Dara is a freelance UX designer in Lagos. Three of her five clients are based outside Nigeria — one in the UK, one in the US, and one in Canada. They pay in pounds and dollars.
For a while, Dara sent them invoices in naira. The international clients were confused. What is the naira equivalent in dollars? Is the price changing every time the exchange rate moves? Why does this invoice not have a bank account number they can use?
Then Dara started sending invoices in the client's currency. The confusion stopped. Payments arrived faster. And she had a paper trail that made sense to both sides.
This guide shows you how to invoice international clients correctly from Nigeria — including how to handle the exchange rate.
The short answer: invoice in the currency that is easiest for your client to pay in.
If your client is a UK company, they pay from a GBP account. An invoice in naira creates friction — they have to figure out the conversion, and that exchange rate will change between when you send the invoice and when they pay.
If you invoice them in GBP, the amount is clear. They pay what the invoice says. You receive GBP (via a platform like Wise, Grey, or Geegpay), and then convert to naira at whatever the rate is when you choose to.
When you invoice in a foreign currency, the exchange rate movement becomes your responsibility — you decide when to convert, and the rate on that day is what you get. This is usually fine for freelancers, because you can convert immediately on receipt. For long-term contracts, consider adding a clause about rate reviews.
When creating an invoice in Lucrive, you can select a currency other than naira — USD, GBP, EUR, CAD, and more.
Here is how it works:
In the invoice editor, find the Currency dropdown (it defaults to NGN). Select the currency your client pays in — USD, GBP, EUR, etc.
Once you select a foreign currency, a field appears: Exchange Rate (in NGN). Enter today's exchange rate — how many naira equals one unit of the foreign currency.
For example: if USD/NGN is currently 1,580, enter 1,580.
This rate is stored on the invoice for your records. It lets you see, in naira terms, what this job was worth when you billed it.
Your items are priced in the currency you selected. If you charge $800 for a website design, enter 800 — the system shows the NGN equivalent based on the rate you entered.
The invoice your client receives shows the amount in their currency — clean, unambiguous, professional.
Your Nigerian bank account does not receive USD or GBP directly. You need a way to accept foreign currency before converting to naira.
Here are the most widely used options for Nigerian freelancers:
Most freelancers use one of these to receive payment, then convert and transfer to their NGN bank account.
Put the relevant account details on your invoice — the USD account number for a US client, the GBP account number for a UK client. Make it easy for them to pay.
Income you earn from international clients is still taxable in Nigeria. You declare it as part of your annual income just like any other revenue.
A few things to know:
VAT: Foreign clients are outside Nigeria's VAT system. You do not charge 7.5% VAT on services you deliver to clients overseas. (A service delivered to someone outside Nigeria is treated as an export — you charge VAT at 0%, meaning no VAT is added to the invoice.)
WHT (Withholding Tax): International clients are not required to deduct Nigerian WHT from payments they make to you. WHT is a Nigerian tax rule — it applies to Nigerian companies paying you, not foreign ones. You receive the full invoice amount from international clients.
Your income tax: You still pay Nigerian income tax on your total earnings, including foreign income. Convert the foreign earnings to naira (at the rate on the date of receipt) and include them in your annual income calculation.
If you are unsure about your specific situation — particularly if you have a formal contract with an overseas company — ask Lex (Lucrive's AI tax assistant) or consult a tax professional.
Before you do significant work for an international client, agree on three things in writing:
These sound obvious, but they come up. A UK company may have a 60-day payment policy. A US client may have never used Wise and need guidance. Getting this agreed upfront prevents delays later.
Dara invoices her UK client in GBP and her US clients in USD. She receives payment via Grey (for pounds) and Wise (for dollars), then converts on the day she receives — so she always knows exactly what the job was worth in naira.
Her average payment time from international clients dropped from 22 days to 11 days after she switched to foreign currency invoicing. The confusion was gone. The invoice was clear. There was nothing to delay.
Create your first multi-currency invoice. Log in at lucrive.io, open the Invoices section, select a new invoice, and switch the currency to USD or GBP. It takes 30 seconds to set up — and it makes a real difference to how professional you look to international clients.
People and businesses in our examples are illustrative, not real Lucrive customers. Figures are worked examples: confirm your own position with a qualified tax adviser.