A musician's guide to invoicing gig work

Is Keikkalasku right for me?

Yes! Keikkalasku suits every gigging musician, whether you’re just starting out or have been invoicing gigs for years. The invoice goes to your client under our business ID, and you receive your fee as salary.

What does light entrepreneurship mean for a musician?

A light entrepreneur works independently, just like an entrepreneur: finds the gigs, agrees on the fees and plays the shows. The invoicing service takes care of the invoicing, the withholding tax and the reports to the authorities. Light entrepreneurship works for musicians just as well for full-time gigging as for the occasional gig. Read more about light entrepreneurship.

What kind of gigs can a musician invoice?

Through the invoicing service you can invoice all your performances and other music work. For example:

• Club and restaurant gigs
• Festivals
• Private events
• Studio sessions
• Recording fees
• Composing and arranging
• Music notation
• Music lessons
• Streamed gigs

The whole band on one invoice

With group invoicing, your client gets one invoice for the whole band’s fee. Clients appreciate this: one invoice is much easier to process than a separate invoice from every band member. The fee is split between the band members either equally or however you agree, and everyone receives their share in their own bank account according to their own tax card.

A group invoice can also include members who invoice through their own company or, for example, a cooperative. They invoice their share from Keikkalasku once the client has paid. The invoicing company or cooperative must be in the prepayment register.

Good to know: on a group invoice the service fee is charged from each member separately, and each member's travel expenses are reported with the invoice.

Can band members invoice their fees separately?

Of course! If that’s what you’ve agreed with the client, even a bigger band can invoice their fees separately.

Travel expenses are paid tax-free

Invoicing travel expenses with Keikkalasku is easy, whether you perform solo or in a band. We can pay you tax-free, for example:

• mileage allowances
• car or trailer rental and parking
• public transport: train, bus, taxi and flights
• accommodation
• daily allowance and meal allowance

All you need are the receipts or a travel claim made on the invoicing form.

Before the gig: agree on the fee and collect the details

How should I agree on the gig fee?

Agree on the fee in writing in advance; an email or a text message is enough. Write down at least the date, length and fee of the gig, and whether travel expenses are paid separately. You’ll find more on musicians’ contracts and fees on the website of the Finnish Musicians’ Union.

Performance fees invoiced through Keikkalasku are VAT-exempt, so no VAT is added to them. If you also invoice, for example, mixing, 25.5% VAT is added to it. So also agree whether the price includes VAT or not.

What details do I need from the client?

How it works: a restaurant gig

1. You agree on the gig. A restaurant offers you a €500 fee, and you make a deal.
2. You create the invoice. After the show you fill in the Keikkalasku form. It takes a few minutes.
3. We send the invoice. We check the invoice and send it to the restaurant on your behalf.
4. We run payroll and you get paid. When the restaurant’s payment reaches our account, we deduct the service fee and withhold tax according to your tax card. If the payment arrives on a working day by 4 pm, your salary is in your account the same day.

Studio work and recordings

Studio sessions and recording fees are invoiced just like any gig. The VAT depends on what you do in the studio. When you play on a recording as a musician, you invoice a performance fee and no VAT is added. Other studio work and production are invoiced with 25.5% VAT.

Composing and arranging

The VAT on composing and arranging depends on whether you sell a service or a right of use. When you compose or arrange for a client as a service, 25.5% VAT is added to the invoice.

If you sell a right to use your own composition, you can invoice it as a usage fee without VAT. In that case you keep the copyright, and the right of use is always limited, for example to a specific purpose or period.

Music teaching

You invoice music lessons and other music teaching through Keikkalasku just like gigs. Unlike performance fees, music teaching is invoiced with 25.5% VAT. When you invoice a private person, the hourly price must be stated including VAT. With a company or an educational institution, agree whether the price includes VAT or not.

Can I invoice just one gig?

You can. Using Keikkalasku doesn’t tie you to anything: no monthly fees and no contract period. Most of our musician clients invoice through us regularly, though, and that’s where the flat price shows best: the service fee stays the same however many gigs and however much invoicing you have.

Common questions from new users

This guide is general information, not personal tax advice. Check your own situation with the Finnish Tax Administration.