Hours fill in from start, end and break. For an expense, leave the times empty and type the amount in Rate.
Your entries never leave this browser. The shifts shown are a sample week; overwrite them with your own times.
An hourly invoice charges for time. For each block of work it shows the date, the task, the hours and the rate, and each line amount is hours multiplied by rate. Overtime and travel time sit on their own lines, and out of pocket costs go in as expenses at cost. Above the lines go your details, the client, the project, the billing period, a unique invoice number and the payment due date. Below them come the total hours billed, the subtotal, any discount or tax, a retainer already paid and the balance due.
How the invoice total is calculated
Clock times become minutes, the break comes off, and the result is rounded to your billing increment. Those billed hours are multiplied by the rate, with overtime at the multiplier, before the discount, any tax and the retainer are applied.
| What it covers | Formula | |
|---|---|---|
| Worked minutes | One shift or block of time on one date | End time minus start time, minus break minutes (a shift past midnight wraps to the next day) |
| Billed hours | Worked minutes after your rounding rule | Minutes rounded to the nearest or next 6, 15 or 30 minutes, then divided by 60 |
| Regular or travel line | Normal work time, or time spent getting to the client | Billed hours × hourly rate |
| Overtime line | Hours beyond the normal day or week, at the premium you agreed | Billed hours × hourly rate × overtime multiplier |
| Expense line | Parts, software, parking or mileage you paid for the client | The amount as spent, no hours involved |
| Discount | A percent of the subtotal or a fixed sum | Shared across lines in proportion, so taxed lines carry their part |
| Tax | Off by default; on for all lines or expenses only if your state taxes them | Tax % × taxed lines after their share of the discount |
| Balance due | What the client still owes for the period | Total less any retainer or payment already received |
Example week: 15 billed hours at $90, rounded to the nearest 15 minutes, 1.5× overtime, 2% discount, no sales tax
How to use this hourly invoice template
Go tab by tab. Your hourly bill on the right redraws with every keystroke, so you can watch the hours add up as you enter each shift.
- Your business: name, address, contact and tax ID or registration number, plus a logo if you have one.
- Client and period: the client, their company, the engagement or project name and the period start and end dates. A PO or reference number is optional, but large clients often refuse to pay an invoice that lacks one, so ask before you send.
- Timesheet: set your default hourly rate, overtime multiplier, billing increment and worker name once. Then log each shift with its date, start, end and break, and the hours appear by themselves.
- Line types: Regular hours, Overtime, Travel time or Expense.
- Tax and payment: invoice number, issue date, terms, a percent or fixed discount, sales tax only if it applies, and any retainer the client already paid. The due date follows the terms unless you type your own.
- Download: press Download PDF and pick Save as PDF. Only the invoice prints, on one page.
What an invoice template for hourly services should include
When the price is time, the client is paying for minutes they never saw you work. Every part below helps them trust the count.
| Part | What goes on it |
|---|---|
| Business details | Your name or company, address, contact, logo and tax ID or registration number. |
| Client details | Whoever signs off your hours, with their company, mailing address and email or phone. |
| Invoice information | A number no other bill of yours uses, plus issue date, payment date and currency. |
| Engagement and period | Project name, the first and last day covered, and a PO number if the client uses them. |
| Time entries | Date, start and end, break, task and worker for each block, so any hour can be traced. |
| Rates | Your standard hourly rate, plus the overtime multiplier and rounding increment if you use them. |
| Travel and expenses | Travel time as its own line, and costs you paid on the client's behalf at the amount spent. |
| Summary | Hours billed in total, then subtotal, discount, any tax, the total, the retainer taken off and what is still owed. |
| Payment terms | The due date, accepted payment methods, and any late fee agreed in writing. |
| Notes | Contract or job references, a line offering the detailed timesheet, and a thank you. |
Why are invoices important for hourly contractors?
For anyone paid by the hour, the invoice is the official record of time spent and money owed. Skip it, or send a vague one, and disputes follow.
- Payment transparencyThe client sees each date, the hours and the rate, so the total is easy to check line by line.
- Proof of work performedA dated list of tasks shows effort that otherwise stays invisible, which matters most on long engagements where the output only appears at the end.
- Financial organizationNumbered invoices make income easy to track. The IRS generally expects business records to be kept for 3 years.
- Professional reputationA clean, consistent invoice says you run a real business.
Why use an hourly invoice template
Adding up clock times by hand invites mistakes: a missed break, a shift that ran past midnight, a 50 minute block entered as 0.5 hours. This hourly invoice generator removes that arithmetic.
- Hours are calculated from the times you enter, with breaks subtracted.
- Rounding follows one rule on every line, so two shifts of the same length always bill the same.
- Overtime, travel and expenses are labeled and subtotaled separately, which answers the questions clients ask most before they ask them.
- Each PDF has the same layout, useful when a client pays from a stack of invoices every month.
- Your business details stay saved in this browser for the next billing period.
How to round billable time: 6, 15 or 30 minute increments
Most people who bill by the hour pick a smallest unit of time and round every entry to it. Smaller units track the work more closely; larger ones are quicker to log.
| Increment | As hours | A 50 minute task bills as | Nearest vs up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exact | Any minute | 0.83 hours | No rounding at all |
| 6 minutes | 0.1 hour | 0.83 rounds to 0.8 (nearest) or 0.9 (up) | Up adds at most 6 minutes per entry |
| 15 minutes | 0.25 hour | 0.75 (nearest) or 1.00 (up) | Up adds at most 15 minutes per entry |
| 30 minutes | 0.5 hour | 1.00 either way | Up adds at most 30 minutes per entry |
For employee payroll, federal rules accept recording time to the nearest 5 minutes, tenth or quarter hour, as long as it does not shortchange workers over time. Client billing follows your contract instead, so state the increment on the invoice.
