Which Currency to Invoice International Clients In

When your client is in another country, one line on the quote decides a lot: the currency. It decides who carries the risk that exchange rates move, who pays the conversion costs, and how easy it is for the client to say yes and pay on time.

There is no single right answer, but there is a clear way to decide. This guide compares billing in your currency, your client's or a third one, works through an example in US dollars and euros, and lists what the invoice should state so nobody pays the wrong amount.

The short answer

• Bill in your own currency when you want a predictable income, the client already pays suppliers abroad, or your margin is thin. The client carries the exchange-rate risk.
• Bill in your client's currency when it helps win or keep the work, the client's finance team insists on it, or you have costs in that currency. You carry the risk, so protect yourself (see below).
• Bill in a third currency, usually US dollars or euros, when neither side's currency is easy to pay or receive and both of you already deal in that one. Both sides may then have to convert.

Whatever you choose, agree it before the work starts, put it in the quote or contract, and write it on every invoice as a three-letter code.

Who carries the exchange-rate risk

Exchange-rate risk is the chance that a currency moves between the day you agree a price and the day the money is converted. Someone always converts. Whoever does carries two costs: the movement in the rate, and the margin their bank or payment provider takes on the conversion.

You invoice in	The client pays	You receive	Who carries the rate risk
Your currency	Whatever it costs them in their money on the day	The invoiced amount, minus any fees	The client
The client's currency	A fixed amount in their own money	Whatever that amount converts to on the day	You
A third currency	Whatever it costs them to buy that currency	Whatever it converts to in your currency	Both, unless one side already uses it

On a one-off project of two weeks, the rate rarely moves much. On a six-month project or a year-long retainer, it can move enough to cancel out a price increase.

Worked example: a US designer and a German client

A designer based in the US agrees a brand project with a client in Germany. On the day they agree the price, assume 1 euro buys 1.10 US dollars (an example rate for illustration, not a current rate). The designer's price is $4,400, which is €4,000 at that rate.

Payment arrives 30 days later. Here is what each side ends up with if, by then, one euro buys 1.05, 1.10 or 1.15 dollars:

Rate on payment day	Invoice in USD 4,400: client pays	Invoice in USD 4,400: designer gets	Invoice in EUR 4,000: client pays	Invoice in EUR 4,000: designer gets
1 EUR = 1.05 USD	€4,190.48	$4,400.00	€4,000.00	$4,200.00
1 EUR = 1.10 USD	€4,000.00	$4,400.00	€4,000.00	$4,400.00
1 EUR = 1.15 USD	€3,826.09	$4,400.00	€4,000.00	$4,600.00

All amounts are before fees.

Billing in dollars fixes the designer's income and moves the risk to the client, whose cost ranges from €3,826.09 to €4,190.48. Billing in euros fixes the client's cost and moves the risk to the designer, whose income ranges from $4,200 to $4,600. A 5% move in the rate is a $200 swing on this invoice. On a monthly retainer of the same size, it is a $200 swing every month.

Fees come on top. Whoever converts usually gets a rate a little worse than the mid-market rate shown in a currency converter. On this invoice, every 1% of conversion cost is $44, whichever side pays it.

Bank and platform fees: where the money goes

The amount that leaves your client's account is rarely the amount that reaches yours. Money can be lost at several points:

• Sending fee. The client's bank or payment platform charges to send an international payment.
• Intermediary bank fees. An international wire can pass through one or more correspondent banks, and each may deduct a fee from the amount on the way.
• Conversion margin. The bank or provider that converts applies its own rate, usually less favorable than the mid-market rate, and may add a separate conversion fee.
• Receiving fee. Your bank may charge for an incoming international payment.
• Platform or card fees. Payment platforms and card processors set their own fees, which can depend on the country, the currency and the payment method.

Prices differ by provider, country and account type, and they change, so read each provider's current fee page before you choose a payment route. Then do two things:

1. Compare what arrives, not the headline fee. Look at one real payment: the amount sent, the amount received and the date.
2. Say who pays. If you agreed that the client covers transfer charges, write it on the quote and on the invoice. On an international wire, the sender can usually choose to pay all the sending charges (often called the "OUR" option), which makes it more likely that the full amount arrives.

Some banks and payment providers offer local receiving details in other currencies, so a client can pay you like a domestic supplier. Check the fees and terms before you rely on one.

How to choose: questions to ask

Question	If yes, lean toward
Will the engagement last more than a few months?	Your currency, or theirs with a review clause
Does the client already pay suppliers abroad?	Your currency
Does the client's finance team require invoices in their currency?	Their currency
Do other suppliers in that market quote in one currency, such as USD?	That currency
Do you pay costs in the client's currency (software, subcontractors)?	Their currency: income and costs offset each other
Does the client's currency often swing by several percent?	Your currency, or a widely held one such as USD or EUR
Is your margin on this work thin?	Your currency
Could tax rules require amounts in a specific currency?	Check first (see the tax notes below)

If the answers point both ways, ask the client what their accounts payable team can process fastest.

