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Consultant Invoice Template

Fill in your hours or days, rates and VAT, watch the invoice take shape as you type and save it as a PDF. Free, no sign-up. Everything you type stays in your browser.

Invoice
Line items
VAT and payment terms
From (your details)
Bill to
Payment and notes
Net
VAT
Total

Download PDF opens the print dialog: choose "Save as PDF" as the printer.

Preview, A4

Invoice

Bill to

Invoice number
Invoice date
Service period
Due date
Description Qty Unit Rate Amount
Net amount
Total due

What a Consultant Invoice Must Contain

Across the EU, the VAT Directive (Article 226) sets out what a full invoice shows; in Germany the same list sits in § 14 UStG. For a consulting invoice that means:

  • Your full name and address, and the client's full name and address
  • Your tax number or your VAT ID
  • The invoice date and a unique, sequential invoice number
  • What you delivered and how much of it: hours, days or a fixed scope, with the rate
  • When you delivered it: the service date or service period, even if it matches the invoice date
  • The net amount, the VAT rate and the VAT amount, and the total
  • Any agreed reduction such as an early-payment discount, if it is not already in the contract
  • Where no VAT is charged, the reason: reverse charge, a small-business exemption or another exemption

The template above asks for all of these and lists anything still missing next to the totals. Payment details and a due date are not on the legal list, but they are what gets you paid on time.

Reverse charge for EU business clients

When you advise a business in another EU country, the VAT on the service is usually owed by the client in their own country, not by you. The invoice then shows 0 % VAT, carries your VAT ID and the client's, and says that the reverse charge applies. You normally also report these sales in your EC sales list. Pick "0 % reverse charge" above and the template prints the note in English and German. Whether reverse charge applies depends on the case; your tax adviser has the final word.

Hourly, Day-Rate or Fixed-Fee Invoices

  • Hourly: one line per workstream or per consultant, the hours for the period and the hourly rate. Clients read these best when each line names what was done, not only who did it.
  • Day rate: choose "Days" as the unit and enter the days worked. Say in the contract how long a day is; half days go in as 0.5.
  • Fixed fee: choose "Fixed fee", quantity 1 and the agreed amount, or one line per milestone. Name the milestone and the contract or order it belongs to.

You can mix all three on one invoice. To see what your billable hours are worth before you invoice them, try the billable hours calculator; to check what an early-payment discount costs you, use the Skonto-Rechner (in German).

A worked example

The sample invoice above bills 36 hours of architecture review at €120 (€4,320.00) and two workshop days at €960 (€1,920.00). That is €6,240.00 net, €1,185.60 VAT at 19 % and €7,425.60 in total. With a 2 % early-payment discount on the total, the client may pay €7,277.09 within 10 days.

A PDF Invoice Is Not an E-Invoice

A PDF from this template is a normal invoice for people to read. It is not an e-invoice under the European standard EN 16931, which carries the invoice as structured data that the client's accounting software can import without retyping. In Germany, every business has had to be able to receive e-invoices since 1 January 2025. PDF invoices between German businesses remain allowed until the end of 2026, and until the end of 2027 for businesses with a prior-year turnover of up to €800,000; from 2028, domestic B2B invoices have to be structured e-invoices such as XRechnung or ZUGFeRD. Other EU countries are bringing in their own rules on their own timetables. Our German guide explains how to create an e-invoice (E-Rechnung erstellen).

Consulting Cockpit creates the e-invoice for you: it turns a client's timesheet into a draft invoice with the tracked hours and agreed rates, works out VAT including reverse charge, and issues it as a ZUGFeRD e-invoice to the EN 16931 profile, a readable PDF with the structured data inside, checked before it can be finished. See EN 16931 e-invoices and timesheet to invoice.

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Consultant Invoices, Answered

What should a consultant invoice include?

Your name, address and VAT ID or tax number, the client's name and address, a unique invoice number, the invoice date, the service period, what you did with hours or days and rates, the net amount, the VAT rate and amount, and the total. Reverse-charge invoices also need the client's VAT ID and a note.

Is this invoice template free, and where does my data go?

It is free and needs no sign-up. Everything you type stays in your browser; nothing is sent to us, and your own details are stored on your device only if you tick the box.

How do I save the invoice as a PDF?

Click Download PDF and pick "Save as PDF" as the printer in the print dialog. Only the invoice is printed, on one A4 page per sheet.

Can I invoice an EU client in another country without VAT?

For B2B services to a business in another EU country, reverse charge usually applies: choose "0 % reverse charge", add the client's VAT ID and keep the note. Check the rules for your case with your tax adviser.

Is a PDF invoice still allowed in Germany?

For domestic B2B invoices, yes until the end of 2026, and until the end of 2027 for businesses with a prior-year turnover up to €800,000. After that, German B2B invoices must be structured e-invoices such as XRechnung or ZUGFeRD.

Can Consulting Cockpit create these invoices for me?

Yes. It turns a client's timesheet into a draft invoice with the tracked hours and agreed rates, works out VAT including reverse charge, and issues it as a ZUGFeRD e-invoice to the EN 16931 profile, checked before it can be finished.