Professional & personal services
Free Bookkeeping Invoice Template
Free bookkeeping invoice template built for monthly retainers, catch-up work and payroll add-ons. Edit the line items and download your PDF in seconds.
Free · No signup · Editable · PDF in under a minute
Bookkeeping is one of the few service businesses where the invoice should look almost identical every month, and that predictability is the point. Most bookkeepers quote a flat monthly fee per entity, banded by transaction volume and by the number of bank, card and merchant accounts being reconciled, then bill everything outside that band separately. Two things break a clean monthly invoice: catch-up work and payroll. Cleanup of a neglected prior year is a project rather than a subscription and belongs on its own line at an hourly rate, with the exact period it covers named in the description. Payroll runs, 1099 filings and sales-tax returns are per-item add-ons because they scale with the client rather than with the calendar. Bill the monthly fee in advance and the add-ons in arrears, keep the line descriptions identical every cycle so the client can compare invoices at a glance, and convert the whole thing to a recurring invoice once the engagement settles.
Invoice
- Number
- INV-0042
- Issue Date
- Jul 1, 2026
- Due Date
- Jul 16, 2026
From
Rivera Studio
18 Mercer Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211
EIN 84-3920117
Bill To
Northwind Coffee Co.
402 Bleecker Street
New York, NY 10014
| Description | Qty | Unit Price | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly bookkeeping — up to 150 transactions, 3 accounts | 1 month | $550.00 | $550.00 |
| Catch-up cleanup — prior period reconciliation | 12 hour | $95.00 | $1,140.00 |
| Payroll processing and filing | 2 run | $125.00 | $250.00 |
| Quarterly sales tax return preparation | 1 filing | $175.00 | $175.00 |
| Form 1099-NEC preparation and e-file | 6 form | $35.00 | $210.00 |
- Subtotal
- $2,325.00
The template opens with these lines already filled in. Change any of them — they are a starting point, not a price list.
What a bookkeeper invoice usually contains
These are the lines this template starts with, at illustrative US rates for 2026. Every description, quantity, unit and rate is editable.
| Description | Qty | Unit Price | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly bookkeeping — up to 150 transactions, 3 accounts | 1 month | $550.00 | $550.00 |
| Catch-up cleanup — prior period reconciliation | 12 hour | $95.00 | $1,140.00 |
| Payroll processing and filing | 2 run | $125.00 | $250.00 |
| Quarterly sales tax return preparation | 1 filing | $175.00 | $175.00 |
| Form 1099-NEC preparation and e-file | 6 form | $35.00 | $210.00 |
| Total | $2,325.00 | ||
- Default unit
- month
- Payment terms
- Net 15
- Suggested layout
- classic
Terms this template starts with
Payment is due within 15 days of the invoice date. Monthly service continues month to month and may be ended by either party with 30 days’ written notice. Catch-up and cleanup work is billed hourly against the written estimate and is not included in the monthly fee. The client remains responsible for the completeness and accuracy of the source documents provided.
- Your logo, accent colour and business details
- Any currency, with named tax rates per line
- Six layouts on A4 or US Letter
- Hosted payment link and read receipts with a free account
Bookkeeper invoicing questions
- Should bookkeeping be billed as a flat monthly fee or hourly?
- Flat monthly fees suit steady work, price the value rather than your speed, and let the client budget. Band the fee by transaction volume and account count so growth triggers a repricing conversation instead of silent unpaid effort. Keep hourly rates for cleanup, migrations and anything genuinely unpredictable, and say plainly on the invoice which is which.
- How do I invoice catch-up work for a year of neglected books?
- Treat it as a separate project with its own estimate and its own invoice lines. Name the months covered in the description, bill hourly or in fixed stages, and collect a deposit before starting. Keeping cleanup off the recurring monthly invoice prevents the client from assuming the higher amount is their new ongoing fee.
- Can a bookkeeper charge late fees on unpaid invoices?
- Usually yes, provided the fee was disclosed in your engagement letter and printed on the invoice before the balance went overdue. Caps on interest rates for commercial accounts vary by state and by country, so confirm the limit that applies where you operate. A flat monthly percentage with a short grace period is the common approach.
- Does a bookkeeper prepare and file income tax returns?
- Ordinarily not. Bookkeepers maintain the ledger and produce statements; income tax returns are usually prepared by a CPA, an enrolled agent or an equivalently licensed professional, and some jurisdictions restrict who may file on a client’s behalf. Define the boundary in your engagement letter so invoices never imply work you are not authorized to perform.