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Customizable consultant invoice template: Streamline your billing

PayPal Editorial Staff

PayPal Editorial Staff

November 5, 2024

November 5, 2024

7 mins read

Having a versatile consultant invoice template can help make billing run smoothly. Whether you want to bill hourly or by flat amounts, accept tips, or enable partial payments, you can make life easier with the right invoice template. Download our professional, free Word consultant invoice template and customize it to meet your needs. Pay only when you get paid.

For consultants who provide expert advice and services, simply modify and use our consultant invoice templates to bill your clients. You can provide an itemized list of services, agreed-upon hourly or project rates, and total amounts owed. Plus, you can customize the overall design and even add your logo or other promotional graphics.

This free Word invoice template can work for all different types of consultants or freelancers in varying industries, including (but not limited to):

  • IT
  • Small business services
  • Management
  • Operations
  • Human resources
  • Marketing
  • Finance

Please note some industries may require mentioning specific terms and conditions on your invoice, so be sure to check the requirements for your consulting business.

What is a consulting invoice?

A consulting invoice is a document issued by a consultant, small business, or freelancer to request payment for the services they have provided to a client. It typically includes contact information, service details, total amount due, payment terms, and taxes.

What to include on a consultant invoice?

To customize our self-employed consultant invoice template, you can insert your logo, website address, and any other graphics or promotional images. At the very least, your invoice template should include basic information about your business, as well as the details of the service you’re providing to your client.

  1. Your contact information

    Include your company’s name, phone number, email, mailing address, and company website on your consulting invoice.

  2. Your client's information

    Make sure to include at least an email address and a phone number, along with the client’s name. A physical mailing address is nice to have.

  3. Invoice number

    There are multiple ways to assign invoice numbers for a consultant invoice. The simplest is chronological and by breaking your invoice number into multiple parts, like using a unique customer number with a variable project number. So, when a customer (number 20) hires you for another marketing project (the third one this year), you could list that as #20-0003.

  4. Payment terms

    Add payment terms, including the methods of payment you accept and any terms for late or early payments. Also, if you’re sending a bill to an international customer or vendor, clarify which currency you’re billing in and add any local or industry-related requirements.

  5. Invoice date

    This should be the day you send out the consulting invoice, not the day you created it. Make sure your invoice date, payment terms, and due date align. For instance, if your payment terms are 30 days, then the due date should be exactly 30 days from the day you sent the bill. Use this date format on your template to solve for international differences: Month (spelled out), date, year. (Example: December 28, 2023)

  6. Service details

    Include a detailed list of the consulting services you provided along with a description of each service and the billable hours or flat rate. For instance, if you're a marketing consultant, you may want to say something like, “Worked on five (5) social media posts from 3-5:30pm on May 7.” By being clear and descriptive, your customers will always know exactly what you're billing them for—and that can save you time in follow-up questions later. Also, make sure to remove the shipping line and change quantity to hours, if applicable.

  7. Discount

    If you include a discount for a high volume of work, make sure you add a line explaining the discount so your client knows they are getting a great deal for your consulting expertise.

Tip: With PayPal Invoicing, we’ll automatically help you calculate the due date. And if you’re sending internationally, we’ll automatically display the invoice date in the proper format for your customer.

Free invoice templates for your consulting business

Using a PayPal-generated consultant invoice template may help you create efficiencies and improvements in your business. From independent small business consultants to large financial consulting firms, our invoice templates for consulting services are available in various forms, from Word documents to Excel sheets:

  • Word: Start by downloading our sample Microsoft Word invoice template. You can then easily customize it by adding your unique information and logo and updating the font, color, and overall design.
  • PDF: You can turn your Word or Excel invoice template into a PDF by saving your file as a “PDF” or generating one using our invoice template tool.
  • Google Docs or Google Sheets: If you want to use Google Docs or Sheets for billing, consider copying the invoice template into Google.

Invoice types for consultant business owners

With a range of independent consultant invoice types to choose from, you have the power to select the invoice style that works best for your business. Here’s a breakdown of the most common invoice types often used by consultants:

  • Standard invoice template: It’s one of the most common invoices for businesses and includes all the necessary details for a company to bill a customer after the work is complete. In this case, depends on your business and industry, what the invoice is for depends on your business and industry.
  • Timesheet invoice: If your work is hourly, timesheet invoices can be helpful in tracking billable hours for each job.
  • Expense reports: Use an expense report as a way of billing for any expense incurred during a client project.
  • Credit or debit invoice: A credit invoice is issued when a business needs to refund or offer a discount to a customer. Debit invoices occur when a business needs to increase the amount a customer owes them. An invoice with both credit and debit is called a mixed invoice.
  • Recurring invoice: Recurring invoices are best for businesses that bill on a consistent schedule, such as weekly, monthly, or yearly.
  • Pro forma invoice: This type of invoice serves as an alert for how much a project or service will cost once the work is completed.
  • Interim invoice: Instead of sending one large invoice to your customer, interim invoices break down the cost into smaller payments as the project progresses. Think of it as a payment plan.

Tips to create an invoice for consulting work

As you create your invoice and streamline your billing, here are a few invoicing tips for consultants:

  • Accept a variety of payment methods: Offer electronic options such as e-transfers, ACH payments or direct deposits, and other online payment methods for clients to pay you.
  • Add an “Attention to:” line on your invoice: If you are completing a consulting project for a large company, adding this to your invoice will help ensure it lands on the right desk for approval.
  • Don’t forget to personalize: Add distinct information to your invoice, such as clear descriptions of your services or details the client specifically requested. You may even want to end with a personal note.
  • Proofread: Whether you're sending a Word document, PDF, or Excel file, preview the invoice before sending it. No consultant wants to accidentally mislabel an invoice with the wrong customer information.

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The content of this article is provided for informational purposes only. You should always obtain independent business, tax, financial, and legal advice before making any business decision.

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