Free labor invoice template for hourly work, with a sample

Download this invoice template: Word, Excel or PDF

Free to download, with no sign-up and no email. Open the Word file to type over the brackets, or the Excel file to swap in your own lines — the totals follow. Prefer paper? Print the blank PDF and fill it in by pen.

• Word (.docx) — the blank invoice, ready to fill in
• Excel (.xlsx) — the sample lines with amounts, tax and the total that work themselves out
• PDF (.pdf) — the filled-in sample, drawn the way Workeey draws an invoice
• Flat-rate PDF (.pdf) — the same job with the hours as one flat price, the same total
• Blank PDF (.pdf) — print it and fill it in by pen
• Google Docs — your own copy of the Word file, in your Google Drive (Google asks you to sign in)
• Google Sheets — your own copy of the Excel file, in your Google Drive (Google asks you to sign in)

What goes on a labor invoice

A labor invoice bills time instead of things. Each line is a piece of work, with the hours you spent on it as the quantity and your hourly rate as the price, so 6.5 hours at $68 is a $442 line. Break a long day into tasks the client will recognize, rather than one line that says "labor, 11 hours". They see what each part of the job cost, and you have far less to explain.

The rest is what every invoice needs: who you are, who is paying, a number, dates and a way to pay. If you bought anything for the job, it goes on its own line, apart from the hours, because many states tax materials and labor differently. A self-employed invoice template for hours worked doesn't need to be fancier than that.

• Your business name and how to reach you: phone, email, mailing address
• Client name, billing address, and the job address if it differs
• An invoice number, the date you sent it, and the date it's due
• The date of each visit
• One line per task: hours as the quantity, your hourly rate as the price
• Any minimum charge, travel or disposal as its own line
• Materials, if any, kept apart from the labor
• Subtotal, sales tax only where it applies, and the total due (is labor taxed in your state?)
• Payment terms and how to pay (late fees by state)

Copy this labor invoice template

Here is the hourly invoice template as plain lines. Paste it into any document, fill in the brackets, and drop any line you don't use. Write hours as decimals so the math stays easy: 15 minutes is 0.25, half an hour is 0.5, and 45 minutes is 0.75.

Use the hourly rate you quoted. If some work carries a different rate, such as an after-hours call, give it its own line with its own rate so the client sees why. Here is the skeleton:

• [Business name] · [phone] · [email] · [mailing address]
• Invoice no. [3001] · Issued: [date] · Due by: [date]
• Client: [name] · Bill to: [billing address] · Work done at: [job address]
• Hourly rate: $[rate] per hour · Billed in [quarter hours]
• [Date] — [task] — [hours] × $[rate] = [$] (one line per task)
• Minimum charge — [visit] — [minimum hours] × $[rate] = [$] (only if it applies)
• Travel — [trips or miles] × [$] = [$] (only if you bill it)
• Materials — [item] — [qty] × [your price] = [$] (only if you supplied them)
• Subtotal: [$] · Sales tax, only if labor is taxed where you work: [$] · Amount due: [$]
• Payment: [card or bank pay link] or [check to your business] · Due [number] days from the invoice date
• [Thank-you line]

Templates for your trade

• Appliance repair invoice template — a refrigerator diagnosis, parts and the return trip
• Carpet cleaning invoice template — rooms, stairs and add-on treatments
• Concrete invoice template — a patio broken out and poured again
• Drywall invoice template — a water-damaged ceiling, cut out to painted
• Electrician invoice template — permit, panel, breakers and wire by the foot
• Fence invoice template — posts, rails and pickets repaired
• Flooring invoice template — a hardwood refinish, sand to final coat
• Handyman invoice template — a punch list, each task its own line
• House cleaning invoice template — a deep clean and its add-ons
• HVAC invoice template — diagnostic fee, refrigerant by the pound, parts
• Junk removal invoice template — a cleanout by truck space, plus the heavy items
• Landscaping invoice template — plants, mulch by the yard, labor
• Lawn care invoice template — a month's mowing visits on one invoice
• Locksmith invoice template — an evening lockout, rekey and a new deadbolt
• Painting invoice template — prep, coats, gallons and materials
• Pest control invoice template — a first treatment and its follow-up visit
• Plumbing invoice template — labor, service call, parts with markup, and tax
• Pressure washing invoice template — a paver patio cleaned, re-sanded and sealed
• Roofing invoice template — tear-off by the square, shingles, flashing
• Snow removal invoice template — a month of plowing and shoveling, push by push
• Tree service invoice template — crown work, stump grinding and cleanup
• Window cleaning invoice template — inside, outside, screens and gutters

How to bill hours so clients don't argue

Pick a billing increment and stick to it. Quarter hours are common and easy to explain: 4 hours and 10 minutes bills as 4.25, not 4.5. Rounding everything up to the next whole hour reads as padding, and clients notice it by the second invoice.

Set a minimum charge for short visits and say so before you go out. A 20-minute fix still costs you the drive and a slot in your day, so a one-hour or two-hour minimum is fair, as long as the client heard it first. Bill travel as its own line rather than folding it into the hours, so the hours on the invoice match the hours on site. And send the invoice the day the work ends, while the client still remembers you were there all afternoon.

• Bill in quarter hours, written as decimals
• Tell the client your minimum charge before the visit
• Put travel on its own line, never hidden in the hours
• Keep materials apart from labor
• Send it the same day; if it goes past due, our late payment reminder templates have the words

Or do it free in Workeey

A template works, but you are still copying the client's details and multiplying hours by rates yourself. Workeey's invoicing builds the invoice from the finished job in one tap, and an estimate you already sent becomes the invoice with one tap too. Bill hours the way this page does, with the hours as the quantity and your hourly rate as the price, and Workeey adds up the lines.

The client gets the invoice by email with a pay link; once you connect Stripe, they can pay by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or US bank, and a small processing fee applies to online payments. Each invoice shows whether it's sent, paid or overdue, and you can switch on reminder texts for one that's running late. Invoicing is unlimited on the free plan, no card needed; see pricing.