What should a translation invoice include?

Your business details, an invoice number and date, payment terms, a due date, and the client with any project or PO number. Then the language pair, how words were counted, each document with its word count and per-word rate (or a minimum charge), any proofreading hours and certification fees, a rush fee if one applies, any sales tax, the amount due and how to pay.

How do I charge per word with a minimum?

Bill each document as source words × your per-word rate. For a document too short to reach your minimum, bill one "minimum" unit instead, as the sample does for a 180-word letter. Your rate, your minimum and the word count that triggers it are business terms you set.

How does the rush fee work on this invoice?

In the Excel file it's a percentage of the translation lines only, from the rate cell on the "Rush fee on translation" line (20% in the sample). Proofreading and certification aren't included. Set the rate to 0% when a project isn't rushed.

Does using this template make my translation certified?

No. The invoice can bill for a certified translation statement, but what counts as a certified translation is set by the organization that receives it. Ask the client where the translation is going and what that organization requires.

Should proofreading be billed separately?

It can be. The template has a Proofreading and certification table where you bill review by a second linguist as hours × an hourly rate, so the client can see it apart from the translation itself.

Free Translation Invoice Template

A free invoice for a translation project that records the language pair and bills each document by source words at a per-word rate, with a minimum charge for short documents, a rush fee, proofreading hours and a certification fee, as a blank PDF form plus Word and Excel files filled with sample values

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Quick answer:This page has a free translation project invoice for a translator or language services business. It records the client, a project number and PO number, the language pair, the delivery date and how words were counted. Each document is billed as source words × a per-word rate, or as a minimum charge for a short document, followed by proofreading hours and a certified translation statement. A rush fee is a percentage of the translation lines only, sales tax comes from a rate you enter, and the invoice shows the amount due. Billing for a certification statement doesn't make a translation certified: the organization receiving it decides what it accepts. It comes as a blank print-and-fill PDF and as Word and Excel files filled with sample values.

TRANSLATION INVOICE

Translator

Business name:: Example Language Services
Address:: 7 Example Row, Suite 3, Sampletown
Phone / email:: [Phone or email]

Invoice details

Invoice no.:: TR-1188
Invoice date:: Nov 20, 2026
Payment terms:: Net 30
Due date:: Dec 20, 2026
Project no.:: PJ-0952

Bill to (client)

Company:: Example Outdoor Gear Co.
Attention:: Morgan Example, Marketing
Address:: 410 Sample Avenue, Sampletown
Email:: [Email]
PO no.:: PO-7731

Project

Language pair:: English to Spanish (US)
Delivered:: Nov 18, 2026, rush
Word count:: Source words, counted in [CAT tool or word processor]

Translation

Item: Product catalog, fall 2026Amount: 873.60
Details:
Source words
Qty:
6,240
Unit:
word
Rate:
0.14
Item: Distributor agreementAmount: 301.00
Details:
Source words
Qty:
2,150
Unit:
word
Rate:
0.14
Item: Warranty letter, 180 wordsAmount: 45.00
Details:
Minimum charge applies
Qty:
1
Unit:
minimum
Rate:
45.00

Translation: line items
Item	Details	Qty	Unit	Rate	Amount
Product catalog, fall 2026	Source words	6,240	word	0.14	873.60
Distributor agreement	Source words	2,150	word	0.14	301.00
Warranty letter, 180 words	Minimum charge applies	1	minimum	45.00	45.00

Translation subtotal1,219.60

Proofreading and certification

Item: Proofreading by a second linguistAmount: 168.00
Details:
Product catalog
Qty:
3.5
Unit:
hour
Rate:
48.00
Item: Certified translation statementAmount: 35.00
Details:
Distributor agreement
Qty:
1
Unit:
document
Rate:
35.00

Proofreading and certification: line items
Item	Details	Qty	Unit	Rate	Amount
Proofreading by a second linguist	Product catalog	3.5	hour	48.00	168.00
Certified translation statement	Distributor agreement	1	document	35.00	35.00

Proofreading and certification subtotal203.00

Subtotal: 1,422.60
Rush fee on translation (20%): 243.92
Sales tax, if applicable (0%): 0.00
Amount due: 1,666.52

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 TR-1188 and PO-7731

Project notes

Word counts are source words, as quoted on [Quote no.].
Sample terms: a minimum charge of 45.00 applies to documents under 300 words.
Sample terms: delivery within 3 business days adds 20% to the translation charges.
The certified translation statement is signed by the translator; check what the receiving organization asks for.

