Free hourly invoice template with the math shown
An hourly invoice earns trust by showing its work: dates, hours, rate, and the multiplication, line by line. This free template does exactly that, complete on this page, with a rounding policy line most templates skip. Download the blank PDF or the CSV below and every column described here comes with it.
What goes on a hourly invoice
| Field | What goes there |
|---|---|
| Your details and the client's | Both blocks as usual, plus the name of whoever approves your hours if that person is not the payer. |
| Invoice number and billing period | Hourly work bills by period. State it plainly: for work performed March 1 through March 14. |
| Rounding increment | One line, for example: time billed in 6 minute increments. Lawyers bill in tenths of an hour for a reason, and printing the policy prevents the argument. |
| Date column entries | Each line carries the date the work happened. Clients check these against their own calendars, and matching dates end disputes instantly. |
| Description per session | What happened in that block of time, specific enough to recognize: revised onboarding doc per Tuesday feedback, not miscellaneous work. |
| Hours in decimals | 1.5, not 1:30. Decimal hours multiply cleanly and import into any spreadsheet or accounting tool. |
| Rate | Per hour, shown on every line even when it never changes. The repetition is the transparency. |
| Line amounts and total | Hours times rate, then the sum. If a client checks one line with a calculator and it matches, they stop checking. |
| Time log availability | A closing line offering the detailed log on request. Almost nobody asks, and offering is what makes them not ask. |
The line-item table
| Description | Date | Hours | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consulting call and follow-up notes | Mar 4 | 1.5 | $95.00 | $142.50 |
| On-site training session | Mar 6 | 4.0 | $95.00 | $380.00 |
| Documentation revisions | Mar 9 | 2.25 | $95.00 | $213.75 |
| Email support, week of March 10 | Mar 13 | 0.75 | $95.00 | $71.25 |
How to use this template
- Track time as it happens. Log at the end of each work session, not from memory on invoice day. Reconstructed hours run low for honest people and unverifiable for everyone.
- Pick a rounding rule and print it. Six minute increments, a tenth of an hour, is the standard from legal billing. Fifteen minute increments are common in other fields but round a 5 minute call into a quarter hour, which clients notice.
- One line per session, dated. Resist collapsing a week into one row. Eight dated lines at 1 or 2 hours each read as a record; one line reading 14 hours reads as a guess.
- Do the math in the sheet. In the CSV opened in Excel or Sheets, the amount cell is hours times rate and the total is a SUM. Hand multiplied hourly invoices are where transposition errors live.
- Invoice every one or two weeks. Hourly balances grow silently. Weekly or biweekly invoices keep any single invoice small enough to approve without a meeting and cap how much one slow payer can owe you.
Get paid faster
Flag the budget at 80 percent
If the client approved 40 hours, send a note at 32. The overage conversation is easy before the line and miserable after it.
Minimum billing units protect small tasks
A 15 or 30 minute minimum per separate request is fair and standard. Context switching costs real time that a 4 minute clock entry never captures.
Separate billable from courtesy
If you comp a quick fix, put it on the invoice at $0 with the word courtesy. Invisible generosity earns nothing; a printed zero builds the relationship.
Rate changes get 30 days notice, in writing
Raise rates at a project boundary or calendar year with a month's warning. Mid invoice surprises cost clients, and the notice email is the professional courtesy that keeps them.
The CSV opens in Excel or Google Sheets with the hours and rate columns ready for formulas, and the blank PDF works when you track time elsewhere.
Frequently asked questions
What is the standard rounding increment for hourly billing?
Six minutes, a tenth of an hour, inherited from legal billing and the fairest common option. Fifteen minute increments appear a lot in trades and IT, but they inflate short tasks. Whichever you choose, print it on the invoice and apply it in the client's favor when it is close.
Should every line show a date?
Yes. Dated lines let the client reconcile your invoice against their own calendar and inbox, which is exactly the check that makes them comfortable approving it. Undated hour dumps are the single biggest cause of hourly invoice pushback.
How often should I invoice for hourly work?
Weekly or every two weeks. Monthly invoices grow large enough to need extra approvals, hide problems for 30 days, and concentrate your risk on one payment. Small and frequent beats big and rare.
What if I go past the estimated hours?
Warn early, at about 80 percent of the approved budget, and get the extension in writing before continuing. Courts and clients both treat silent overages badly, and an approved extension turns the same hours from a dispute into a line item.
Can software just do all of this?
For trade contractors, that is the pitch of Staxen: Ivy the Invoicer builds the invoice, sends it with card and ACH payment, and runs the overdue follow-up, at $59 per month per AI employee, $149 per month for all three. Outside the trades, the template above plus any timer app covers the hourly workflow.
Start free with Staxen: your first job is on us, no card required.