The practical setup for invoicing clients across USD, EUR and GBP without losing margin to FX or chasing late payments.
Remote developers billing across currencies face two costs: FX spread on conversion and delayed payments due to friction at the client's end. Both shrink dramatically with a multi-currency setup designed around the client's payment habits.
## Bill in the client's home currency
A US client should receive a USD invoice with US ACH routing details. A German client should receive an EUR invoice with SEPA IBAN. A UK client should receive a GBP invoice with local routing details. Anything else slows payment because the client's AP has to deal with international transfer overhead.
## Maintain three local accounts
A Wise (or Revolut Business / Mercury) multi-currency account gives you local routing details in USD, EUR, GBP and others. Each currency has its own account number that looks domestic to the payer. Funds clear in 1 to 3 days, not 5 to 10.
## Quote the price in the client's currency
Avoid wording like "5,000 EUR (approx 5,500 USD)". Pick the currency once and price firmly. Mixed pricing makes you look amateur and gives the client space to argue over FX.
## Convert when YOU want to
Hold balances in each currency until you have a reason to convert. Pay yourself in your home currency at month end, when the rate is convenient, not on every invoice receipt.
## Track gross USD/EUR consistently
For tax filing, you usually report income converted to your home currency at the date of receipt. Use the official rate published by your tax authority (HMRC monthly rate, IRS yearly rate). Multi-currency accounts export statements per currency, making this clean.
## What changes at scale
Above 100k USD annual revenue across multiple clients, consider opening an actual local bank account in the largest non-home currency you receive. The multi-currency intermediary becomes a fee on volume; a direct account removes it.
## Avoid PayPal for invoicing
PayPal's FX spread is 3 to 4 percent on cross-currency transactions. Use it only when the client refuses anything else, and bake the cost into your rate.
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A clean multi-currency account saves 2 to 4 percent of every cross-currency invoice. At 100k USD annual cross-border revenue that is 2,000 to 4,000 USD a year.
Should I send invoices in PDF or use an online portal?
PDF works fine for most clients. An online payment link (Stripe Invoicing) speeds up payment for tech-savvy clients but introduces a 2-3 percent processor fee.