Invoice templates

Four plain-text templates you can copy straight into a document: hourly, fixed fee, monthly retainer, and the two-step email for chasing a late payment. Nothing to download, no email address required.

What every invoice needs

Most late payments are not refusals. They are invoices that could not be processed, sitting in an inbox while somebody waits for a missing detail. This is the list that gets an invoice through an accounts department without a single follow-up email:

A unique invoice number, in a sequence you never repeat. Accounts systems reject duplicates.
Your legal name or business name, address, and tax reference if you have one.
A named person at the client, not just the company. Invoices addressed to nobody get actioned by nobody.
Their purchase order number if they use them. Ask before you invoice, not after it bounces.
An issue date and a due date as actual dates. “Net 30” makes the client do arithmetic, and they will do it slowly.
A line-by-line breakdown that matches what you agreed. One line saying “consulting” invites a query.
Complete payment details including a reference. Make paying you the easiest possible action.
Your late payment terms, in writing, on the invoice itself. You cannot apply a fee you never stated.

Terms worth setting

Fourteen days is a reasonable default for a small supplier and most clients will accept it without comment. Thirty days is standard for larger companies and often non-negotiable because it is baked into their systems. Sixty days is a cash flow problem you are being asked to fund; price it in or push back at contract stage, not at invoice stage.

Invoice on the day you finish, not at the end of the month. A week of delay on your side is a week of delay on theirs, and it compounds.

The templates

Replace anything in square brackets, delete what does not apply, and check the tax lines against the rules where you live.

Hourly invoice

For work billed by time. The line-by-line breakdown is what stops clients querying the total.

Hourly invoice

INVOICE Invoice number: 2026-014 Issue date: 28 August 2026 Payment due: 11 September 2026 (14 days) FROM Your Name / Business Name Street address City, postcode, country your@email.com Tax reference number (if you have one) BILL TO Client company name Attention: name of the person who approves payment Their billing address Their accounts email Purchase order number: ________ -------------------------------------------------------- DESCRIPTION HOURS RATE AMOUNT -------------------------------------------------------- Content strategy workshop 4.0 $65.00 $260.00 Landing page copy, first draft 6.5 $65.00 $422.50 Two rounds of revisions 3.0 $65.00 $195.00 -------------------------------------------------------- Subtotal $877.50 Tax (if applicable) $0.00 TOTAL DUE $877.50 -------------------------------------------------------- PAYMENT Bank name / Account name Account number / IBAN Sort code / SWIFT / routing number Reference: 2026-014 TERMS Payment due within 14 days of the issue date. Late payments may incur a fee of 5% of the invoice total, plus 2% per additional month outstanding. Thank you.

Fixed-fee project invoice

For agreed project fees. The ‘not included’ list is the most valuable part — it settles arguments before they start.

Fixed-fee project invoice

INVOICE Invoice number: 2026-015 Issue date: 28 August 2026 Payment due: 11 September 2026 (14 days) FROM Your Name / Business Name your@email.com BILL TO Client company name Attention: name of the person who approves payment Purchase order number: ________ -------------------------------------------------------- PROJECT: Brand identity, Phase 1 Agreed in the proposal dated 2 August 2026. INCLUDED - Discovery call and written brief - Three logo directions - Two rounds of refinement on the chosen direction - Final files in SVG, PNG and PDF - One-page usage guide NOT INCLUDED (quoted separately if needed) - Additional directions beyond the three agreed - Revisions after the second round: $95 per hour - Print production management -------------------------------------------------------- Project fee $1,850.00 Less deposit paid 4 August 2026 -$925.00 -------------------------------------------------------- BALANCE DUE $925.00 -------------------------------------------------------- PAYMENT Bank details here. Reference: 2026-015 TERMS Final files are released on receipt of the balance. Payment due within 14 days of the issue date.

Monthly retainer invoice

For recurring monthly work. Note the carry-over clause and the fact it bills in advance.

Monthly retainer invoice

INVOICE - MONTHLY RETAINER Invoice number: 2026-016 Issue date: 1 September 2026 Period covered: September 2026 Payment due: 1 September 2026 (on receipt) FROM Your Name / Business Name your@email.com BILL TO Client company name Attention: name of the person who approves payment -------------------------------------------------------- RETAINER: Ongoing content support Agreement dated 14 July 2026. Rolling monthly, 30 days' notice on either side. SCOPE THIS MONTH - Up to 20 hours of work - Four published articles - Weekly check-in call CARRY-OVER Unused hours do not roll into the next month. Hours beyond 20 are billed at $65 per hour and agreed in writing before the work starts. -------------------------------------------------------- Monthly retainer $1,300.00 Additional hours this period (0.0) $0.00 -------------------------------------------------------- TOTAL DUE $1,300.00 -------------------------------------------------------- PAYMENT Bank details here. Reference: 2026-016 TERMS Retainers are invoiced in advance on the first working day of each month and payable on receipt.

Late payment chase, first and second

Two emails, sent a week apart. The first assumes an honest mistake. The second names a consequence and a date.

Late payment chase, first and second

SUBJECT: Invoice 2026-014 - now 9 days overdue Hi [name], Invoice 2026-014 for $877.50 was due on 11 September and is currently 9 days overdue. I have attached a copy. Could you let me know when it is scheduled for payment? If it is stuck somewhere in the approval process, tell me who to speak to and I will chase it from my side. If it has already gone out in the last day or two, ignore this and thank you. Best, [Your name] --- ESCALATION, SEND 7 DAYS LATER, COPY IN ACCOUNTS SUBJECT: Invoice 2026-014 - 16 days overdue, next steps Hi [name], copying in [accounts@client.com]. Invoice 2026-014 for $877.50 is now 16 days overdue. Under the terms on the invoice, a late fee of $43.88 applies from today, and I will need to pause work on [current project] until the account is settled. I would rather not do either. Can you confirm a payment date by [specific date, 3 working days out]? Best, [Your name]

Before you send the second email

Check the invoice actually arrived and was addressed to a real person with a purchase order number on it. In our reader survey, roughly a third of “non-paying clients” had simply never received a processable invoice. Fixing that is faster than escalating.

These are templates, not legal documents. Late payment rules, mandatory invoice fields and tax requirements vary by country, and some places require specific wording. Check yours before relying on the terms as written — more on that in money admin.

Invoice templates

What every invoice needs

Terms worth setting

The templates

Hourly invoice

Hourly invoice

Fixed-fee project invoice

Fixed-fee project invoice

Monthly retainer invoice

Monthly retainer invoice

Late payment chase, first and second

Late payment chase, first and second

Three gigs worth doing. One worth skipping.