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Retainer, hourly, or milestone — how you bill changes what the invoice needs to say. Here's what to put on it, a filled example you can copy, and a free tool to make your own.
Free to use. No signup needed to download your PDF.
What a consulting invoice should include
Consulting invoices get paid by someone who never met you. Your contact approved the work, but the invoice lands with a finance team who only see a number and a description, and if either looks vague it goes to the bottom of the pile.
So write the invoice for finance, not for your contact. A purchase order number where one exists, a clear period, and line items that name the deliverable rather than the effort. Here's what belongs on it.
The checklist
- Your business name, address and contact details
- Your tax or company registration number
- The client's legal entity name, not just the brand
- A purchase order or reference number, if they gave you one
- A unique invoice number and the date
- The period the work covers
- Each workstream or deliverable as a line item
- Hours and rate, if you bill by time
- Billable expenses, itemised
- Subtotal, any tax, the total due, and payment terms
Free consulting invoice template
Open the invoice maker already filled in with the line items above. Change the names and numbers, and download the PDF. It's free, and you don't need an account.
Use the free templateLine items a consulting business puts on an invoice
Not every job needs every line. Use the ones that match how you charge.
Monthly retainer
A fixed fee for an agreed scope each month. Name the month on the line so there's never a question about which period was billed.
Hourly or day rate
Hours or days worked at your agreed rate. Attach or reference a timesheet for anything a finance team might query.
Project milestone
A fixed amount released when a defined stage completes. Name the milestone exactly as the contract names it, and say which number it is.
Discovery or audit phase
The scoping work that comes before the main engagement, billed on its own so the client can approve it separately.
Workshop or training day
Facilitated sessions, priced per day or per session. List the date and the number of attendees if that drives the price.
Billable expenses
Travel, accommodation, software or subcontractor costs passed through. Itemise them and keep the receipts; most contracts require both.
Out-of-scope work
Anything beyond the agreed statement of work, agreed in writing before you did it. A separate line here protects the retainer from quietly absorbing it.
Late payment fee
If your terms allow it, a charge applied once an invoice passes its due date. State the rate in your terms, then apply it consistently.
Example: a filled-in consulting invoice
Here's what it looks like with real numbers on it.
How Consultants get paid faster
Consultants have the longest payment terms of any trade on this list, and the least leverage once the work is delivered. Thirty days becomes forty-five because the invoice sat in an inbox, missed a payment run, and nobody told you.
Two things fix most of it. Invoice the day the period ends, not the week after. And put a payment link on the invoice so a finance team can settle it by card without opening a new bank payee, which is the step that quietly costs you a fortnight.
With Billing Plus, every invoice can carry a payment link, and you can see when it was opened and when it was paid.
Get Paid Faster with Billing+ Payment Links
Send professional invoices and get paid instantly with Billing+ Payment Links. Share on WhatsApp, email, or social media — no website needed.
Tips & common mistakes
Invoice on the last day of the period, every period. Predictability gets you into the payment run.
Put the PO number on the invoice. Without it, many finance teams simply won't pay.
Bill the client's legal entity, not the trading name, or it can fail their checks.
Name deliverables, not effort. "Stakeholder workshop" clears finance faster than "consulting services".
Agree out-of-scope work in writing before you do it, then invoice it as its own line.
Set your payment terms in the contract and repeat them on every invoice.
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- Unlimited Products/Services
- Unlimited Expenses
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Features:
- Unlimited Business
- Unlimited Invoices
- Unlimited Receipts
- Unlimited Products Or Services
- Unlimited Expenses
- Inventory Management
- Point Of Sale (P.O.S)
- Template Selector
- Customize Template Color
- Whitelabel Invoices
- Business Analytics
- Recurring Invoices
- Payment Links
- Payment Reminders
Consulting invoice
questions
Consultants ask these the most.
What should a consulting invoice include?
Your business details and tax number, the client's legal entity, any PO or reference number, a unique invoice number and date, the period covered, each deliverable or workstream as a line item, hours and rate where you bill by time, billable expenses, tax, the total due, and your payment terms. The free template above covers it.
How do I invoice a consulting retainer?
Raise one invoice per period for the agreed fee, and name the month or period on the line item. Bill anything outside the agreed scope as a separate line so the retainer stays clean and the client can see what the extra was.
How do I invoice for project milestones?
Bill each milestone when it completes, using the same name and number the contract uses. Referencing the contract clause on the invoice removes the usual back-and-forth about whether the stage was actually reached.
What payment terms should a consultant use?
Net 14 or net 30 are normal for business clients; larger companies often push for longer. Whatever you agree, put it in the contract and repeat it on every invoice, and make paying easy with a payment link so the terms aren't the thing slowing you down.
Is the consulting invoice template really free?
Yes. Make and download your invoice free, no card needed. Create a free Billing Plus account when you want to save clients, send with a payment link, and get paid inside the app.
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