If you are in the service industry, preparing professional Service Invoice is imperative. Service providers and small businesses may use templates to do this. These can all be downloaded from the internet. There are general invoices that list a description of the product and the amount. Other invoices specify the hourly rates and total charges.
There are various billing software that are sophisticated, and are either expensive or easy to acquire. It depends upon the size of your business, the billing software you choose. You can also use a spreadsheet that needs minimal customization. It is less time consuming and an efficient way of invoicing.
A Service Invoice should ideally have the company name at the top followed by the company slogan and the company logo. On the left-hand side, it has the “Bill To” information. Mention the name of the person, their company name, the physical address of the company, the city, the zip code, and the phone number of the company. The right-hand side space is allocated for the billing information like the bill date, the invoice number, the customer id, the work order number, and the payment due date.
This is followed by the actual invoice with columns and rows. It should have the description of the service provided and the line total of the service. If you are looking for a Service Invoice template mentioning hourly rates, add two columns right after description for Hours and Unit Price. You may also have a section at the bottom for Terms and Conditions, to avoid confusion. Mention separate services, one by one, in separate rows. This should be followed by hours and unit price, and reach the line total column to the right. Just below this is the subtotal amount, the sales tax rate in percentage, the sales tax amount, discount if applicable, and the total after all the additions. Add all the subtotal amounts which will give you the grand total of the bill.
It is always better to send a Service Invoice via email. It is more convenient for the customer and the file can be downloaded any time. In a general Service Invoice, you can put in what you want in the description section. This is more convenient because it can accommodate hourly rates and/or fixed charges. You have the flexibility of breaking down a service into several tasks and put in separate hourly charges for separate tasks. This is easier for the customer to understand and it is easier for you to explain what you are charging for and how. If you are a freelancer, you can very easily differentiate dissimilar tasks for the same project. Decide on an hourly rate for a particular task and take it from there.
At the bottom, give the company name for checks being payable to. Thank the customer for their business. Mention an employee name and number in case of queries, if any. There should also be space allocated for special notes and instructions at the bottom. This is a comprehensive template for a Service Invoice.
