelance workers |
| New York State | Contractual requirements added to the General Business Law on 28 August 2024 | Set by the Act; read the model contract and statute for detail | The New York State Attorney General | NY Department of Labor |
| Illinois | Written contract for work worth $500 or more over a 120-day period | Within 30 days of completing the services | The Illinois Department of Labor | IDOL Freelance Worker Protection Act |
| United Kingdom | Agreed business-to-business payment dates should usually be within 60 days, and longer periods must be fair to both sides | Late 30 days after the customer gets the invoice or you deliver, whichever is later | Charge statutory interest and fixed recovery costs, then the courts | GOV.UK late commercial payments |
In the UK, GOV.UK's page on charging interest on commercial debt sets statutory interest at 8% plus the Bank of England base rate for business-to-business transactions, unless the contract sets a different rate, and its page on claiming debt recovery costs adds a fixed sum of £40, £70 or £100 depending on the size of the debt. NYC complaints go to the city by online form or by email to freelancer@dcwp.nyc.gov, according to the DCWP page.
Look up how a large brand pays its suppliers
Australia and the UK both publish payment data for large businesses, which gives you evidence before agreeing to long terms.
- Open the Payment Times Reports Register. The regulator's about the register page says anyone can use it without an account.
- Search for the paying entity by business name, ABN, ACN or registered business name, as described in the how to use the register guide.
- Read the Snapshot tab for the entity's latest payment terms and times, then the Times tab, which the register guide says shows the proportion of payments made within 30 days or less, 31 to 60 days and over 60 days.
- Check the Compliance tab for any published notices of non-compliance, and the fast small business payer list.
- Search for the company that will actually pay you. If an agency holds the contract, look up the agency; a small agency is unlikely to appear, because the scheme is aimed at large reporting entities.
- For UK payers, use GOV.UK's check when large businesses pay their suppliers service, which reports average time to pay and the proportion of payments not made on time.
Use what you find as a negotiating fact. A payer with long reported terms is a reason to ask for a deposit, which the trades in how to negotiate brand deals are built around.
Late-payment escalation ladder
- Before the due date: the ombudsman's invoice tips suggest checking ten days before payment is due that your invoice has been processed.
- Just overdue: the same ombudsman guidance suggests contacting the accounts team when payment is one to two days overdue, asking whether a problem has stopped it and what you can do to help resolve it.
- Formal reminder: write to accounts and your campaign contact with the invoice number, amount, due date and the contract clause, plus any interest or late fee the contract allows.
- Escalate inside the brand: copy your contact's manager and ask for a payment date in writing.
- Final notice: set a firm deadline and state the next step you will take, such as a complaint or claim.
- Use the free routes: the NYC DCWP, the New York State Attorney General or the Illinois Department of Labor where their laws apply, the ombudsman's dispute support in Australia, or statutory interest and a small claim in the UK.
- If an agency is sitting on your money: that is a different dispute, covered step by step in influencer agency unpaid fees.
Track each invoice's due date and chase stage so nothing slips; the invoice status columns in our brand deal tracker template are built for this. If a manager collects brand payments for you, the trust account and payment-timing clauses in the manager contract checklist decide how fast that money reaches you.
Limitations of this guide
Freelancer payment laws are local, have coverage tests and exceptions, and change; the summaries above come from official pages checked on 1 October 2026, and other cities and states may have their own rules that are not listed. Registers only cover large reporting businesses and show past behaviour, not how a particular invoice will be treated. Nothing here is legal or tax advice. For a significant unpaid amount, talk to a lawyer, a small business commissioner or the relevant labour agency before taking formal action.