Just Got Signed? A Money Primer for New Fashion Models

You're new. That's fine. Nobody is born knowing this.

You signed with an agency this month. You shot your first test, got booked for an editorial, and now there's a number on the voucher you don't really understand. Someone mentions commission, then "net 60", then usage rights, and you nod.

No new model knows this on day one. You weren't taught it in casting. The agency's job is to book you. The bookkeeper's job is to keep things moving. Nobody is sitting you down to explain how the money actually flows.

What we hear from models who handle this well isn't that they got smart fast. It's that they kept simple records from their first job, asked questions when a number didn't make sense, and didn't let two months go by without checking where things sit.

Three things to know about the money

1. The voucher is the start, not the end.

When you finish a job, you fill out a voucher (sometimes called a job sheet or booking voucher). The voucher confirms what was booked and at what rate. The agency invoices the client from your voucher. The client pays the agency. The agency pays you, minus commission.

The number on the voucher is gross, not net. Don't plan a budget around it.

2. The wait is normal.

The lag between shoot day and money in your account is commonly 60 to 120 days. Sometimes longer. That's not because someone is cheating — it's the standard net 60/90 client terms plus agency processing stacking up. The system is slow, not broken.

New models often think a first paycheck is "missing" when it's actually on schedule. Knowing the realistic timeline upfront protects your nerves and your rent.

3. Commission and tax are separate.

Agency commission (commonly 15–25% on your end, with a similar markup on the client end) is taken before you're paid. Tax comes after. Your taxable income is what landed in your bank account, not what was printed on the voucher. New models occasionally hand a tax agent the gross figure and overpay — keep both numbers visible from job one.

How to track from day one

The earlier you start, the easier end-of-year is. You don't need a finance degree. You need three things in one place:

• Every job logged — agency, client, voucher number, gross rate, expected pay date.
• Every payment matched to the job it came from, after commission.
• Every receipt captured — cabs to castings, your portfolio fees, gym, hair, skincare, travel.

BOOKDU is the Model Payment Tracker we built for exactly this. Per-agency ledgers, voucher → invoice → paid lifecycle, overdue alerts at 35 and 56 days, and a Tax & Expenses CSV export when EOFY arrives. Everything stays on your phone.

Read next

• How long modeling agencies take to pay — the realistic timeline, by country.
• How agency commission works — what's deducted before you see a number.
• What is a modeling voucher? — the document everything else flows from.
• Glossary — short definitions for voucher, day rate, mother agency, exclusivity, and more.