Consultant invoice template
Consulting fees get paid by finance teams who never met you, from a document that has to stand on its own. This template produces one: the engagement named, the basis stated, the reference the client filed it under, and VAT presented properly. Advisory days, retainers and fixed-fee engagements all fit.
Saved on this device only — nothing is uploaded.
Invoice details
Your business
Adds your VAT number below, plus VAT columns and a VAT section.
Stored on your device only and embedded in the PDF. PNG or JPG, under 1MB.
Bill to (your client)
VAT
CIS (construction)
Domestic reverse charge
Appearance
Items
Discount, deposit & payment
Receiving a deposit can create a VAT tax point. Check HMRC guidance if unsure.
Your business name
Invoice
INV-0001
Bill to
Client name
- Invoice date
- 01/10/2026
| Description | Qty | Unit | VAT | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | 1 | £0.00 | 20% | £0.00 |
- Net total
- £0.00
- VAT 20%
- £0.00
- Total VAT
- £0.00
- Total
- £0.00
Name the engagement, not just the effort
A line reading "Consultancy — £4,800" invites a question; "Operating model review, phase 1 — 6 days @ £800" answers it. Whatever you agreed, put the basis on the face of the invoice: days at a rate, a fixed fee for a defined deliverable, or a period covered by a retainer. If your engagement letter divides the work into phases or workstreams, mirror that language exactly — the person approving payment is checking your invoice against a contract they're reading at the same time.
Fixed-fee engagements are usually billed in instalments against milestones: on signature, on delivery of the interim findings, on final report. Each instalment is its own invoice with its own number and its own due date. Say which instalment it is and what remains, so nobody has to reconstruct the schedule from three separate PDFs.
Retainers and the "what did I get for this?" problem
A retainer is the easiest invoice to raise and the easiest for a client to start resenting, because it looks identical every month. Two habits help. First, state what the retainer buys — "Advisory retainer, September: up to 3 days' access, monthly review call" — rather than just the period. Second, keep it to the agreed scope and invoice overflow separately as named extra days, so the client sees the retainer being honoured rather than quietly stretched.
Build the first one properly and every subsequent month is a duplicate with the period and number changed. Retainers billed in advance are due before the period they cover, so set the due date accordingly — a retainer invoice sent on the 28th for the following month on 30-day terms is a retainer you're funding yourself.
Purchase orders, portals and self-billing
Corporate accounts payable is a matching exercise: your invoice against a purchase order against a goods-receipt. No PO number means no match and no payment, so get the PO before you start and quote it beside the invoice number. If the PO has a value cap, watch it — invoices that take the cumulative total above the PO stop dead until someone raises an amendment.
Some large clients operate self-billing: they raise the invoice on your behalf and send it to you. That's legitimate, but it needs a written self-billing agreement in place and, if you're VAT registered, you must not also issue your own VAT invoice for the same supply — two documents for one supply is a VAT problem. HMRC's self-billing notice sets out the conditions.
VAT and expenses on professional fees
Established consultants are usually VAT registered — corporate clients reclaim it, so it isn't a pricing obstacle the way it is in consumer trades — and registration is compulsory above £90,000 of taxable turnover in any rolling 12 months. When you're registered, your invoice needs the full detail set out in what a VAT invoice must include.
Recharged expenses normally follow your main supply for VAT: if your advice is standard-rated, so is the train fare you rebill, even though the ticket itself was zero-rated. Bill expenses as separate lines against the client's own travel policy — most have one, and most will reject anything above it.
A typical consultant invoice
Example line items you might add:
- Operating model review, phase 1 — 6 days @ £800 (PO 5512-A)
- Advisory retainer, September — fixed £2,500
- Board workshop facilitation — 1 day @ £1,200
- Travel (standard class rail, per client policy) — £164.20
Frequently asked questions
How should a consultant describe work on an invoice?
Using the same language as the engagement letter — the phase, workstream or deliverable name, plus the basis (days at a rate, fixed fee, or retainer period). The approver is comparing your invoice to the contract, so matching wording removes the friction.
What is self-billing and do I still send my own invoice?
Self-billing is where the client raises the invoice for your supply and sends it to you, under a written agreement between you. If you are VAT registered you must not also issue your own VAT invoice for that supply — only one VAT invoice can exist per supply.
Do I charge VAT on expenses I recharge to a client?
Usually yes. A recharged expense normally takes the VAT treatment of the service it relates to, so rebilling a zero-rated rail fare within a standard-rated consultancy supply means VAT applies to that line.
When should a retainer invoice be dated?
In line with the period it covers. Retainers billed in advance need enough notice that payment arrives before the period starts — sending on the 28th for the following month on 30-day terms means you fund the month yourself.
What happens if the purchase order runs out mid-engagement?
Payment stops. Accounts payable will not settle invoices that take the cumulative total above the PO value, so track the balance and ask the client to raise an amendment before you submit the invoice that would breach it.