You can invoice while employed, and the rules are clearer than people think. Here is what to check first in your contract.
What to check first
Your employment contract
Three points, in this order.
The existence of an exclusivity clause, framing the exercise of another activity during the contract.
Any obligation to inform your employer, or to obtain written agreement.
And the non-competition clause, which may target a whole sector rather than one company.
Those clauses do not make the activity impossible, but they determine what has to be declared and what has to be avoided. Their exact scope is checked with a lawyer before the first invoice.
Your timetable
Three practical rules, whatever the contract.
Never during working hours, never with the company's equipment.
Never for a direct competitor of your employer.
And never a production encroaching on the availability set out in your contract.
One consequence for method: block two fixed slots a week and refuse what does not fit. A shoot accepted out of optimism and delivered late costs more than an order declined.
Your student situation
That is the most flexible configuration, with one caveat.
No exclusivity clause weighs on you, unless you are also employed.
The academic calendar frees up periods often coinciding with demand peaks.
The caveat concerns grants, bursaries and particular statuses: their compatibility with a declared income is checked with a professional, and the rules change regularly.
How it works concretely
Four steps, in this order.
Declare the activity under a suitable status before the first invoice, whatever the amount.
Open a separate account, and set aside the share for contributions and tax on receipt.
Issue compliant invoices, with the mandatory statements applying to your situation.
And keep a simple table: date, client, amount, running annual total. That last column will save you from bad surprises.
The most effective strategy
Three choices making the activity compatible with the rest.
Choose a niche you can shoot at home, with no travel and no extra equipment.
Sell batches rather than units: three videos delivered in two weeks take one organisational effort, three separate jobs take three.
And work with two or three regular clients rather than ten occasional ones: the load becomes predictable, which is the only condition for holding out over a year.
What not to do
Four recurring mistakes.
Invoicing without being registered, thinking the amount is too small to count.
Accepting sector exclusivity without pricing it, when it limits precisely the future development.
Using your employer's name or resources, even indirectly.
And setting rates from the desired extra income, without counting contributions: that is how you work for months for a net lower than you thought.
Where to place the hours in a busy week
| Slot | What you do there | Length |
|---|---|---|
| One weekday evening | Editing and exports | 2 hours |
| Saturday morning | The shoot, in daylight | 3 hours |
| Twenty minutes at lunch | Quotes and replies | Every day |
What you tell the client from the first exchange
The real lead time, not the ideal one. Announcing seven days and delivering in five beats promising two days and delivering in six.
What to check with the employer or the institution
The employment contract, any exclusivity clause, student status and the reporting obligations, to be confirmed with a lawyer and an accountant.
When to switch
One single marker, and it is reliable.
Go full-time only if you have been turning down profitable work for three consecutive months, for lack of time.
Two checks before jumping: having a reserve covering several months of fixed costs, and having at least two recurring clients rather than one big one.
One last, often underestimated marker: doing both is not a shameful transitional stage. It is an arrangement allowing you to learn the trade without depending on it, and many established creators stayed there far longer than planned, by choice.
Sources
- Agencia Tributaria, Spanish tax authority
- Spanish Social Security, self-employed registration (RETA)
Checked on 27 August 2026. Thresholds and rates change: where this guide and the official source disagree, the official source is right.
