Hourly invoice template

You are a professional who charges for your expert services by the hour – every minute of your time is valuable, so you don’t have time to waste on administrative tasks like creating a different invoice for each customer. You need to get paid for your hard work and expertise, so why not get a little help running your business with one of our easy-to-use, fully customizable hourly invoice templates in Word, Excel, PDF, Google Docs, and Google Sheets? Spend your time racking up the billable hours, not on invoicing!

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Choose the best invoice template for your hourly work

Hourly

By charging by the hour, your flexibility is a great advantage to clients. This invoice template is also flexible so it can be used to effectively bill for your time, no matter how many hours you worked. Simply add lines to describe all the details.

Retainer services

Download, customize, and send this invoice to clients who contract your services on retainer. It can be modified to indicate how many hours you are contracted to work each day, week, or month, with lines to fill in all the details for the requested services.

Download and send this retainer invoice to clients who contract your services regularly. It can be modified to indicate how many hours you are contracted to work each day, week, or month, with lines to fill in all the details for the requested services.

Freelance

If you provide expert freelance services at an hourly rate – this free invoice template is for you. You work hard for your clients, so make sure you are paid for every hour you work with this customizable invoice template.

If you provide expert services at an hourly rate – this free invoice template is for you. You work hard for your clients, so make sure you are paid for every hour you work with this customizable freelance invoice.

Labor

Do you provide labor at an hourly wage to construction companies? Capture everything you are owed for the hard work you do with this free hourly invoice template – and make sure you are fully compensated for your time and energy.

Agency clients

Don’t waste your energy designing an invoice each time an agency hires your services by the hour. Use your energy dazzling them with your great work instead. This invoice can be easily customized to meet all your agency invoicing needs.

Take the next step

You’ve made your life easier with a great invoice template. Now find out how much more Wave can do for you and your business by trying our 100% free invoicing and accounting software.

Alternatives to using hourly invoice templates

Make your business a success by finding out more about what Wave can offer you. Save time and take even more work off your hands by trying our free automated invoicing and powerful accounting.

Why hourly workers should send professional invoices

You give your clients great service and are committed to doing the job right – so you need to be paid properly for every hour you work.

You need clear, organized invoices that include details of all the great work you have provided, as well as an accurate timesheet that captures your billable hours.

An orderly, well-designed invoice also instills confidence and credibility in your reputation and excellent work. You are a pro at what you do – make sure your invoice reflects your skill and professionalism.

How to fill out your hourly invoice

Once you've downloaded your free invoice template, you'll need to customize it to fit your specific business. Here are the 10 key things to include on your invoice:

1. Title and Description: Name the project and briefly describe what type of work your client is being invoiced for.
2. Company Details: Add your company name, address, phone number, and logo to the top-right corner.
3. Customer Details: Under "Bill To", add your customer's name, address, and contact information.
4. Invoice Number: Include a unique invoice number to help you track down this invoice in the future. You can format this based on sequence and customer. For example, if you're sending your very first customer their first invoice, the invoice number could be 001-001.
5. Dates: Include the date when your invoice has been issued and the date when payment is due.
6. Line Item: Add individual line items for each unique good or service you provided. For each line item, include a brief description, quantity, individual unit price, and total price.
7. Subtotal: Add up the subtotal of your goods or services, before tax has been applied.
8. Tax: Indicate the tax rate applied to the subtotal. This is legally required to provide on invoices, and your rate may differ depending on where you run your business.
9. Total: Outline the total amount due from the customer, after tax.
10. Notes: Include any additional info your customer should know, including terms of service and payment terms (for example, payments are due 30 days after the invoice has been issued).

What should be included on an hourly invoice?

Whether you provide professional legal advice or consulting expertise by the hour, or you are working on an hourly labor contract, make sure your invoices allow you to be paid properly and promptly by following these important invoicing steps.

• Look through our beautiful selection of hourly invoice templates in different designs and colors, and pick the one you like best in the format you usually use – such as Word, Excel, PDF, Google Docs, or Google Sheets
• Download the invoice template. It’s fast and it’s free!
• Add your business name, address, phone number, email address, and your area of expertise
• Insert your beautifully designed business logo, along with your website address, and any graphics you use to represent your professional work
• Add in your client’s name and up-to-date contact information
• Add a unique invoice number
• Include the date of the invoice, and if applicable, the start and finish work dates – as well as the payment due date

• List the work you’ve done, including the amount of hours and your hourly rate
• Add lines to include any extra charges you incurred that need to be billed apart from your hourly rate
• If you are including a discounted hourly rate for a regular or agency client, add a line explaining the discount so your client knows they are getting an extremely good rate for your expert work
• Calculate your total fee, including applicable tax, and enter the total
• Include your payment terms, such as the methods of payment you accept
• Make sure you add a personal note at the end, such as a thank you, or to tell your client how much you enjoyed working with them. It may lead to many more hours of work!
• Save a copy of the invoice – and send it off!

Ready to send professional invoices?

When is the right time to send an hourly invoice to your clients?

The right time to send an invoice varies with the type of services or work you provide. If it is for a short-term job or project, some hourly workers invoice at completion.

As a self-employed person you need to keep the revenue coming in, so for longer employment periods arrange to send in bi-weekly or monthly invoices to be paid for your hourly work.

Whatever payment time period you choose, make sure it’s clearly noted on each invoice, and clarify what portion of the final ‘cost’ has been paid to date.