How To Invoice For Hourly Work: Templates & Tips
If you are a freelancer or a small business, chances are you have needed or will need to charge your clients hourly to make sure the number of hours spent on a project is properly compensated. This process can be time-consuming and you don’t want to be sacrificing client time for paperwork.
In this article, we have worked on providing you with the most useful and practical tips and templates to create hourly invoices. They will help you save time, look more professional and be more accurate when invoicing your clients.
Before diving into the specifics of hourly invoicing, ensure you're familiar with the fundamentals of invoice creation. Our detailed guide on how to create an invoice is an excellent resource to get started.
What Is an Hourly Invoice?
An hourly invoice is a request for payment sent by either a freelancer or a business that charges for work by the hour instead of by the project.
This type of document must include certain information such as a description of the type of work done, the hourly rate charged, and the number of hours worked. A simple Word document may suffice in some cases, but can quickly become time-consuming and subject to human error.
For example, if your business needs to handle multiple tasks at different rates, you may need help keeping track of the number of hours worked and creating efficient and straightforward invoices. Using templates and apps can greatly improve your productivity and accuracy with invoicing.
How Do I Make an Hourly Rate Invoice?
Tracking Hours Worked
In order to be able to make an hourly rate invoice, you will have to track the hours you worked. You can either do this manually by writing them down or using an Excel spreadsheet, or you can use time-tracking software to monitor them. The second option will greatly reduce the chances of human error.
Including the Right Information
A crucial part of creating an hourly invoice is to make sure you include all the necessary information, including:
- Your business name and logo
- Your complete contact details
- Your client’s full contact details
- Description of the work undertaken, hours worked, and hourly rates
- Invoice number to keep organized
- Payment due date
- Tax rates, if applicable
- Terms and conditions
Using an easy-to-use and ready-to-go hourly invoice template will ensure you never forget any of this key information, show you are professional and get paid promptly.
What Is an Invoice Template Used For?
Many businesses and freelancers find that a bill-by-the-hour model is better suited to their needs. It usually depends on the nature of your industry, the types of projects you handle, the client’s preferences, the specifics of the job, etc.
Many of them choose to turn to hourly invoice templates as they ease the process of invoicing clients. Here are some of the advantages of using hourly invoice templates:
- It helps your business save time and create unlimited invoices quickly. As a template already includes the layout and all the basic information you need, it’s much faster to use.
- It helps your business look more professional. If you use a template provided by a specialized app or website, every invoice you send will have the same slick and professional-looking design.
- Your invoices will be more accurate and you’ll never forget to include any key information.
Overall, a good invoice template will help you provide clear, organized invoices that demonstrate your professionalism and contain all the necessary details. It instills confidence and credibility, allowing you to get paid on time and build customer loyalty.
Best Apps & Software For Hourly Invoice Templates
Here are 5 tools and apps that can help you gain productivity when invoicing clients by the hour.
Clockify
Clockify is a popular time tracking and invoicing app. It helps you track and invoice billable hours. You can import tracked billable time directly into your invoice template or do it manually.
Clockify
Saldo Invoice Maker
Saldo Invoice Maker is a tool that provides fillable invoice templates including an hourly invoice template. You can customize the template, insert extra lines or delete unnecessary information like discounts or shipping data if you don’t need it.
Invoice2go
Invoice2go provides an invoice generator to make professional hourly invoices with one click. Once you’ve customized your invoice template, you can download it directly to your device in the format you need: pdf, Word, or Excel.
Invoice2go
InvoiceOwl
InvoiceOwl is an invoice generator that helps you create, preview, send, and download custom hourly invoices within a few seconds. It gives you the option to save your data in order to make the next invoice even quicker. InvoiceOwl free hourly invoice template is available in different formats such as Google Docs, Google Sheets, MS Word, MS Excel, and PDF.
Harvest
Harvest is a time tracking and invoicing software for teams. It provides a timesheet template to track time throughout the day and have a clear view of billable hours. You can then automatically pull the billable time and expenses you’ve tracked into invoices and get paid online. Harvest can be integrated with other tools you already use like QuickBooks Online or Stripe.
Harvest
Example of an Hourly Invoice Template
| Your company logo |
Your Company Name Your Business Address City Country Postal |
|||
| Hourly Invoice | ||||
| BILL TO:
Company Name Address City Country Postal Phone Name of project manager you have been dealing with if relevant |
INVOICE # 00000001 DATE 12/31/20 INVOICE DUE DATE 12/31/20 |
|||
| Hours worked | Project description | Rate per Hour | Amount | |
| 1 | 3 | Project A |
$ 25 |
$$$ |
| 2 | 6 | Project B |
$ 52 |
$$$ |
| 3 | 12 | Project C |
$ 84 |
$$$ |
Total Amount : $ 00000
| Notes: |
You can add payment options in the notes section or on a separate sheet.
Hourly Invoice Templates: Your Key Takeaways
Using hourly invoice templates not only ensures you never forget to include basic information or contact details in your invoice but also helps you create invoices that reflect your skills and professionalism.
Providing clear, organized invoices that include all the necessary details is just as important as providing quality service to your clients. It shows you are committed to doing your job well, helps you keep track of all your billable hours, and allows you to instill confidence and credibility in your reputation and excellent work.