Billed

Self-Employed Invoice Template

A self-employed invoice template for the US, with flat-fee and hourly work in one services table, expenses billed at cost after the sales tax line, your payment terms and the amount due, in PDF, Word and Excel

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Quick answer:A self-employed invoice bills a client for work you do in your own business. The template on this page is written for the US: it shows your name and business name, the invoice number, dates, payment terms and an optional client PO number, then lists flat-fee and hourly work in one services table with a "Date or basis" column. Expenses you paid for the job are billed at cost after the "Sales tax, if applicable" line, so the tax rate applies to services only. It doesn't calculate or report income tax. It comes as a blank one-page A4 PDF form plus Word and Excel files with a sample invoice.

INVOICE

Self-employed

Name:
Riley Example
Business name:
Riley Example Consulting
Address:
26 Example Birch Street, Sampletown
Phone / email:
[Phone or email]

Invoice details

Invoice no.:
RE-0219
Invoice date:
Nov 23, 2026
Payment terms:
Net 15
Due date:
Dec 8, 2026
Client PO no.:
[PO no., if any]

Bill to (client)

Company:
Example Garden Center
Attention:
Owner
Address:
71 Sample Greenway, Sampletown
Email:
[Email]

Services

  • Date or basis: Flat fee, as quotedAmount: 450.00
    Service:
    Website copy review
    Qty:
    1
    Unit:
    project
    Rate:
    450.00
  • Date or basis: Nov 12, 2026Amount: 255.00
    Service:
    Staff workshop
    Qty:
    3
    Unit:
    hour
    Rate:
    85.00
  • Date or basis: Nov 16 to Nov 20, 2026Amount: 212.50
    Service:
    Follow-up edits
    Qty:
    2.5
    Unit:
    hour
    Rate:
    85.00
Services subtotal917.50

Expenses, at cost

  • Service: Workshop handouts, printedAmount: 42.80
    Date or basis:
    Copy shop
    Qty:
    1
    Unit:
    order
    Rate:
    42.80
  • Service: Parking at the client siteAmount: 18.00
    Date or basis:
    Nov 12, 2026
    Qty:
    1
    Unit:
    day
    Rate:
    18.00
Subtotal
917.50
Sales tax, if applicable (0%)
0.00
Expenses, at cost
60.80
Total
978.30
Amount due
978.30

How to pay

Accepted methods:
Bank transfer, ACH or check
Account name:
[Account name]
Bank details:
[Bank name, account and routing numbers]
Payment reference:
Invoice RE-0219

Notes

  • Expenses are billed at what they cost, with copies available on request.
  • Sample terms: payment within 15 days of the invoice date.

Please quote the invoice number with your payment.

Self-employed invoice: sample preview. Download it below.

Key Features

Everything you need in a professional invoice template.

"Name" and "Business name" on separate lines in the self-employed block
Invoice details with payment terms, a due date and an optional "Client PO no."
One services table for flat-fee and hourly work, with a "Date or basis" column
"Expenses, at cost" table, added after the sales tax line
"Sales tax, if applicable" rate cell on services only, then the total and amount due
Payment block for bank transfer, ACH or check, with placeholders for your details
Blank one-page A4 PDF, plus Word and Excel files with a sample invoice; the Excel file calculates the totals

Download the invoice template

The PDF is a blank invoice to print and fill in by hand. The Word and Excel files contain the sample details shown in the preview, ready for you to replace with your own. In the Excel file, each line amount is a formula: "Qty" × "Rate". The section subtotals, subtotal, tax, pass-through costs, total and amount due are formulas too. The tax rate sits in its own cell, so you can change it.

