How to use the architect invoice template
Architects rarely bill like other businesses. A fee is agreed for the whole job, split across stages of work, and each invoice claims the part of each stage completed since the last one, plus any hourly extras and the expenses you've paid on the client's behalf. Generic invoice templates make that awkward. This one is built around the way practices actually bill, and it does the arithmetic for you.
- Fill in the header: your practice name and contact details, the client, the project, the invoice number, the date and your payment terms.
- Enter each fee stage with its agreed fee, the percentage complete to date and the percentage already billed. The invoice claims the difference.
- Add hourly services such as client-requested changes, extra site visits or feasibility work, with hours and rate.
- List reimbursable expenses and set the markup your agreement allows.
- Set tax and any retainer being credited, add payment details in the notes, then print it or save it as a PDF.
How the invoice is calculated
Stage amount = stage fee × (% complete − % previously billed) ÷ 100
Hourly amount = hours × rate
Expenses billed = expense total × (1 + markup ÷ 100)
Tax = tax rate × (fees + hourly, plus expenses if taxed)
Total due = fees + hourly + expenses + tax − retainer credited
The template never bills a stage beyond 100% and shows a negative line if you enter a lower percentage than was billed before, which is how you'd credit an over-claim. Keeping the to-date and previously billed columns on every invoice gives the client a running picture of the fee, which cuts down on queries and slow payments.
| Typical stage split | RIBA Plan of Work | AIA phases |
|---|---|---|
| Concept / schematic design | Stages 1–2: about 15–20% | Schematic design: about 15% |
| Developed / design development | Stage 3: about 15–20% | Design development: about 20% |
| Technical / construction documents | Stage 4: about 25–30% | Construction documents: about 40% |
| Tender / bidding | Part of Stage 4: about 5% | Bidding: about 5% |
| Construction | Stages 5–6: about 25–30% | Construction administration: about 20% |
These splits are typical ranges, not fixed rules; use the split in your own fee agreement. The architect fee calculator can work out the total fee and the stage amounts to start from.
Worked examples
A house extension mid-design
A $36,000 fee split into concept $7,200, developed design $7,200 and technical design $10,800. Concept is 100% complete with 50% billed before, developed design is 40% complete with nothing billed yet. The invoice claims $3,600 + $2,880 = $6,480 in fees, plus 6 hours of client changes at $150 ($900) and $240 of printing with a 10% markup ($264). The total is $7,644.
A UK refurbishment with VAT
Stage 4 fee £12,000, 60% complete, 25% previously billed: £4,200. Add a planning application fee of £578 passed on at cost with no markup, and VAT at 20% on fees only. The fees carry £840 VAT, so the total due is £4,200 + £840 + £578 = £5,618.
The first invoice with a retainer
A practice took a $2,500 retainer. The first invoice bills $4,000 of concept design. With the retainer credited in full, the client pays $1,500, and the invoice shows both the full fee and the credit, so the records stay clear.
Who this template helps
- Small and sole-practitioner architects who want clear stage-based invoices without accounting software.
- Interior designers billing design fees, hourly work and purchasing expenses.
- Architectural technologists and draftspeople invoicing planning drawings and building regulation packages.
- Landscape architects and design consultants working to staged fee agreements.
- Practice managers who need a quick one-off invoice outside their usual system.
- Students and new practices learning how professional fees are billed.
Practical tips
- Use a consistent numbering scheme, such as project number plus sequence, so invoices are easy to trace.
- Invoice at the same point each month or at each stage sign-off, as your agreement says, so clients can plan payments.
- Estimate the build budget your percentage fee rests on with the construction cost calculator, and plan stage dates with the project timeline estimator.
- Start each job with the design brief generator, so the scope you bill against is agreed in writing.
- Record extra services as they happen. Hourly work that turns up months later on an invoice is the most likely to be disputed.
Clients pay faster when they can see what they're paying for. Send renders of the design with the invoice: Realistic Render turns a model screenshot into a photoreal image.
