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Accounting and invoicing for thumbnail designers

Thumbnails, intros, overlays, animations: whoever designs for creators delivers many small jobs for a few regular clients. Saldiqo creates collective invoices for the month’s packages, records revisions and matches payments from channels and agencies.

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What comes up for thumbnail and motion designers

Small unit prices, many jobs

One thumbnail costs little, but in a month there are 20 or 50. The invoice has to show quantity and unit price.

Revisions and rush jobs

Clients want changes and fast delivery. Both should appear as lines on the invoice.

Licences and assets

Fonts, stock photos, plug-ins and templates are running costs and sometimes part of the job.

How Saldiqo helps

  • Monthly package as a recurring invoiceFixed packages are created by a recurring invoice on schedule, and you adjust the quantity per month.
  • Items for unit pricesYou create thumbnail, intro, overlay and animation as items.
  • Record licencesCapture subscriptions and purchases with your phone or as a file and assign them to a cost centre.
  • Match paymentsUpload the bank statement, and Saldiqo suggests the matching invoice.

Typical invoice lines

Examples that often appear on invoices in this industry. You set the prices yourself.

  • Thumbnail, unit price, 24 in November
  • Two revisions, included
  • Rush delivery within 12 hours
  • Channel intro, 8 seconds, animation
  • Overlay package for livestream
  • Font licence cost re-invoiced as per receipt

Tax and invoicing in Malta

What applies to invoices in Malta, in short. As of October 2026.

VAT
Rates 18 %, 12 %, 7 % and 5 %. Malta has no zero rate in law. Exports, EU supplies, food and medicines are exempt with credit, which lets you reclaim input VAT. Exempt without credit does not.
Article 11 small undertakings
With up to €35,000 of domestic turnover a year you can be exempt under Article 11. The status ends on the day the limit is passed, and you still register with the VAT department. Saldiqo adds the exemption note and leaves VAT off.
Tax invoice or fiscal receipt
A tax invoice is issued only when the customer gives you a VAT number. Otherwise a fiscal receipt from an approved system is required. Saldiqo writes invoices. It is not a fiscal receipt system, and a Saldiqo PDF does not replace a fiscal receipt.
Invoice timing
Issue the invoice by the 15th of the following month, or when payment arrives if that comes first. Simplified invoices are allowed up to €100.
E-invoicing
There is no mandate. Public bodies accept e-invoices through Peppol (EN 16931). The tax authority plans e-invoicing and real-time reporting but has set no dates, and EU rules apply from 1 July 2030.
VAT returns
Returns are due by the 15th day of the second month after the period, with 7 extra days when you file and pay electronically. Article 11 businesses file a yearly declaration by 15 February. Saldiqo does not file returns.
Record keeping
VAT records for 6 years, income tax records for 9 years and company records for 10 years. Plan for 10 years.
Late payment
Interest on late business payments is 10.40 %, plus €40 compensation between businesses.
Languages
Use Saldiqo in English or Maltese and send invoices in either language.

Frequently asked questions

Can I bill thumbnails per unit?

Yes. You create the unit price as an item and enter the quantity per invoice.

How do I bill revisions?

Included revisions are in the quote, further ones you bill as a line by effort.

Do thumbnail and motion designers in Malta have to charge VAT?

If you are registered under Article 10, yes. Small undertakings under Article 11 with domestic turnover of up to €35,000 a year are exempt from charging VAT, but the status ends on the day the limit is passed.

Do thumbnail and motion designers in Malta need a fiscal receipt?

Sales to consumers need a fiscal receipt from an approved fiscal receipt system, and Article 11 businesses use one for all sales. Saldiqo is not such a system. It covers tax invoices to customers who give you their VAT number.

How long should thumbnail and motion designers keep invoices?

VAT records for 6 years, income tax records for 9 years and company records for 10 years, so plan for 10 years. You can store receipts digitally in Saldiqo. The legal duty to keep records stays with you.

Try Saldiqo for free

Write invoices, match payments, collect receipts and send reminders: free and without a trial period.

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As of October 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice, without guarantee. For your case ask your tax adviser.