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Tracking Sales and Sending Invoices

5 min read

Selling your work is the payoff — but getting paid cleanly, tracking what sold to whom, and keeping records for tax time is what separates a professional practice from a hobby. Fine Art Form handles the paperwork so you can stay focused on the work.

This guide covers how to log a sale, create a professional invoice, and keep your financial records clean.

Why Sales Tracking Matters

Most artists handle sales in a patchwork of email threads, Venmo screenshots, and mental notes. It works until:

  • Tax time arrives and you can't remember what sold in Q3
  • A collector disputes a detail and you have no paper trail
  • A gallery asks for your sales history and you have to reconstruct it from memory
  • Your accountant needs cost-of-goods data and you have no records

Fine Art Form gives you a single place to record every sale — linked to the specific artwork, the buyer, and the price — so your records are complete without extra effort.

Logging a Sale

When an artwork sells, the first step is updating your catalog.

To mark a work as sold:

  1. Go to My Artworks
  2. Open the sold artwork
  3. Click Edit
  4. Change the Availability status to Sold
  5. Update the Price field to the final sale price (if it differed from the listed price)
  6. Click Save Artwork

The work will now show a "Sold" badge on your portfolio site. It stays in your catalog permanently — useful for insurance, provenance, and sales history.

Tip: Don't delete sold work from your catalog. A gallery or collector asking about your track record wants to see what you've sold, not just what's available.

Creating an Invoice

Once the sale is logged, create a professional invoice to send to the buyer.

To create an invoice:

  1. Open the sold artwork
  2. Click Create Invoice (or go to Sales → New Invoice)
  3. Fill in the buyer details:
    • Name
    • Email address
    • Mailing address (required for shipped work)
  4. Confirm the invoice details:
    • Artwork title, dimensions, and medium (auto-filled from the artwork)
    • Sale price
    • Shipping cost (if applicable)
    • Tax (if applicable — see below)
    • Discount (if you offered one)
  5. Add any notes for the buyer (care instructions, provenance statement, delivery timeline)
  6. Click Send Invoice or Download PDF

Fine Art Form generates a clean, branded invoice with your name, studio name, and contact details pre-filled from your profile.

What a Good Invoice Includes

A professional art invoice should always include:

Field Why it matters
Invoice number Unique reference for your records and theirs; auto-generated
Invoice date The date the sale was confirmed
Due date When payment is expected (standard: Net 14 or Net 30)
Your name and contact info So the buyer knows who to pay
Buyer name and address Required for shipped work and any tax filings
Artwork title, year, medium, dimensions Documents what was sold for insurance and provenance
Sale price The agreed price — not the originally listed price if it differed
Shipping and handling Separate line item if applicable
Tax If you're in a jurisdiction that requires sales tax on art (see below)
Payment instructions Bank transfer, PayPal, check — be explicit
Total due Clear, unambiguous

Fine Art Form includes all of these fields automatically from your artwork and profile data.

Handling Payments

Fine Art Form invoices include your preferred payment instructions based on what you've set up in your profile. Common options:

  • Bank transfer (ACH/wire): Lowest fees; best for large transactions
  • PayPal or Venmo: Easy for buyers; fees apply (typically 2.9% + fixed)
  • Check: Traditional; slow but fee-free
  • Credit card via Stripe: Professional, immediate; fees apply (~2.9% + 30¢)

To set your payment preferences:

  1. Go to Settings → Payment Info
  2. Add your preferred methods and instructions
  3. These appear automatically on every invoice

For large sales ($1,000+): Request a 50% deposit upfront, with the remainder due on delivery or collection. Fine Art Form supports multi-payment invoices — create the invoice for the full amount, then note the deposit in the payment instructions.

Taxes on Art Sales

Tax rules on art sales vary by location. This is not tax advice — consult your accountant — but here's the general picture:

Sales tax (US):

  • Many US states charge sales tax on art sales to in-state buyers
  • If you ship to a buyer in your own state, you may need to collect and remit sales tax
  • Sales tax generally does NOT apply to buyers in other states (unless you have nexus there)
  • Some states (e.g., New York) exempt original art from sales tax — check your state's rules

Income tax (US):

  • All art sales revenue is taxable income
  • If you sell work you created, you typically pay self-employment tax on profits
  • If you sell collected work (not your own), different rules may apply — consult a CPA

VAT (EU/UK):

  • Artists in the EU and UK may be subject to VAT on sales above certain thresholds
  • The "artist's resale right" (droit de suite) may also apply when your work resells on the secondary market

In Fine Art Form: You can add a tax line to any invoice. Enter the rate and Fine Art Form calculates the amount automatically. For recurring use, set a default tax rate in Settings → Invoice Defaults.