Please quote the invoice and PO numbers with your payment.

Translation project invoice: sample preview. Download it below.

Key Features

Everything you need in a professional invoice template.

Translator details, invoice number, dates, payment terms and project number

Bill to (client) with attention line, email and PO number

Project: language pair, delivery date and word count basis

Translation table: documents by source words × per-word rate, or a minimum charge

Proofreading and certification table: hours × rate and a certified translation statement

Rush fee from a rate cell, on the translation lines only (Excel)

Sales tax, if applicable, from a rate cell (Excel) and amount due

Blank one-page PDF to print and fill in; Word and Excel versions with sample values to overwrite

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, fee, tax and amount due are formulas too. The fee and tax rates sit in their own cells, so you can change them.

TRANSLATION INVOICE

Translator

Business name:: Example Language Services
Address:: 7 Example Row, Suite 3, Sampletown
Phone / email:: [Phone or email]

Invoice details

Invoice no.:: TR-1188
Invoice date:: Nov 20, 2026
Payment terms:: Net 30
Due date:: Dec 20, 2026
Project no.:: PJ-0952

Bill to (client)

Company:: Example Outdoor Gear Co.
Attention:: Morgan Example, Marketing
Address:: 410 Sample Avenue, Sampletown
Email:: [Email]
PO no.:: PO-7731

Project

Language pair:: English to Spanish (US)
Delivered:: Nov 18, 2026, rush
Word count:: Source words, counted in [CAT tool or word processor]

Translation

Item: Product catalog, fall 2026Amount: 873.60
Details:
Source words
Qty:
6,240
Unit:
word
Rate:
0.14
Item: Distributor agreementAmount: 301.00
Details:
Source words
Qty:
2,150
Unit:
word
Rate:
0.14
Item: Warranty letter, 180 wordsAmount: 45.00
Details:
Minimum charge applies
Qty:
1
Unit:
minimum
Rate:
45.00

Translation: line items
Item	Details	Qty	Unit	Rate	Amount
Product catalog, fall 2026	Source words	6,240	word	0.14	873.60
Distributor agreement	Source words	2,150	word	0.14	301.00
Warranty letter, 180 words	Minimum charge applies	1	minimum	45.00	45.00

Translation subtotal1,219.60

Proofreading and certification

Item: Proofreading by a second linguistAmount: 168.00
Details:
Product catalog
Qty:
3.5
Unit:
hour
Rate:
48.00
Item: Certified translation statementAmount: 35.00
Details:
Distributor agreement
Qty:
1
Unit:
document
Rate:
35.00

Proofreading and certification: line items
Item	Details	Qty	Unit	Rate	Amount
Proofreading by a second linguist	Product catalog	3.5	hour	48.00	168.00
Certified translation statement	Distributor agreement	1	document	35.00	35.00

Proofreading and certification subtotal203.00

Subtotal: 1,422.60
Rush fee on translation (20%): 243.92
Sales tax, if applicable (0%): 0.00
Amount due: 1,666.52

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 TR-1188 and PO-7731

Project notes

Word counts are source words, as quoted on [Quote no.].
Sample terms: a minimum charge of 45.00 applies to documents under 300 words.
Sample terms: delivery within 3 business days adds 20% to the translation charges.
The certified translation statement is signed by the translator; check what the receiving organization asks for.

Please quote the invoice and PO numbers with your payment.

Translation project invoice

An invoice for a translation project: the language pair, each document by source words at a per-word rate, a minimum charge for a short document, a rush fee rate cell on the translation, proofreading hours, a certification fee, a tax rate cell and the amount due.

A request for payment — shows the amount due

Download

What this translation invoice is for

This template is for a translator or language services business billing a client once a translation project is delivered. The sample bills an outdoor gear company for translating a product catalog, a distributor agreement and a short warranty letter from English to Spanish (US), delivered on a rush basis, with proofreading of the catalog and a certified translation statement for the agreement.

The translation project invoice has:

Translator: business name, address, and phone or email.
Invoice details: invoice number, invoice date, payment terms, due date and Project no.
Bill to (client): company, attention line, address, email and PO no.
Project: the Language pair, the delivery date, and the Word count basis ("Source words, counted in [CAT tool or word processor]").
Translation: a table with Item, Details, Qty, Unit, Rate and Amount, with a "Translation subtotal".
Proofreading and certification: the same columns, with a "Proofreading and certification subtotal".
Totals: Subtotal, "Rush fee on translation", "Sales tax, if applicable" and Amount due.
How to pay: accepted methods, placeholders for the account name and bank details, and a payment reference quoting the invoice and PO numbers.
Project notes: how words were counted, the sample minimum-charge and rush terms, and who signs the certification statement.