If you bill in your client's currency, protect yourself

• Price in a buffer. Set the price in their currency a little above your target to absorb rate moves and conversion costs.
• Add a review clause to long engagements. For example: "Fees are set in EUR. If the EUR/USD rate published by [a public source both parties can check] moves by more than 5% from the rate on the contract date, either party may ask to review the fees for future invoices." It turns a hard conversation into an agreed one.
• Shorten the gap. Shorter payment terms and more frequent invoices leave less time for the rate to move. A deposit at the start helps too; see how to invoice a deposit and the balance.
• Decide when you convert. Converting each payment as soon as it arrives avoids betting on the rate. Keeping it in that currency makes sense if you have bills to pay in it.
• Keep the currency consistent. Switching a client from one currency to another mid-engagement creates two reference points and an argument about which one counts.

What the invoice should state

Most currency disputes come from ambiguity. Make each of these explicit:

• The currency code, not just a symbol. ISO 4217, the international standard for currency codes, gives each currency a three-letter code such as USD, EUR or CHF. The "$" sign alone is used by the US, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand and Singapore dollars, among others. Write "USD 4,400.00", or add a line such as "All amounts are in US dollars (USD)".
• One currency throughout. Line items, subtotal, tax and total all in the same currency. If you show a second currency for information or for tax, label it clearly and give the rate, its source and its date.
• Who pays transfer charges. For example: "Bank and transfer charges are payable by the client. Please send USD 4,400.00 net of charges."
• Payment details that match the currency. Bank details for an account that can receive that currency, or a payment link set up for it.
• Dates that cannot be misread. 06/12/2026 means June 12 in the US and 6 December in many other countries. Write "Dec 6, 2026" or "6 December 2026".
• The due date and terms. The due date as a date, plus any terms you agreed. See invoice payment terms explained.

For everything else an invoice needs, see how to make an invoice as a freelancer.

Tax notes: general information only

Whether you charge sales tax, VAT or GST on work for a client abroad depends on where you are registered, where the client is, and what you sell. Many tax systems treat services sold to businesses abroad differently from domestic sales, and in some cases the client accounts for the tax instead of you. This is not tax advice: check with an accountant or your tax authority before you send the first invoice.

Currency adds its own rules. Three examples from official sources:

• United Kingdom. HMRC's VAT Notice 700/21 allows the amounts on a VAT invoice to be in any currency, but the total VAT must be expressed in sterling (HMRC, VAT Notice 700/21, last updated 18 March 2024, read 6 November 2026). Our UK invoice guide covers the other fields.
• Ireland. Revenue says an invoice issued in a foreign currency must also show the corresponding figures in euro, normally at the Central Bank's selling rate at the time the invoice is due to be issued (Revenue, Information required on a VAT invoice, read 6 November 2026). See also our Ireland invoice guide.
• United States. The IRS says amounts on a US tax return must be in US dollars, so income received in a foreign currency has to be translated into dollars (IRS, Foreign currency and currency exchange rates, read 6 November 2026). Keep a record of each amount you received and its date, and ask your accountant which rate to use.

Key takeaways

• The invoice currency decides who carries the exchange-rate risk: bill in yours and the client carries it; bill in theirs and you do.
• Bill in your own currency for certainty. Bill in the client's when it wins or keeps the work, and protect yourself with a buffer, short terms and a review clause.
• Sending, intermediary, conversion and receiving fees can all cut into a payment. Compare what actually arrives, and state who pays the charges.
• Write the three-letter currency code, keep one currency across the invoice, and write dates with the month in words.
• Tax amounts may have to be shown in a specific currency (VAT in sterling in the UK, euro figures in Ireland), and US tax returns are in dollars. Ask an accountant.

How Clodou helps

In Clodou, each quote and invoice has its own currency. Your workspace currency, set in Settings, is the default, and it can be one of ten: USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, NZD, INR, SGD, ZAR and AED. To bill a client in another currency, name it in the chat ("Invoice Müller GmbH 4,000 EUR for the brand guidelines") or choose it on a draft in the Documents page. The chat also accepts other three-letter ISO codes when you name one.

Clodou never converts amounts between currencies, and it does not use exchange rates at all. Amounts stay in the currency of their document. Changing a draft's currency relabels its amounts; it does not convert them. Once an invoice has left draft, or a payment is recorded on it, its currency is locked. Overdue balances are listed per currency, the dashboard shows one currency at a time, and nothing is ever added up across currencies. CSV exports keep each amount in its own currency for your accountant.

That also means some of this guide stays with you. Clodou does not work out a second currency or an exchange-rate note (you can type one in the invoice notes), it does not show VAT in sterling or euro figures on an invoice in another currency, and it does not process or convert payments. Project hourly rates, retainers and invoices made from tracked time use the workspace currency.

On the PDF, amounts carry the currency's sign: US$ for US dollars when your workspace is outside the United States ($ inside it), CA$ for Canadian and A$ for Australian dollars, € and £, and the code for currencies such as INR, SGD, ZAR and AED. If your workspace is in the US and your client uses another dollar, add "All amounts are in USD" to the invoice notes, which print on the PDF. Dates on the PDF use the month's name, such as "Dec 6, 2026".

Invoices come out as branded PDFs with your logo and your country's tax words (sales tax, VAT, GST or GST/HST). When Clodou emails an invoice for you, an owner or admin approves it first, and on the Team plan your own payment link prints on every invoice. Every new workspace starts with a 14-day trial of Team, no card required. After that, the Free plan includes 20 AI requests and 3 quotes or invoices a month; Solo is $29 a month and Team $79 a month, per workspace.