Guide · Hourly work
How to bill hourly work
Hourly billing is simple until a client asks what they are paying for. The fix is a clear rate, a timesheet they can check, and an invoice that matches it.
Set the rate before the work starts
An hourly rate is not the same as your salary divided by 2,080. Only part of a freelancer’s week is billable: sales, admin, invoicing and learning are real work but usually not charged to a client. If you need $6,000 a month and can bill 100 hours, the rate is $60 an hour before tax and overhead, not $35.
- Put the rate, the currency and the billing increment in the quote or contract. “$85 per hour, billed in 15-minute increments” prevents most arguments later.
- Decide what is not billable — breaks, commuting, non-project admin — and say so on the timesheet.
- If you offer a day rate, say how many hours it includes. A “day” of 6 billable hours is different from 10.
Track time in a way the client can read
One row per task or per day is enough for most projects. Write what was done, not just when you were online: “Homepage build, 3 hours” is checkable; “website work, 24 hours” is not. Record the time the same day if you can — reconstructions are where mistakes and disputes start.
Round once, and write the rule down
Many freelancers bill in 15-minute blocks. Round each entry, not the weekly total, so the arithmetic is visible. Put the rule on the timesheet: “Hours rounded to the nearest 15 minutes.” A client who can see the policy rarely argues with it. If you charge a minimum block for short calls, say that too, before the call.
What goes on the invoice
The invoice needs the same three things as any other: a clear description, a quantity and a price. For hourly work the quantity is hours. You can list one line per task, or one line for the week with the timesheet attached — but the invoice and the timesheet must agree.
| Invoice field | What to write |
|---|---|
| Description | The task or deliverable, not “consulting” |
| Hours | The total from the timesheet, in decimals or h:m |
| Rate | The agreed hourly rate |
| Amount | Hours × rate, checked against the timesheet total |
| Reference | Timesheet number, if you use one |
A worked example
A designer bills 16 hours in a week: 8 on the homepage, 6 on the front-end build and 2 on review. At $85 an hour the invoice is $1,360. The timesheet shows the same three rows and the total. If the client queries the build, you can point to the dates and the task, not just the total.
Four mistakes that get hours cut
- Billing breaks or travel that the contract did not allow.
- Vague descriptions that give the client nothing to approve.
- Sending the invoice with no timesheet, then producing one later.
- No cap or estimate, so the client is surprised by the total.
If you bill hourly, keep the timesheet and the invoice together. The timesheet generator totals the hours and can turn the same rows into an invoice, and the blank timesheet template is there for the days you work on paper.
Related
Payment terms and late payment
Net 30, due dates and a reminder sequence that works.
Deposits and retainers
Show the deposit, deduct it and avoid double-billing.
How to write an invoice
The seven parts of a US invoice, a worked example and common mistakes.