Invoicing as a locum — get paid without the awkward emails

Nobody goes into medicine dreaming of writing invoices. But a clear one, sent promptly, is the single biggest thing that keeps you from having an awkward “have you had a chance to look at this?” email six weeks later.

Know before you start whether you’re invoicing at all

Some agencies handle payment themselves — you log the session, they sort the rest. Other bookings, especially direct with a practice, need you to invoice. Find out which applies before your first shift there, not after a month of silence.

What to put on it

Keep it simple and consistent:

• Your name and (if relevant) your practice/company details
• The practice or organisation you’re invoicing
• Session date(s), hours, and agreed rate
• A clear total
• An invoice number — even a simple sequential one looks more professional and makes tracking easier for both sides
• Your payment details and a payment due date

That’s it. You don’t need anything fancier than that.

Send it promptly

The longer you wait to invoice, the longer you wait to get paid, and the fuzzier the details get for whoever’s approving it on the other end. Same week as the session is a good habit — ideally same day if you can manage it.

Chasing late payment, without the cringe

Here’s the thing most locums get wrong: they either don’t chase at all (and just eat the delay silently), or they send an email that feels apologetic for asking to be paid for work they already did. Neither is necessary. A polite, factual follow-up is completely normal business practice:

“Hi [name], just following up on invoice #[number] for [date] — due [date]. Let me know if you need anything from me to process it. Thanks!”

That’s not awkward. That’s just… an invoice follow-up. Practices deal with these constantly.

Track status, not just totals

The useful thing isn’t just knowing what you’re owed overall — it’s knowing which specific invoices are sitting unpaid and for how long. That’s what actually tells you when to chase, rather than a vague sense that “someone owes me money somewhere.”

In LocumBook, every session moves through invoiced → awaiting payment → paid, so nothing quietly falls through the cracks between shifts.

See Invoices in the user manual for how that works in the app.