INVOICE

Self-employed

Name:
Riley Example
Business name:
Riley Example Consulting
Address:
26 Example Birch Street, Sampletown
Phone / email:
[Phone or email]

Invoice details

Invoice no.:
RE-0219
Invoice date:
Nov 23, 2026
Payment terms:
Net 15
Due date:
Dec 8, 2026
Client PO no.:
[PO no., if any]

Bill to (client)

Company:
Example Garden Center
Attention:
Owner
Address:
71 Sample Greenway, Sampletown
Email:
[Email]

Services

  • Date or basis: Flat fee, as quotedAmount: 450.00
    Service:
    Website copy review
    Qty:
    1
    Unit:
    project
    Rate:
    450.00
  • Date or basis: Nov 12, 2026Amount: 255.00
    Service:
    Staff workshop
    Qty:
    3
    Unit:
    hour
    Rate:
    85.00
  • Date or basis: Nov 16 to Nov 20, 2026Amount: 212.50
    Service:
    Follow-up edits
    Qty:
    2.5
    Unit:
    hour
    Rate:
    85.00
Services subtotal917.50

Expenses, at cost

  • Service: Workshop handouts, printedAmount: 42.80
    Date or basis:
    Copy shop
    Qty:
    1
    Unit:
    order
    Rate:
    42.80
  • Service: Parking at the client siteAmount: 18.00
    Date or basis:
    Nov 12, 2026
    Qty:
    1
    Unit:
    day
    Rate:
    18.00
Subtotal
917.50
Sales tax, if applicable (0%)
0.00
Expenses, at cost
60.80
Total
978.30
Amount due
978.30

How to pay

Accepted methods:
Bank transfer, ACH or check
Account name:
[Account name]
Bank details:
[Bank name, account and routing numbers]
Payment reference:
Invoice RE-0219

Notes

  • Expenses are billed at what they cost, with copies available on request.
  • Sample terms: payment within 15 days of the invoice date.

Please quote the invoice number with your payment.

Self-employed invoice

An invoice for a self-employed person in the US: services priced by the project or by the hour in one table, expenses passed through at cost after the tax line, payment terms and the amount due.

A request for payment — shows the amount due

Download

What goes on a self-employed invoice

A self-employed invoice bills a client for work you do in your own business, in your own name or a business name. This one is written for the US: the payment block lists bank transfer, ACH or check, and there's a sales tax line you set only if it applies to you. The template has these parts:

  • Self-employed. "Name" and "Business name" on separate lines, so you can show both, plus your address and phone or email.
  • Invoice details. "Invoice no.", "Invoice date", "Payment terms", "Due date" and "Client PO no.", for when a client gives you a purchase order number.
  • Bill to (client). The client's company, an "Attention" line, the address and an email.
  • Services. One table for all your work: "Service", "Date or basis", "Qty", "Unit", "Rate" and "Amount", with a "Services subtotal".
  • Expenses, at cost. Costs you paid on the client's behalf, in the same columns, billed at what they cost.
  • Totals. "Subtotal", "Sales tax, if applicable", "Expenses, at cost", "Total" and "Amount due".
  • How to pay. Accepted methods, account name, bank details and a payment reference, as placeholders for your own details.

The sample

The sample is Riley Example, trading as Riley Example Consulting, billing Example Garden Center for a mix of flat-fee and hourly work:

  • Website copy review, a flat fee as quoted: 1 project at 450.00 = 450.00.
  • Staff workshop on Nov 12, 2026: 3 hours at 85.00 = 255.00.
  • Follow-up edits from Nov 16 to Nov 20, 2026: 2.5 hours at 85.00 = 212.50.

The services subtotal is 917.50. Sales tax is 0% in the sample. The expenses are printed workshop handouts, 42.80, and parking at the client site, 18.00, for 60.80 at cost. The Total and Amount due are 978.30. The invoice is dated Nov 23, 2026 on "Net 15" terms, so it's due Dec 8, 2026. The rates and terms only show how the form works; set your own.

Flat fees and hourly work in one table

Every service sits in the one "Services" table, whatever the pricing:

  • A flat fee: 1 in "Qty", "project" in "Unit" and your quoted price in "Rate", with something like "Flat fee, as quoted" in "Date or basis".
  • Hourly work: the hours in "Qty", "hour" in "Unit" and your hourly rate, with the date or date range in "Date or basis".

