Using the Income tab

When an existing or prospective client approaches you about a project, it is a good idea to enter as much data as possible about the project in a new row in your Excel spreadsheet.

Even if you are not sure whether you will reach an agreement on the project, this data can be a valuable memory aid if the same client approaches you again or if you quote for a similar type of project in the future. It can also be useful to have a record of the projects you did not work on, for whatever reason, to help you direct your efforts in more lucrative and professionally fulfilling directions in the future.

You will be able to fill in more data in each row once you have negotiated the details of the project and either reached an agreement with the client or determined that you will not be taking on the project.

You will only be able to add the final details (such as how many hours you spent on the project and the date on which you submitted it) once you have completed the project.

Each project (or each payment instalment, for projects with payment in multiple instalments) gets a row in the Income tab of your spreadsheet.

Because certain columns in this tab are Locked columns, you will not be able to create additional rows. If you run out of rows under one month heading, you can always enter a project’s details further down the spreadsheet; as long as you enter the correct dates for your payments and hours worked, those project details will get included in the appropriate monthly summaries.

Enter the client’s name. Use the exact same spelling each time you enter the client’s name for a new project to ensure that the formulas in the Client Summaries Table in the Summaries tab include all the summary data for each client.

Enter the name of the project.

Enter the invoice number for the project.

If you are being paid in instalments, consider using separate rows with separate invoice numbers for each instalment (e.g., 001a and 001b).

The cells in this column are locked and cannot be modified.

This column is automatically populated from the data in the Payment Due Date on Invoice column in the Income tab.

The purpose of this column is to feed data into the Amount Invoiced column in the Summaries tab so that you can see how much income you are expecting in each month.

The cells in this column are locked and cannot be modified.

This column is automatically populated from the data in the Date Paid column in the Income tab.

The purpose of this column is to feed data into the Amount Received (monthly) column in the Summaries tab so that you can see how much income you have received in each month.

The cells in this column are locked and cannot be modified.

This column is automatically populated from the data in the Work Completed Date column in the Income tab.

The purpose of this column is to feed data into the Hours Worked column in the Summaries tab so that you can see how many hours you have worked in each month.

Enter the date on which you start working on the project.

Enter the date by which you are expected to complete the project.

Enter the date on which you actually completed the project.

This column feeds data into the Month Worked column in the Income tab.

Enter the date on which the payment is due from the client.

This column feeds data into the Month Due column in the Income tab.

Enter the date on which you received the payment from the client.

This column feeds data into the Month Paid column in the Income tab.

The cells in this column are locked and cannot be modified.

This column is automatically populated from the data in the Payment Due Date on Invoice and the Date Paid columns in the Income tab.

The cells in this column will be blank except in the following cases:

• If the payment is received on or before its due date, the cell will display the words “Paid on Time” in green font on a light-green background.

• If the payment due date is still in the future and the payment is still outstanding, the cell will display the words “Awaiting Payment” in yellow font on a light-yellow background.

• If the payment due date has passed and the payment is still outstanding, the cell will display the word “Overdue” in red font on a light-red background.

• If the payment is received after its due date, the cell will display the words “Paid Late” in red font.

Enter the percentage of the total project fee that this payment will be for. This column is pre-formatted to enter the “%” symbol, so you just need to enter the number. Enter “100” for projects with a single payment for the full project fee.

This column feeds data into the Page Count for this Payment, Word Count for this Payment, Hours Worked for this Payment (Est.), and Hours Worked for this Payment (Act.) columns in the Income tab.

Enter any notes you wish to record about the project.

If the project does not go ahead, you might want to record the reason why. You might also like to highlight the background of the row in a different colour so that you can easily distinguish projects that didn’t go ahead from the ones you are actually working on.

Enter a brief note about how the client found you (e.g., editor directory, online search, word of mouth).

Enter the type of work you will be doing on the project (e.g., copyediting, proofreading, indexing).

Enter the total page count of the project’s text.

The data in this column feeds into the Page Count for this Payment, Pages per Hour (Act.), Total Hours Worked (Est.), Rate per Page (Est.), and Rate per Page (Act.) columns in the Income tab.