Offering Payment Plans

For high-value work, collectors sometimes need a little flexibility. Fine Art Form supports installment invoices.

To create a payment plan:

  1. Create the invoice as normal
  2. Before sending, click Add Installment Schedule
  3. Set the number of payments, amounts, and due dates
  4. Send — the buyer receives one invoice showing the full amount and all installment dates

Common payment plan structures:

  • 50/50: 50% upfront, 50% on delivery or 30 days later
  • Three payments: 33% now, 33% in 30 days, 33% in 60 days
  • Deposit + balance: 10–25% to hold the work; balance on collection

Protect yourself: Don't release the artwork until you've received full payment. On the invoice, note clearly: "Artwork will be released upon receipt of final payment."

Tracking Your Sales History

All invoices — paid, pending, and overdue — are tracked in Sales → Invoice History.

From this view you can:

  • See all invoices sorted by date, status, or amount
  • Filter by year (useful for tax reporting)
  • Mark an invoice as paid when payment arrives
  • Send payment reminders for overdue invoices
  • Download a year-end summary CSV for your accountant

Year-end CSV includes:

  • Invoice number and date
  • Buyer name
  • Artwork title and medium
  • Sale price
  • Tax collected (if applicable)
  • Payment received date
  • Status (paid / outstanding)

Pro tip: Export your sales CSV every January and send it directly to your accountant. No digging through emails, no spreadsheet rebuilding from scratch.

Managing Consignment Sales

When a gallery sells your work, the transaction runs through them — but you should still record the sale in Fine Art Form.

Consignment workflow:

  1. When the gallery confirms a sale, mark the artwork Sold in Fine Art Form
  2. Record the sale price as the retail price (what the buyer paid)
  3. Create an internal invoice (for your records, not to send to the buyer — the gallery handles that)
  4. Note the gallery's commission (e.g., 50%) and your net in a private note

This keeps your sales history complete, even when you're not invoicing the buyer directly.

Tag strategy: Use a tag like "consignment sale — [Gallery Name]" on works sold through galleries. Your inventory filter then lets you see all gallery-sold work at a glance.

Provenance Documentation

Every invoice Fine Art Form generates doubles as a provenance document. When a buyer asks for a certificate of authenticity or a gallery needs provenance for a loan or secondary sale, you have:

  • A dated, numbered invoice showing when the work was sold and to whom
  • The artwork's full record: title, year, medium, dimensions
  • Your name and contact information as the artist

For expensive work, you can download the invoice as a PDF and include it with the physical artwork when it ships or is collected.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Fine Art Form process payments for me? Fine Art Form generates and sends invoices, but payment is handled by your chosen method (bank transfer, Stripe, PayPal, etc.). For Stripe integration, connect your account in Settings → Payment Info — this enables a "Pay online" button on your invoices.

What if a collector pays but I never sent an invoice? Create the invoice after the fact — set the invoice date to the sale date and mark it as paid immediately. Your records will be accurate even if the invoice was informal.

Can I create an invoice for a work that isn't in my catalog? Yes — there's a "Custom item" option when creating invoices. Useful for commissions that haven't been added to your catalog yet, or for ancillary sales like prints or originals you've sold outside the platform.

What if a sale falls through after I've invoiced? Open the invoice, click Void Invoice, and add a note. Voided invoices remain in your history for record-keeping but show as cancelled. Also update the artwork status back to For Sale or the appropriate status.

Do I need to charge tax? It depends on your location and your buyer's location. Fine Art Form doesn't determine your tax obligations — consult your accountant. Once you know what rate to apply, add it to your invoice defaults in Settings.

Can I customize my invoice template? Yes — in Settings → Invoice Defaults, you can add your studio logo, a custom footer, and standard payment terms. These appear on every invoice you create.

What's Next?

With your sales tracked and invoices sent, here's where to take your practice next:

A cozy desk with paperwork, receipts, and a steaming coffee mug in warm afternoon light

Need more help? Browse all guides or contact our team.