Hourly Invoice Generator
Billing for hours worked is the simplest invoice arithmetic and the easiest to get challenged on. This invoice does the multiplication in integer cents per line. 9.75 hours at $85 comes out right, and its structure answers the three questions hourly clients ask: what increment you bill in, what the hours were spent on, and whether a cap applied.
Free downloads carry a light watermark. Everything stays in your browser. Nothing you type is uploaded or stored.
| Description | Qty / hrs | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homepage rebuild. Template + content migration | 11.5 | $85.00 | $977.50 |
| Member directory bug fixes (from 8/6 report) | 4.25 | $85.00 | $361.25 |
| Rush: event page for 8/20 launch (1.5× rate) | 2 | $127.50 | $255.00 |
| Subtotal | $1,593.75 | ||
| Total due | $1,593.75 | ||
Late Fees and Payment Terms: What Is Typical
Conventions, not legal maximums. Several states cap late-fee interest through usury or prompt-payment statutes; check your state before charging above the typical range.
| Term | Typical practice | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Net 30 | Payment due 30 days from invoice date | The default B2B term in the US; Net 15 and Net 60 are the common variants |
| Late fee | 1% to 1.5% per month (12% to 18% per year) | Must be stated on the invoice or in the contract before it can be charged |
| Grace period | 5 to 10 days is common courtesy | Not required by law; put it in writing if you offer one |
| Government work | 30 days, then interest accrues automatically | Federal Prompt Payment Act; most states have an equivalent for public contracts |
| Early-payment discount | 2/10 net 30 (2% off if paid in 10 days) | Worth stating explicitly as a line under the total |
Source: Federal Prompt Payment Act (31 USC 39); state prompt-payment and usury statutes · checked 2026-08
What to Know About Hourly Invoices
- Hourly lines dispute at the description, not the math: 'project work (12 hrs' invites a challenge that 'wireframes for checkout flow, revisions from 8/9 review) 12 hrs' never receives.
- Billing increments compound: quarter-hour rounding on many short tasks bills meaningfully more than six-minute increments. Whichever you use, it belongs in your stated terms.
- Not-to-exceed (NTE) caps are common in hourly engagements; when a cap applies, the invoice should show hours at rate and then the cap adjustment, not silently stop counting.
- Different rates for different work (senior/junior, on-site/remote, rush) are fine, as separate lines with the rate visible, never blended into an average the client can't verify.
- Hours billed should reconcile to a keepable time record; the invoice-plus-timesheet pair is what survives both fee disputes and your own tax records.
Frequently Asked Questions
What billing increment should I use?
Six-minute (0.1h) increments are the professional-services standard and the fairest to clients; quarter-hour is defensible for field work with travel. State it in your terms and apply it uniformly. The increment is the first thing a disputed invoice gets audited on.
How do I handle a not-to-exceed cap?
Bill actual hours at rate, then show the cap adjustment as a visible line if you hit it. Clients with caps are exactly the ones who want to see you honoring the cap, not just landing under it suspiciously.
Can I bill different rates on one invoice?
Yes. One line per rate, with each rate visible, as the rush line in this example shows. What you can't do cleanly is blend rates into an average; nobody can verify a blended number against an agreement.
Related Documents
This generator produces a general-purpose document, not legal, tax, or accounting advice. How our generators are built and checked →