Freelance invoice template with a completed project example

What should I put on a freelance invoice?

An invoice number you never reuse, the date, your business name and contact details, the client's billing name and address, and a description of the work specific enough that someone in their accounts team can match it to the project. Add the delivery date or the period covered. If the client gave you a purchase-order number, copy it exactly, because accounts teams match payments to it.

Then the money: the total, any deposit already paid, the balance due, the due date and how to pay (a card link, bank details or who to make the check out to). A new US client may ask for a Form W-9 with your taxpayer ID before paying you the first time, so keep a signed copy ready to attach. Keep a copy of every invoice you send; the IRS treats invoices as the supporting documents behind the income on your return.

Can I copy a freelance invoice template?

INVOICE [unique reference] Issued: [date] From: [your business name and contact details] Bill to: [client name and billing details] Project: [project name] Client purchase order: [reference, if supplied] Work supplied: [specific deliverable or service period] Quantity: [hours, sessions or deliverables] Agreed rate: [rate and unit] Line total: [quantity × rate] Additional agreed expenses: [item and amount] Applicable tax: [tax details, if applicable] Invoice total: [total] Deposit or credit already paid: [amount and reference] Balance due: [remaining amount] Due date: [agreed date] Pay using: [payment link or instructions] Payment reference: [invoice reference] Questions: [contact details]

For a fixed-price project, put the accepted project fee on one line. For hourly work, show the dates, the hours and the rate ("12.5 hours at $80"). For a retainer, name the month and what it covers. Bill what the client approved; extra tasks they never agreed to belong in a change or a new quote first.

What does a useful completed invoice description look like?

For a freelance writer: Website copy for the About and Services pages, including the briefing call, first draft, agreed revision round and final text handoff. Delivered to the client in the shared project folder. Additional product pages and ongoing website updates are outside this invoice.

For a bookkeeper: Monthly bookkeeping for the agreed reporting period, including transaction categorization, bank reconciliation and the management summary. Catch-up work from earlier periods is quoted separately. Use the fee and dates from the work your client approved.

"Professional services" makes the client dig through email to remember what you did. A specific line lets someone who was never on the project approve the payment in a minute. Leave your working notes and cost calculations off the invoice.

How do I show a deposit or partial payment?

Show the full project price, then the deposit with the date it was paid, then the balance: $600 total, $200 paid October 1, $400 due. If your invoicing app already recorded the deposit, use its balance so you don't take it off twice. A deposit you have asked for but not received is a request; leave it off the paid line.

Before sending, check the math, the client's billing name, the payment link and any attachment. If you invoice in QuickBooks, FreshBooks or Wave, use that system's invoice number and payment link so the reminders match.

When the client pays, mark the invoice paid the same day. If payment is late, send a reminder with the same invoice number, the balance and the payment link. If a detail on the invoice was wrong, send a corrected invoice with the same number and say what changed.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• IRS: About Form W-9 · Checked 2026-10-15

  Form W-9 gives a client your taxpayer ID so they can report what they paid you.

• IRS: Recordkeeping for small businesses · Checked 2026-10-15

  Sales and other transactions generate supporting documents that back up your books and tax return.