The cells in this column are locked and cannot be modified.

This column shows you the number of pages in the project text that the current payment instalment covers. In reality, most editorial work is not linear enough to be divided neatly into page counts per payment instalment, but this calculation allows you to track your working speed and per-page rate consistently and automatically across multiple payments for a project.

This column is automatically populated from the data in the Payment % of Total Fee and Total Page Count columns in the Income tab.

If you are quoting on a per-page basis for the project, enter the number of pages that you estimate you will be able to edit/proofread in one hour for the project; otherwise, leave blank.

The number you enter might be based on a sample edit or previous work from the same client, but if you are just starting your business or do not have much experience with a specific type of work, you may have to guess.

The data in this column feeds into the Total Hours Worked (Est.) column in the Income tab.

The cells in this column are locked and cannot be modified.

This column shows how many pages you actually edited/proofread per hour on the project.

It is automatically populated from the data in the Total Page Count and Total Hours Worked (Act.) columns in the Income tab.

Enter the total word count of the project’s text.

The data in this column feeds into the Word Count for this Payment, Words per Hour (Act.), Total Hours Worked (Est.), Rate per Word (Est.), Rate per Word (Act.), Rate per 1000 Words (Est.), and Rate per 1000 Words (Act.) columns in the Income tab.

The cells in this column are locked and cannot be modified.

This column shows you the number of words in the project text that the current payment instalment covers. In reality, most editorial work is not linear enough to be divided neatly into word counts per payment instalment, but this calculation allows you to track your working speed and per-word or per-1000-words rate consistently and automatically across multiple payments for a project.

This column is automatically populated from the data in the Payment % of Total Fee and Total Word Count columns in the Income tab. 

If you are quoting on a per-word or per-1000-words basis for the project, enter the number of words that you estimate you will be able to edit/proofread in one hour for the project; otherwise, leave blank.

The number you enter might be based on a sample edit or previous work from the same client, but if you are just starting your business or do not have much experience with a specific type of work, you may have to guess.

The data in this column feeds into the Total Hours Worked (Est.) column in the Income tab.

The cells in this column are locked and cannot be modified.

This column shows how many words you actually edited/proofread per hour on the project.

It is automatically populated from the data in the Total Word Count and Total Hours Worked (Act.) columns in the Income tab.

If you are quoting on a per-hour basis for the project, enter the number of hours that you estimate you will need to complete the project; otherwise, leave blank.

The number you enter might be based on a sample edit or previous work from the same client, but if you are just starting your business or do not have much experience with a specific type of work, you may have to guess. In some cases, the client may have given you a set number of hours for the project.

The data in this column feeds into the Total Hours Worked (Est.) column in the Income tab.

The cells in this column are locked and cannot be modified.

This column shows an estimate of the number of hours you will need to complete the project.

If the Total Page Count and Pages per Hour (Est.) columns in the Income tab are populated, this column will be automatically populated from data in those two columns.

If not, and if instead the Total Word Count and Words per Hour (Est.) columns in the Income tab are populated, this column will be automatically populated from data in those two columns.

If not, and if instead the Total Hours Worked (Est., Manual Entry) column in the Income tab is populated, this column will be automatically populated from data in that column.

The cells in this column are locked and cannot be modified.

This column shows an estimate of the number of hours you will need to complete the portion of the project covered by the current payment instalment.

This column is automatically populated from the data in the Payment % of Total Fee and Total Hours Worked (Est.) columns in the Income tab.

Enter the total number of hours that you actually spent working on the project, after you have completed the project.

The data in this column feeds into the Pages per Hour (Act.) and Words per Hour (Act.) columns in the Income tab and the Hours Worked and Hours of Work Done This Year columns in the Summaries tab.

The cells in this column are locked and cannot be modified.

This column shows you how many hours you worked for the portion of the project covered by the current payment instalment.

This column is automatically populated from the data in the Payment % of Total Fee and Total Hours Worked (Act.) columns in the Income tab.

Enter the amount that you aim to earn per hour for the project.

The data in this column feeds into the Pre-Discount Amount to Quote for this Payment Before Tax column in the Income tab.

