A free invoice template
for billing by the hour
Whether you run an agency, consult solo, or freelance, this invoice template gives you clean line items, hours, rates and totals. Download it, fill it in, and send. When the copy-paste gets old, bill from tracked time in Xero instead.
What a good invoice includes
Get these right and you get paid faster, with fewer questions from the client.
Your details and theirs
Your business name, address and tax number, plus the client name and address. Make it obvious who is billing whom.
A unique invoice number
Sequential numbers make invoices easy to reference and reconcile. Never reuse a number.
Issue and due dates
State when the invoice was raised and when payment is due. Clear terms like "due in 14 days" reduce late payment.
Itemised lines
One line per piece of work with a real description, hours and rate. Clients pay faster when they can see what they got.
Subtotal, tax and total
Show the subtotal, any tax applied, and the final amount due so there is no ambiguity.
Payment instructions
Bank details, payment link or terms at the bottom. Make it effortless to pay you.
Download the template
The CSV opens in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers. It has columns for Date, Description, Hours, Rate and Amount, with example rows and a total to guide you.
Want a printable version? Open the CSV in your spreadsheet app, add your logo and totals at the top, then export or print to PDF. Most spreadsheet tools save directly to PDF.
Tailor it to how you work
For agencies
Group lines by project or by team member so the client sees structure. Use different rates per role: design, development, account management. Keep the descriptions specific to the deliverable, not just "consulting".
For consultants
Lead with outcomes. Pair each line with the work that produced it, like "strategy workshop" or "stakeholder interviews". If you bill a day rate, set Hours to the day fraction and the Rate to your daily figure.
For freelancers
Keep it simple and fast. One rate, clear lines, short due terms. Add your payment link in the footer so the client can pay in a click, and number every invoice in sequence.
Or skip the template: bill from tracked time
A template is fine for a handful of invoices a month. Once you are transcribing hours from a timer into a spreadsheet, then into Xero, you are doing the same data entry three times.
Hour Cap pushes a draft invoice straight to Xero from your tracked time, with line items and descriptions intact. You choose how lines are grouped, by entry, project, date or team member, and review the draft before sending.
Rates resolve automatically too, from the project rate down to the member rate, then your organisation default, so the right number lands on every line.
Common questions
What should a freelance invoice include?
A clear invoice has your business details, the client details, a unique invoice number, the issue and due dates, a line for each piece of work with a description and amount, a subtotal, any tax, and the total due. Your payment details go at the bottom.
What format is the invoice template?
It is a CSV file with columns for Date, Description, Hours, Rate and Amount, plus example rows and a total. Open it in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers and replace the sample data with your own.
How do I make a printable PDF invoice?
Open the CSV in your spreadsheet app, add your business name, logo and totals at the top, then export or print to PDF. Most spreadsheet tools let you save directly as a PDF.
How is the line amount calculated?
Each line amount is Hours multiplied by Rate. Add the line amounts for the subtotal, apply tax if you charge it, and that gives the total due.
When should I move off the template?
Once you are copying the same hours into a spreadsheet every month, it is faster to track time once and bill from it. Hour Cap pushes a draft invoice to Xero with your line items and descriptions, so you review rather than retype.
More templates
Invoice from tracked time
Track time once, then push a draft invoice to Xero with descriptions intact. The Free plan covers a single user. The Xero integration is on the Team plan.