"Date or basis" holds whichever is more useful for the line: the date you did the work, or how it's priced. Partial hours work as decimals, such as 2.5.

Expenses at cost

"Expenses, at cost" is for costs you paid for the client's job, such as printing or parking, billed at what they cost with no markup. The expenses table uses the same columns as the services table. Its total is added after the sales tax line, so the tax rate applies to your services only. The sample note says "Expenses are billed at what they cost, with copies available on request.", so keep the receipts.

Payment terms

"Payment terms" and "Due date" go together: "Net 15" in the sample means payment within 15 days of the invoice date, Nov 23 to Dec 8, 2026, and the notes repeat it as "Sample terms: payment within 15 days of the invoice date." Choose terms that suit you and your client, and put the due date as a date so there's no doubt. The payment reference, "Invoice RE-0219", tells the client what to write on a bank transfer or check.

Who counts as self-employed

The IRS says on its Self-Employed Individuals Tax Center page (page last reviewed or updated Sep 27, 2026; quoted Oct 29, 2026): "Generally, you are self-employed if any of the following apply to you. You carry on a trade or business as a sole proprietor or an independent contractor. You are a member of a partnership that carries on a trade or business. You are otherwise in business for yourself (including in a part-time business or as a gig worker)."

This template doesn't calculate or report any income tax. For your own tax questions, start with that IRS page or a tax professional.

Sales tax

"Sales tax, if applicable" is the services subtotal times the rate in its own cell, 0% in the sample; expenses are outside it. That's how the file is built, not a statement about what is taxable. Whether sales tax applies to your services depends on where you work and what you sell, so check with the tax agency there and change the rate or the formula to match. At 0%, the line stays on the invoice and shows 0.00.

Filling in the figures

In the Excel file, each line amount in both tables is Qty × Rate, rounded to the cent. The services subtotal and the subtotal each add up the service lines, the sales tax is the subtotal times the rate in its own cell, rounded to the cent, and the expenses total adds up the expense lines. The total adds the subtotal, the sales tax and the expenses total, and the amount due equals the total. Each table has one blank row at the end, and the totals already include it. For more lines, insert rows above the blank row in that table, copy the amount formula into them, and check that the subtotal, or the expenses total, covers them.

In the Word file, the amounts are typed, not calculated, so retype them when you change a figure. The PDF is a one-page blank form to fill in by hand, with a blank for the tax rate. It's sized for A4 paper, so if you print on US Letter, check the scaling setting in your print dialog. We haven't tested the files in Excel, Word or on a printer.

How it differs from the freelancer and sole trader invoices

  • The freelancer invoice splits your work into two tables, "Fixed-price work" and "Time billed hourly", each with its own subtotal, plus expenses passed through at cost.
  • The sole trader invoice is for the UK, in pounds sterling, with the date of supply and a VAT line to use only if you're VAT-registered.
  • This self-employed invoice is for the US: flat-fee and hourly work in one table with a "Date or basis" column, your name and business name on separate lines, a client PO number field, and expenses at cost after the sales tax line.

In Billed you can save your services and pull them into invoices, accept card and PayPal payments on your invoices, record offline payments such as checks, and send automated payment reminders. See invoicing software and accepting payments.

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What's included in this invoice template

Line Billed as Sample
Copy review Flat fee 450.00
Workshop 3 hours × 85.00 255.00
Edits 2.5 hours × 85.00 212.50
Expenses At cost 60.80
Amount due Total 978.30

When this isn't for you

If you're a sole trader in the UK, use the sole trader invoice, which is in pounds sterling with a VAT line. If you'd rather keep fixed-price work and hourly time in separate tables with their own subtotals, the freelancer invoice does that.

How To Send Invoices With Billed

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1

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2

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3

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about this invoice template.

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