The cells in this column are locked and cannot be modified.

This column shows you what your actual per-hour rate was for the project.

It is automatically populated from the data in the Hours Worked for this Payment (Act.) and Amount Received for this Payment columns in the Income tab.

The cells in this column are locked and cannot be modified.

This column shows you what the estimated rate per page will be for the project.

This column is automatically populated from the data in the Total Page Count and Pre-Discount Amount to Quote for this Payment Before Tax columns in the Income tab.

The cells in this column are locked and cannot be modified.

This column shows you what the actual rate per page is for the project.

This column is automatically populated from the data in the Total Page Count and Amount Received for this Payment columns in the Income tab.

The cells in this column are locked and cannot be modified.

This column shows you what the estimated rate per word will be for the project.

This column is automatically populated from the data in the Total Word Count and Pre-Discount Amount to Quote for this Payment Before Tax columns in the Income tab.

The cells in this column are locked and cannot be modified.

This column shows you what the actual rate per word is for the project.

This column is automatically populated from the data in the Total Word Count and Amount Received for this Payment columns in the Income tab.

The cells in this column are locked and cannot be modified.

This column shows you what the estimated rate per 1000 words will be for the project.

This column is automatically populated from the data in the Total Word Count and Pre-Discount Amount to Quote for this Payment Before Tax columns in the Income tab.

The cells in this column are locked and cannot be modified.

This column shows you what the actual rate per 1000 words is for the project.

This column is automatically populated from the data in the Total Word Count and Amount Received for this Payment columns in the Income tab.

The cells in this column are locked and cannot be modified.

This column generates a suggested pre-discount and pre-tax project fee based on the hourly rate you want to earn and how long you estimate you will spend on the project.

This column is automatically populated from the data in the Hours Worked for this Payment (Est.) and Desired Rate per Hour columns in the Income tab.

If you are offering a discount on your fee for the project, enter the discount as a percentage of the total fee in this column. This column is pre-formatted to enter the “%” symbol, so you just need to enter the number.

This column feeds data into the Discounted Amount to Quote for this Payment Before Tax column in the Income tab.

The cells in this column are locked and cannot be modified.

If you are offering a discount on your fee for the project, this column shows you a suggested discounted, pre-tax project fee based on the hourly rate you want to earn, how long you estimate you will spend on the project, and the discount you are offering.

This column is automatically populated from the data in the Pre-Discount Amount to Quote for this Payment Before Tax and Discount % columns in the Income tab.

If you require your client to pay tax on your services, enter the tax rate that you will need to charge (this will be based on where your client lives). This column is pre-formatted to enter the “%” symbol, so you just need to enter the number.

The data in this column feeds into the Tax Amount to Quote column in the Income tab.

The cells in this column are locked and cannot be modified.

If you require your client to pay tax on your services, this column shows you the amount you should charge your client for tax.

It is automatically populated from the data in the Pre-Discount Amount to Quote for this Payment Before Tax, Discounted Amount to Quote for this Payment Before Tax, and Tax Rate columns in the Income tab.

The cells in this column are locked and cannot be modified.

If you require your client to pay tax on your services, this column shows you a suggested project fee that is tax-inclusive (and discount-inclusive, if you are offering a discount for this project).

This column is automatically populated from the data in the Pre-Discount Amount to Quote for this Payment Before Tax, Discounted Amount to Quote for this Payment Before Tax, and Tax Amount to Quote columns in the Income tab.

Enter the total amount that you have entered on your invoice for the current payment instalment for the project.

The data in this column feeds into the Amount Invoiced column in the Summaries tab.

Enter the total amount that you actually received from your client for the current payment instalment for the project. Usually this will be identical to the data in the adjacent Amount Invoiced for this Payment column in the Income tab, but on occasion it may be different (for example, if there were money-transfer fees).

The data in this column feeds into the Rate per Hour (Act.), Rate per Page (Act.), Rate per Word (Act.), and Rate per 1000 Words (Act.) columns in the Income tab and the Amount Received (monthly) and Amount Received (per client) columns in the Summaries tab.