Hourly
Hours × rate with a running total — the default for 1099 work.
Free Independent Contractor Invoice Template
As an independent contractor you invoice as a business of one: your name is the company, your rate is the price, and nothing gets withheld — taxes are your side of the table. This free independent contractor invoice template keeps it simple: hourly or fixed-fee lines, a Tax ID field if a client requests it, terms, and a total. Download it, or fill it in the invoice generator for freelancers and contractors free.
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Fixed fee
One agreed price for one agreed scope; changes get billed separately.
Monthly retainer
A period field and retainer line, with overage hours broken out.
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01
Hourly vs fixed-fee: how to lay out the lines
Hourly work reads as hours × rate, one line per work stream — "Site visits — 6 hrs × $80" tells the story better than a single bulk number. Fixed-fee work is the opposite: one line, the agreed price, and a scope reference ("Per proposal dated…"). The mistake is mixing them without saying so; if a fixed-fee job grew hourly extras, give the extras their own clearly-labeled lines. Retainers add a period ("Services for March") and break out any overage hours at the agreed rate.
02
What clients expect on a 1099 contractor's invoice
Your name or business name, contact details, and — if the client's bookkeeping asks for it — your EIN. An invoice number their accounts-payable system can reference. Clear terms: Net 15 and Net 30 are the defaults; "due on receipt" is fine for small jobs. And nothing withheld: you bill the gross amount, and taxes are handled on your side at filing time. One line of housekeeping — Invosmith isn't tax advice; your Tax ID and withholdings are between you and your accountant.
Practical answers
Frequently asked questions
Do I put my SSN or EIN on an invoice?
Use your EIN if you have one; never put your SSN on an invoice. If a client needs tax details, that's what the W-9 process is for — the invoice only needs enough for their books to identify you.
How do independent contractors bill hourly?
Track hours per work stream, bill them as hours × rate on separate lines, and attach or reference a time log for anything over a handful of hours. Set the rate and terms in writing before the work starts.
Is an independent contractor invoice the same as a freelance invoice?
Functionally yes — different word, same document. Pick the template whose lines match how you work.