Reviewed by Thomas B. · Last Updated September 24, 2026 · How we review
A pollination invoice should let the grower’s bookkeeper check every dollar against the signed agreement. At minimum, list both parties and the contract reference, the crop and field location, colonies contracted and colonies actually delivered, delivery and removal dates, the strength standard and any inspection result, the rate per colony (or per frame of bees), which installment this bill covers, any agreed extras such as additional moves, any agreed adjustments, the due date and the late-payment terms exactly as written in the contract. An invoice cannot add terms the contract does not contain; it can only apply them.
Key Takeaways
- Build the invoice from the contract, line by line, so each charge points to a clause the grower already signed.
- Show contracted and delivered colony counts separately, with the delivery date and strength result.
- Installments are normal: extension sample contracts use half on delivery, or splits across signing, delivery and completion.
- Late interest is only enforceable if it is in the agreement; sample rates range from 10% a year to 1% a month.
- Use current USDA survey prices, not rumour, when sanity-checking a rate: almonds averaged $209 per colony in 2025.
Table of Contents
- Why the Invoice Must Mirror the Contract
- Line-by-Line Invoice Checklist
- Structuring Installments
- Strength Adjustments and Extra Work
- Checking Your Rate Against 2025 Data
- Late Payments and Disputes
- Frequently Asked Questions
Why the Invoice Must Mirror the Contract
Most pollination payment problems start before the invoice is written. In economist Brittney Goodrich’s 2015 survey of almond growers, reported in Choices magazine, 42% used only oral agreements, and just 14.3% of agreements contained a clause about unpaid balances. If the terms were never written down, a detailed invoice cannot rescue them.
So start with a written agreement; our pollination contract template covers the clauses. Then treat the invoice as a summary of that agreement applied to what actually happened in the field. Every line should answer the question a grower’s accounts clerk will ask: where in the contract does this come from?
Line-by-Line Invoice Checklist
The examples in the right-hand column are invented to show format only. They are not real businesses, rates or locations.
| Invoice item | What to include | Source in the contract | Illustrative example only |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your business details | Legal name, address, phone, email, tax ID if the grower needs it for their records | Parties section | Example Apiary LLC |
| Grower details | Legal name, billing address, contact for accounts payable | Parties section | Example Orchards Inc. |
| Invoice number and date | Unique number; date issued | Your own records | 2026-014, dated May 20 |
| Contract reference | Contract date or number; season | Header of the agreement | Agreement dated Feb 2, 2026 |
| Crop and location | Crop, block or field name, county | Location and placement clause | Apples, north block |
| Colonies contracted vs delivered | Both numbers, and the drop sites | Number of colonies clause | Contracted 60, delivered 60 |
| Dates | Delivery date, removal date (or expected) | Timing clause | In May 12, out May 29 |
| Strength standard and result | Agreed minimum or average frames of bees; inspection method and result | Colony strength clause | Agreed avg 6 frames; inspected avg 7.1 |
| Rate | Per colony, per frame, or base plus bonus | Fee clause | 60 colonies at agreed rate |
| Installment covered | Which payment this is and what has already been paid | Payment schedule clause | Delivery installment, 50% |
| Extras | Additional moves, re-settings, removals for spraying | Extras clause | One extra move, 60 colonies |
| Adjustments | Credits for short or understrength colonies, as the contract specifies | Strength or penalty clause | None |
| Amount due and due date | Total, due date, how to pay | Payment schedule clause | Due within agreed days |
| Late terms | Interest or fee exactly as written | Late payment clause | As per clause 5 |
Attach, or offer on request, the supporting records: the delivery log and any inspection report. Our field guide to documenting hive strength for growers explains how to make those records hold up, and the pollination season record-keeping template gives a format for keeping them.
Structuring Installments
Pollination fees are rarely paid in one lump. Published sample agreements show the common patterns:
- Half on delivery, balance later. University of Minnesota entomologist Marla Spivak’s sample pollination agreement has the grower pay half the total fee when the bees are delivered and the rest within an agreed number of days.
- Per colony on delivery, balance by a date. The Mid-Atlantic sample contract reprinted by SARE sets an amount per colony on delivery and the balance on or before a set date.
- Three stages. The Project Apis m. sample almond agreement leaves blanks for a percentage on signing, on delivery and on completion of pollination.
Prepayment has measurable value to beekeepers. A 2024 study in Ecological Economics by Marieke Fenton, Brittney Goodrich and Jerrod Penn, summarised by the University of Illinois, tested how beekeepers valued contract enhancements, including a 40% advance payment before colonies arrived in California. Issue each installment invoice promptly on the trigger event (signing, delivery or removal) so the payment clock starts when the contract says it should.
