Bill hourly advice, day rates or a monthly retainer on a clean invoice your client’s finance team can match to the contract and approve without questions.
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Consulting is usually billed by the hour, by the day, as a fixed project fee or as a monthly retainer. Your invoice should mirror your engagement letter, using the same rates and wording, so the client’s finance team can match the two documents and approve payment without coming back to you.
Hourly billing is fair when the scope is uncertain, but clients often ask what the hours went on, so keep brief notes and summarise them in the line description. Fixed fees reward efficient work and are easier for clients to budget, but they need a tightly written scope. Retainers give you steady income in return for guaranteed availability; say in the notes what the retainer covers and how extra hours are charged.
If you’re registered for VAT or GST, add your tax ID and your client’s and turn on the right tax. A UK VAT-registered consultant typically charges 20% VAT, an Australian one 10% GST on a tax invoice, and an Indian one GST as CGST and SGST or IGST, with a SAC code such as 998311 for management consulting. Advising a business in another EU country often falls under the reverse charge. In the US, consulting is frequently outside state sales tax, but confirm your state’s rules.
Tax can be set per line, so an invoice that mixes fees with other items still adds up correctly. For anything unusual, a quick check with your accountant is worth it.
Set clear payment terms, such as 30 days from the invoice date, and enter the actual due date so there’s no room for doubt.
Either works on this template. Use quantity for hours or days, or add a single “Monthly retainer” line at the agreed fee.
Add one line such as “Advisory retainer, October 2026” with quantity 1. If the client used hours beyond the retainer, add them as a separate hourly line so both are easy to see.
Yes. Put expenses on their own lines, such as “Travel to client site”, so they aren’t mixed in with your fees. How VAT or GST applies to recharged expenses varies, so check the treatment with your accountant.
For business clients, cross-border services within the EU are generally under the reverse charge: you don’t add VAT, you note “Reverse charge” and show both VAT numbers. Check your own country’s rules before relying on this.
Yes. Enter a discount percentage and the totals recalculate. It’s a tidy way to offer a first-engagement discount without changing your standard rates on the line items.
Whatever your country uses, for example a VAT number in the UK or EU, an ABN in Australia, an EIN in the US or a GSTIN in India. There’s a tax ID field for you and one for your client.