Freelance invoice template
- Balance due
- $2,620
- Time billed
- $2,400
- Fees before discount
- $3,000
- Discount
- $0
Every figure on this page is computed from the inputs you enter, by the method stated below it. RemitDeck publishes no average rates and quotes no survey: the defaults are a worked example to replace with your own.
The figures above start from a worked example ($2,620). Change any input and the invoice updates as you type.
Download the Freelance invoice template worked example (CSV)
This raises a freelance invoice in the order a client reads it. Time at your rate, fixed-fee items such as a milestone or a retainer, billable expenses at cost, any discount on the fees, VAT or sales tax at whatever rate you charge, the deposit already paid, and the balance due last and largest. It also shows what your late charge would be a month past due, so the client sees the cost of paying late before it happens. Free, on the page, no account; the paid plan saves it against the client and sends it under your own name.
Time and fixed fees are different lines because clients read them differently
Time billed is a rate multiplied by hours or days, and the client checks it against the timesheet or the days they saw you. A fixed fee is a sum you agreed for a result, and the client checks it against the proposal. Putting both on one line invites the client to divide the fixed fee by the hours and decide you are expensive. The template keeps them separate and applies any discount to the fees together, never to expenses, because expenses are money you already spent.
VAT goes on the fees and the expenses, if you are registered
A VAT-registered sole trader in the UK charges VAT on the fee and on expenses recharged to the client, because the expense was incurred by you in supplying the service; only a true disbursement, a cost that belonged to the client and merely passed through you, sits outside it. The template applies your rate to fees after discount plus expenses for that reason. A US freelancer whose state does not tax services enters 0 and the line disappears; the VAT or tax number field in the paid plan prints your registration on every invoice, which a VAT invoice must carry.
The deposit comes off before the balance, and the balance ends the page
An invoice that shows a total and then mentions a deposit somewhere gets paid in the wrong amount. The template acknowledges the deposit as the last deduction and ends on a single balance due, because the last number on the page is the number the client pays. Beneath it goes the late charge, computed on the balance at the monthly rate your terms state, shown as information rather than as a line on the bill: it is not owed yet, and showing it is what stops it becoming owed.
Freelance invoice template: common questions
Is this a free freelance invoice template?
Yes. The template raises the whole invoice on the page with no account and no card: time, fixed fees, expenses, discount, tax, deposit and balance due, and you can print it as it stands. RemitDeck Pro adds the parts that make it yours: your name, logo and VAT or tax number on it, a clean PDF without our line, saving it against the client, and finding it again at tax time.
Should I charge VAT on expenses I recharge?
If you are VAT registered, usually yes: an expense you incurred in doing the work and pass on to the client is part of your supply and carries VAT at your rate, even where the original cost had none, such as a train fare. A disbursement, a cost the client was liable for that you paid on their behalf, is different and is passed through without VAT. The template treats expenses as recharges; enter disbursements separately on the invoice if you have any.
What payment terms should a freelancer use?
The shortest terms the client will accept, stated on the invoice, with a due date rather than a number of days. Net 30 is the default most companies apply whatever you write, so if you need the money sooner the lever is asking for a deposit up front, which this template deducts, rather than shortening the terms. Put your bank details, the client's purchase order or contract reference and the late charge your terms allow on every invoice.
Can I use this for a retainer?
Yes. Enter the retainer in the fixed-fee field and leave the hours at zero, or bill the hours over the retainer at your rate on the same invoice. A retainer invoice usually goes out on the same day each month and is the one most worth saving in Pro, because the record of twelve identical invoices against one client is exactly what an accountant wants to see.
RemitDeck Pro
Keeping what you make
The invoices are free forever. Pro turns them into your paperwork: your name and logo on it, no watermark, every invoice and client saved and findable at tax time, and a clean export when your accountant asks.
- Download as PDF
- No RemitDeck watermark
- Save every invoice and reopen it later
- Your logo and tax number on it
- Export every invoice in one go
- Payment reminders emailed to your clients before and after the due date
- Connect your own Stripe account and get paid online
- Connect your QuickBooks Online or Xero
$23per month, every client
Start RemitDeck Pro PricingRenews monthly at the price above until you cancel. We email you before any price change.
Cite or embed this figure
Freelance invoice template (Balance due): $2,620, RemitDeck, worked example.
Cite as: "Freelance invoice template, RemitDeck", updated 2026-09-02, https://remitdeck.com/tools/freelance-invoice-template/.