How to bill overtime on an hourly invoice
Overtime on a client invoice is a price you set in your agreement, not a legal requirement. The federal payroll rule for employees is the benchmark most people borrow.
| Situation | What it means for the invoice |
|---|---|
| Employees under federal law | Hours over 40 in a workweek are overtime, paid at no less than one and one half times the regular rate. That is why 1.5 is the starting multiplier here. |
| Contractors billing clients | No federal rule sets your premium. Write the trigger (after 8 hours a day, after 40 a week, nights or weekends) and the multiplier into the agreement first. |
| On the invoice | Put overtime on separate lines with the same base rate, so the client sees the multiplier rather than a mystery higher rate. |
Billing travel time, mileage and expenses
Whether a client pays for the drive depends on what you agreed. If they do, keep time and costs on separate lines so each one is easy to approve.
| Item | How to show it |
|---|---|
| Travel time | A Travel time line with start and end, billed at your rate or a reduced travel rate if that is the deal. |
| Mileage | An Expense line with miles × your agreed rate. As a reference, the IRS business standard mileage rate is 72.5 cents a mile for January to June 2026 and 76 cents from July 1 to December 31, 2026. |
| Parts and supplies | An Expense line at the amount paid, with the receipt kept on file. |
| Parking, tolls, fees | Expense lines dated to the day they were paid. |
Hourly invoice vs project invoice vs receipt
Three documents that often get mixed up. The difference is what each one prices and when it is sent.
| Document | What it charges for | When it is sent |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly invoice | Time actually worked, at an hourly rate, plus any agreed expenses | Weekly, every two weeks, monthly or at the end of the job |
| Project invoice | A flat fee for the whole job, however long it took | At milestones or on completion |
| Receipt | Nothing; it confirms money already received | After the client pays |
Industry specific tips for hourly invoicing
Freelancers, consultants, IT techs and trades all bill time, yet each client reads the invoice a little differently.
- Break hours into tasksSeparate entries for setup, the work itself and testing read far better than one eight hour line.
- Include project or contract referencesJob codes, project names or the client's PO number help their accounts team route the bill to the right budget.
- Add overtime or special ratesMark them on their own lines.
- Use recurring invoicing for long projectsOn ongoing contracts, bill every week or every month for a fixed period, and keep the same invoice number pattern so each period follows the last.
- Name the worker on team jobsWhen two or more people log time, the worker name on each line lets the client match hours to the person they saw on site.
Every hour on the job is an hour your phone goes unanswered.
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Book a free demoWhat should an hourly invoice include for clients?
Both parties, a unique number, the date issued and date due, the billing period, every time entry with date, task, hours and rate, then subtotal, discount, tax if it applies, total and balance due. Close with the terms for paying.
When should I send an hourly invoice?
On the schedule in your agreement. Weekly or every two weeks suits long engagements and keeps each bill small; monthly suits steady retainers; a single bill at the end works for short jobs.
What's the difference between an hourly invoice and a project invoice?
An hourly invoice charges for the time worked, so the total moves with the hours. A project invoice charges a fixed fee for the job, whether it took ten hours or forty.
What is the difference between an hourly invoice and a receipt?
The invoice asks to be paid for hours already worked. A receipt is issued afterwards to confirm the money came in.
How do I format an hourly invoice correctly?
Header with your name, logo, invoice number and dates. Then the client, project and period. Then a table of time entries with hours and rate per line, totals in the lower right with the balance due last, and terms at the foot. Send it as a PDF so the layout cannot shift.
Should freelancers use an hourly invoice template or generator?
A blank layout leaves all the sums to you. A generator turns clock times into hours, applies rounding and overtime, and outputs a PDF, which matters more as the number of time entries grows.
How does an hourly invoice generator work step by step?
Start with your details and the client's, set your rate, overtime multiplier and billing increment, then log each shift with its start, end and break. The hourly invoice generator works out the billed hours and line amounts, applies the discount, tax and retainer, and exports a one page PDF.
How quickly can I make an hourly invoice with a generator?
Usually under five minutes for a week of shifts. Your business details and rate settings are remembered in this browser, so later invoices only need the new time entries.
How do I calculate billable hours from start and end times?
Subtract the start from the end, take off unpaid breaks, then round to your increment. For example 8:30 to 4:45 is 8 hours 15 minutes; less a 30 minute break that leaves 7.75 hours.
How do I handle partial hours on an invoice?
Convert minutes to decimals (15 minutes is 0.25, 6 minutes is 0.1) and round every entry the same way. Tell the client which increment you use before the first invoice.
Can I charge for travel time?
Yes, when the client has agreed to it. List it as its own Travel time line, and bill mileage separately as an expense.
Do I charge sales tax on hourly services?
It varies with your state and the type of service, so the generator starts with no sales tax. If your state taxes the service, or only the parts you resell, switch the tax option on for all lines or for expenses only.
Is my invoice data saved or uploaded?
Saved in your own browser only, nothing is uploaded, and the logo stays on your device. Press Reset to clear it.
Leads growth and product marketing for ServiceAgent at SaaS Labs, where he has worked in product marketing since 2020. Writes ServiceAgent's coverage of AI call answering, CRM and home services operations.
Published by ServiceAgent, the AI front office for home service teams. This template is a billing aid, not tax, payroll or legal advice. Overtime, sales tax and record keeping rules depend on your location and contract, so confirm them with your accountant or state agency.