Illustrative example only. Suppose a contract calls for 60 apple colonies at a rate of $72.80, which happens to be USDA’s 2025 average for apples in Region 4 (the region that includes North Dakota and Minnesota), paid half on delivery and half within 30 days. The total fee is $4,368.00. The delivery invoice bills $2,184.00; the final invoice bills the remaining $2,184.00 plus any agreed extras, minus any agreed credits.
Strength Adjustments and Extra Work
Adjustments cause more disputes than the base fee, so they need the most care on the invoice.
- Understrength colonies. The Project Apis m. almond sample gives the beekeeper 48 hours after inspection results to make up any shortage with extra colonies; if that does not happen, the amount due is reduced in proportion to the shortfall in average full-strength frames, with no credit for colonies under five frames. If your contract has a clause like this, show the calculation on the invoice.
- Strength bonuses. Goodrich found that 20% of almond growers offered a per-frame bonus above an eight-frame average. If yours does, list the base fee and the bonus as separate lines.
- Per-frame pricing. Spivak’s guide describes almond growers paying $6.50 to $7.00 per frame of bees, capped at 10 frames, or a flat fee of $55 to $60 per hive with an eight-frame minimum. Those are historical figures from her guide, not current prices, but they show how a per-frame invoice line is built: frames counted, times rate, up to the cap.
- Extra moves. The SARE sample sets a per-hive charge for each additional move or setting, and the Project Apis m. sample sets a $4.00 per colony charge, payable with the final installment, when colonies are removed and returned because of a toxic spray or flooding.
Checking Your Rate Against 2025 Data
Older versions of many pollination articles, including an earlier version of this one, quoted per-hive figures without a source. The reliable public benchmark is the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service Cost of Pollination report. The 2025 averages below were released on February 13, 2026.
| Crop and USDA region | 2025 average price per colony |
|---|---|
| Almonds, Region 6 & 7 (CA, AZ, HI) | $209.00 (up from $181.00 in 2024) |
| Apples, Region 1 (incl. MI, WI, NY, PA) | $85.60 |
| Apples, Region 4 (incl. ND, MN, SD, MT) | $72.80 |
| Cherries, Region 5 (WA, OR, ID, AK) | $59.90 |
| Blueberries, Region 1 | $85.90 |
| Cranberries, Region 1 | $83.90 |
| Pumpkins, Region 1 | $84.30 |
| Sunflowers, Region 6 & 7 | $48.80 |
These are averages of what growers reported paying, so your negotiated rate can reasonably sit above or below them. To build a rate from your own costs, see how to price crop pollination services.
Late Payments and Disputes
Only charge late interest if the agreement provides for it, and quote the clause. The sample contracts show the range: Project Apis m. uses interest of 10% a year on overdue amounts plus recovery of attorneys’ fees for the prevailing party if suit is brought; Spivak’s sample uses 1% a month. A sensible sequence for an overdue bill is a reminder on the due date, a second notice that restates the clause and attaches the delivery and inspection records, and then whatever dispute step the contract names, such as a neutral third-party inspector for strength disagreements.
If collection risk worries you, a pollination broker may help: Goodrich notes that brokers typically guarantee timely payment to beekeepers and carry the risk of a grower paying late or not at all, in exchange for a margin. For the grower-side view of schedules, see pollination service payment terms, and for the wider service picture, bee pollination services explained.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should a pollination invoice include?
Both parties, the contract reference, crop and location, colonies contracted and delivered, delivery and removal dates, the strength standard and result, the rate, the installment being billed, agreed extras and adjustments, the amount due, the due date and the late terms from the contract.
When should a beekeeper send a pollination invoice?
On the trigger event in the contract: at signing if a deposit is due, on delivery for the delivery installment, and on removal or completion for the balance. Sending promptly starts the payment period the contract sets.
Can I add a late fee that is not in the contract?
You should not. A late charge is a contract term, and an invoice cannot create new terms on its own. Put the late-payment clause in next season’s agreement instead.
How do I bill for colonies that failed the strength inspection?
Follow the contract’s mechanism, such as replacing colonies within a set window or reducing the fee in proportion to the shortfall, and show the calculation on the invoice with the inspection report attached.
Should the invoice list frames of bees?
Yes, if the contract prices or guarantees strength by frames. List the agreed standard and the inspected result so the grower can see that the fee matches what was delivered.
The Bottom Line
A good pollination invoice is boring: every line matches a clause, every number matches a field record, and nothing surprises the grower. Put the terms in the contract, bill each installment on its trigger, show counts, strength and adjustments plainly, and use USDA’s published prices rather than hearsay when checking your rate.
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