Freelance invoice template for work billed by the piece
Name each deliverable, say what the client may do with it, and add tax only where your registration requires it.
From: your business
Bill to: your customer
Number, dates and terms
Total due
$1,470.00
no tax added
Juniper Lane Studio LLC
418 Congress Ave, Suite 200
Austin, TX 78701
billing@example.com
Invoice
| Invoice no. | INV-2026-0001 |
| Date | October 17, 2026 |
| Terms | Net 14 |
| Due date | November 16, 2026 |
Bill to
Bluebonnet Coffee Co.
2200 S Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78704
| Description | Qty | Unit price | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feature article, 1,500 words | 3 | $450.00 | $1,350.00 |
| Interview transcription | 2 | $60.00 | $120.00 |
| Subtotal | $1,470.00 |
| Total | $1,470.00 |
Payment details
ACH: routing 000000000, account 0000000000 Please include the invoice number with your payment.
Payment within 14 days of this invoice. Thank you!
United States: no federal invoice format
All required details present
State sales tax rules apply to what you charge, not to the invoice layout.
- Present: An invoice number
- Present: Your business name and address
- Present: Customer name and billing address
- Present: A description of each item
- Present: Due date or payment terms
- Present: Sales tax shown as its own line, with the rate
Made in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to a server; your business details are kept on this device only, for the next invoice.
Total due
$1,470.00
A freelancer's invoice is judged on two things the client's accounts team checks first: whether each line matches a deliverable they commissioned, and whether the tax on it is one you are entitled to charge. This template opens on three commissioned articles and two transcriptions, $1,470 in total, with 14-day terms because most freelance agreements are shorter than the Net 30 that companies use between themselves. Whether tax appears depends on where you are and on your registration, not on the template. In the US, whether writing or design work is taxable depends on the state, so the lines start as not taxable and you switch any line your state does tax. A UK freelancer who has registered for VAT adds 20%, £294 on the same work, and one who has not, below the £90,000 threshold, must leave VAT off. An Australian freelancer charges GST only once registered, compulsory from $75,000 of turnover.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Methodology
Describing creative work so it gets paid
Commissioning editors, art directors and product owners approve invoices against what they asked for. Use their words: the headline, the campaign name, the ticket or sprint number. If the agreement grants usage rights, say which ones on the line or in the notes ("first serial rights, web and print, 12 months"), because rights are often what the fee is really for, and the invoice becomes the written trace of them. Revisions beyond those included are worth a line of their own, priced, rather than a silent extra.
The same freelance invoice in four countries
The template's work, three articles at $450 and two transcriptions at $60, comes to the same fee everywhere; only the tax changes, and only for a freelancer who is registered.
| Freelancer based in | Tax if registered | Tax amount | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas, service not taxable | None on these lines | $0.00 | $1,470.00 |
| United Kingdom | VAT 20% | £294.00 | £1,764.00 |
| Ontario | HST 13% | $191.10 | $1,661.10 |
| New South Wales | GST 10% | $147.00 | $1,617.00 |
Below the registration limits (£90,000 in the UK, $30,000 for a Canadian small supplier, $75,000 in Australia), set the registration switch to No and the generator removes the tax and states why.
Working for clients abroad
Freelancers increasingly invoice clients in another country, and two settings change. The currency: pick the client's if that is what you agreed, and if you are VAT-registered in the UK the VAT total must also appear in sterling, as the foreign currency guide explains. The tax: cross-border services follow place-of-supply rules this tool does not decide for you, so choose the tax code your situation calls for, often zero or outside the scope, and check the rule with the authority.
Keeping the series clean
Freelancers who send few invoices are tempted to number them by client or by project. A single running series is safer: HMRC asks VAT-registered businesses for sequential numbers, and gaps or duplicates are what an inspector notices first. The generator remembers your last number on this device and proposes the next; the numbering guide covers prefixes and yearly restarts. If you bill by time rather than by piece, the hourly template lays the hours out for the client to check.