Guides

Turning hours into an invoice without an argument

How to set a rate, what to do about small tasks, when to move to a retainer, and why the timesheet should reach the client before the invoice does.

Hourly billing fails in a predictable way: the work is done, the invoice arrives, and the client is surprised by the number. Everything below exists to remove that surprise, because a surprised client pays late.

Send the timesheet first

A timesheet delivered a few days before the invoice turns a question into a conversation while it is still cheap. If something on it looks wrong to the client, you want to hear that before the amount is on a document their finance system has already received.

Minimum increments

Billing every two-minute email individually is unpleasant for both sides. A minimum increment — six or fifteen minutes — is standard, and agreeing it in advance turns a recurring irritation into a rule. Say it once, in the engagement email.

When hourly stops working

Hourly punishes you for getting faster, which is the wrong incentive for work you have done many times. Once a job is predictable, a fixed price for the outcome is better for both sides: the client knows the number in advance and you keep the benefit of your own efficiency.

A retainer sits in between — a fixed monthly amount for an agreed band of hours, with an explicit rate for anything beyond it. It smooths your income and gives the client a budget line rather than a surprise.

Put the period in the invoice line

"Design work" is a line nobody can approve. "Interface design, 1–31 August, 42.5 hours at 125.00 EUR (timesheet attached)" is a line that approves itself.

Worth knowing

• The timesheet tool produces the total; the invoice tool takes it. Both keep your rate locally, so the second month is three fields and a print.