Consulting invoice template

What to list on a consulting invoice

• Your business name, address and contact details, and your client’s legal name and billing address.
• The engagement or project name and any purchase order or contract number the client gave you.
• The period covered, such as March, or the dates of the work.
• Retainers as a single line with the period and what they include.
• Workshops, deliverables or reports as separate lines.
• Hourly work as hours times rate, with a short note on what the hours were for.

Describe the work by outcome rather than by activity where you can. “Quarterly pricing review, report delivered 14 March” is more useful to a client’s finance team than “consulting”. If a contract sets a rate card, use the same names on the invoice so the two match line by line.

Retainers, milestones and expenses

Retainers are billed on a schedule, normally monthly in advance or in arrears. Say which on the invoice, and state what the retainer covers, so the client can see the value without asking. For project work, bill by milestone, and tie each invoice to a deliverable agreed in your contract.

Expenses such as travel, software or printing should be listed separately from your fee, with receipts available on request. If your contract says expenses are billed at cost, show them at cost. Mention a purchase order number prominently if there is one, since accounts teams often cannot pay without it.

Payment terms for consulting

Net 14 or Net 30 is common for business clients, and larger organizations may need longer. Agree the terms in your contract and repeat them on every invoice, along with the exact due date. A short late-payment line is fine if your contract allows it. Our guide to invoice payment terms explains the usual options.