It comes as three files:

PDF: a one-page blank form to print and fill in by hand, with blanks for the rush and tax percentages.
Word (.docx) and Excel (.xlsx): the same layout filled with sample values for you to overwrite.

In the Excel file:

Each line's Amount is Qty × Rate rounded to the cent, and each table has one empty row.
The two section subtotals and the Subtotal are formulas.
"Rush fee on translation" has a rate cell (20% in the sample) applied to the translation lines only, not to proofreading or certification.
"Sales tax, if applicable" has a rate cell (0% in the sample) applied to the Subtotal plus the rush fee.
Amount due = Subtotal + rush fee + sales tax.

The file's tip says: to leave out the rush fee or the sales tax, set the line's rate to 0%, and don't delete the rows, because the totals refer to them. In the Word file the rush and tax lines show their rates in the label ("(20%)", "(0%)"), so update both the label and the amount if you change them.

The sample adds up like this:

Translation: 6,240 words × $0.14 = $873.60, plus 2,150 words × $0.14 = $301.00, plus a $45.00 minimum charge for the 180-word warranty letter. Translation subtotal: $1,219.60.
Proofreading and certification: 3.5 hours × $48.00 = $168.00, plus a $35.00 certified translation statement, for $203.00. Subtotal: $1,422.60.
Rush fee: 20% × $1,219.60 = $243.92. Sales tax: 0.00 at 0%.
Amount due: $1,666.52. The invoice is dated Nov 20, 2026, on Net 30 terms, so it's due Dec 20, 2026.

These figures only show how the form works. They are not typical rates.

Word counts, rates and minimum charges

Bill each document on its own line with its word count as the quantity and your per-word rate, so the client can match the invoice to the files they sent.
Say how you counted. The sample counts source words and names the tool in the Word count field; its notes add that the counts are "as quoted on [Quote no.]". Use the same basis you quoted on.
Minimum charge: for a short document, bill one "minimum" unit instead of words × rate. The sample's notes give sample terms: "a minimum charge of 45.00 applies to documents under 300 words." Your minimum and its threshold are business terms you set.
Per-page or per-hour pricing works the same way: change the unit and the rate on the line.

Rush fee, proofreading and certification

Rush fee: the sample's notes give sample terms: "delivery within 3 business days adds 20% to the translation charges." The Excel file applies the rate to the translation lines only, so proofreading and certification aren't marked up. Set the rate to 0% when a project isn't rushed.
Proofreading: bill review by a second linguist as hours × an hourly rate, with the document in Details.
Certified translation statement: bill it as its own line, per document. The sample's notes say "The certified translation statement is signed by the translator; check what the receiving organization asks for."

Certified translations

Billing for a certification statement doesn't make a translation certified, and neither does this template. What a "certified translation" has to include is set by the organization that receives it, so ask the client which organization the translation is for and what it requires.

In the US, for example, a federal regulation sets this for documents filed with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) says any document containing a foreign language submitted to USCIS "shall be accompanied by a full English language translation which the translator has certified as complete and accurate, and by the translator's certification that he or she is competent to translate from the foreign language into English." Other organizations and countries set their own requirements.

Sales tax

Whether translation services are taxable, and at what rate, depends on the rules where you work and where your client is, so check them before you set the rate. The sample uses 0%.

Invoice templates by format: PDF, Excel, Word, Google Docs and Google Sheets, or browse all invoice templates. Other invoice templates: English, gym, hotel, pizza shop and snow removal.

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What's included in this invoice template

	Per-word line	Minimum charge	Hourly line
Qty	Source words	1	Hours
Unit	word	minimum	hour
Sample	6,240 × $0.14 = $873.60	1 × $45.00	3.5 × $48.00 = $168.00
Rush fee applies?	Yes, in the Excel file	Yes, it's a translation line	No, proofreading isn't marked up

When this isn't for you

If you're quoting a project before the work starts, an estimate fits better than an invoice. If an agency you work for requires its own invoice format or portal, use that. And if your translation management system already issues invoices, use it so your project records and invoices match.