Accountants and bookkeepers bill in a way most invoice templates ignore. One client is a monthly retainer covering close and reporting. Another is a catch-up project billed hourly. A third is a one-time 1040 with a fixed fee. The invoice has to make each of those legible to a client who may not read it carefully, and the line items have to reconcile cleanly when the payment lands in your business checking account.

A well-structured invoice translates your billing model — hourly catch-up, fixed-fee tax prep, or a monthly retainer — into clean line items that reconcile when the client pays. The sections below explain what to put on the invoice, how to customize the free template, how to pick a billing model, and how payments move into your account.

What Should a Bookkeeper Include on an Invoice?

A bookkeeping invoice should include an invoice number, issue date, due date, itemized services, and payment terms. Those five fields are the non-negotiables. Everything else is firm-specific.

The full field list for an accounting or bookkeeping invoice:

• Firm details: firm name, address, EIN, and contact email or phone.
• Client details: client business name, billing contact, and billing address.
• Invoice number: sequential, unique. Many firms use a format like 2025-0142 or ACME-007.
• Issue date and due date: state both. "Due upon receipt" is ambiguous; pick a date.
• Engagement letter reference: a line like "Per engagement letter EL-2025-014 dated March 3, 2025" ties the invoice back to the signed scope and shortens any pricing dispute.
• Itemized services: one line per service, with quantity (hours or units), rate, and amount.
• Subtotal, sales tax (if applicable), and total due.
• Payment terms: Net 15 or Net 30, late-fee language, accepted payment methods.
• Remittance instructions: include ACH details, check payee and mailing details, and a payment link if you use invoicing software.

Line items unique to accounting work

Generic invoice templates assume you're selling widgets. You're selling time and judgment. Useful line-item language for accountants and bookkeepers:

• Monthly bookkeeping: close for [month/year] (fixed fee)
• Catch-up bookkeeping: [month] reclassifications and reconciliations (hourly)
• QuickBooks Online cleanup: chart of accounts restructure (hourly or fixed)
• Sales tax filing: [state], [period] (fixed)
• 1099-NEC preparation and filing: [N] recipients (per-form or fixed)
• Form 1040 preparation: tax year [YYYY] (fixed)
• Advisory call: [date], [duration] (hourly)
• Pass-through expense: [software/filing fee] (cost, no markup, with receipt referenced)

When to itemize hours vs. bill a flat fee

If the client signed off on hours, show them. Catch-up work, advisory, and IRS notice response are usually hourly, and the line item should read 5.25 hrs × $125/hr = $656.25 so the client sees what they're paying for. If the client signed off on a fixed fee (monthly close, 1040 prep, a defined cleanup project), don't show hours at all. Listing "12 hours" on a $1,200 fixed-fee close invites the client to ask why you're charging $100/hr when your hourly rate is $150. Bill the deliverable, not the time.

Where Can Accountants and Bookkeepers Get a Free Invoice Template?

Here's a copy-ready text template. Paste it into Word, Google Docs, or Excel, then add your logo and save as a PDF before sending.

INVOICE

[Firm Name]
[Street Address]
[City, State ZIP]
EIN: [XX-XXXXXXX]
[email] · [phone]

BILL TO                                INVOICE #: 2025-0142
[Client Business Name]                 ISSUE DATE: [MM/DD/YYYY]
[Billing Contact]                      DUE DATE:   [MM/DD/YYYY]
[Address]                              TERMS:      Net 15

Per engagement letter EL-2025-014 dated [date].

---------------------------------------------------------------
DESCRIPTION                       QTY     RATE        AMOUNT
---------------------------------------------------------------
Monthly bookkeeping: close        1       $850.00     $850.00
for September 2025 (fixed fee)

Catch-up reconciliations:         4.25    $125.00     $531.25
August prior-period entries

Advisory call: 09/18/2025         1.00    $175.00     $175.00

QBO subscription (pass-through)   1       $90.00      $90.00
---------------------------------------------------------------
                                        SUBTOTAL:    $1,646.25
                                        SALES TAX:        $0.00
                                        TOTAL DUE:   $1,646.25
---------------------------------------------------------------

PAYMENT METHODS
  ACH: pay link below (confirm any ACH fee with your
       invoicing provider before listing on the invoice)
  Card: pay link below; any permitted processing fee or
        surcharge will be shown as a separate line item
  Check: payable to [Firm Name], mailed to address above

[Pay Invoice]  ← link from your invoicing software

LATE FEE: Invoices unpaid after the due date may accrue a
1.5% monthly finance charge, subject to state law.

Thank you for your business.

Tip: use the text template as your starting point in Word, Google Docs, Excel, or Google Sheets. Check the formulas, totals, due date, and payment instructions before sending the first one.

Customizing for hourly, fixed-fee, or retainer billing

• Hourly: keep the QTY column as hours, list each block of work as a separate line, and round to the nearest 0.25 hour. Attach a time-detail report if the engagement letter requires it.
• Fixed-fee: set QTY to 1 and put the deliverable in the description. Don't list hours.
• Retainer: one line per month, dated. Example: "Monthly retainer, September 2025: bookkeeping, AR/AP, monthly close, and one advisory call (per EL-2025-014)." Issue on the first of the month, due the 15th.

Switching between Word, Excel, Google Docs, and PDF

Most firms keep the master in Google Docs or Word for layout, an Excel/Sheets version for any invoice that needs line-item math, and export to PDF before sending. Never send an editable file. The client should not be able to change the amount, the due date, or your remittance details.

How Do Accountants Bill Clients: Hourly, Fixed-Fee, or Retainer?

The three models exist because client work isn't uniform. Most firms run all three at once.

Hourly

Hourly billing often fits catch-up bookkeeping, IRS notice response, and ad-hoc advisory work where scope is genuinely unknown. Track time in 15-minute increments, share a time-detail summary with the invoice if the client expects one, and re-quote as fixed fee once the work becomes predictable.

Fixed-fee

Fixed-fee billing works for any scope you can describe in a sentence, such as monthly close, 1040 prep, a single state sales tax filing, or a year-end 1099 batch. The client knows what they'll pay before you start, and you stop being penalized for being fast. The risk is scope creep, which is what the engagement letter is for.

Retainer

A monthly retainer is the right structure for ongoing clients where the work is roughly the same every month: bookkeeping, AR/AP, payroll review, monthly close, and one or two advisory calls. Bill on the first, due by the fifteenth, same amount every month. List what's included on the engagement letter; the invoice itself can be a single line. If you handle several clients on the same monthly cadence, the recurring business payments workflow is worth understanding so you can schedule reminders and reconciliation around the same dates.

How the billing model changes the invoice

| Model | Line items | What to show | What to hide | |---|---|---|---| | Hourly | One line per work block | Hours, rate, amount | Nothing — clients paid hours for transparency | | Fixed-fee | One line per deliverable | Description and amount | Hours worked | | Retainer | One line per month | Month, scope reference, amount | Hours, sub-tasks |

How to Send an Invoice as a Bookkeeper, Step by Step

1. Confirm scope and rate in writing before you bill. An engagement letter or SOW the client signed. If you bill for work outside that scope, reference the email or change order on the invoice line.
2. Fill in services, hours, and pass-through expenses. Match the line items to the engagement letter language so the client can reconcile what they signed against what you billed.
3. Set the payment terms. Net 15 for most small-business clients. Net 30 only if the client is large enough that AP runs on a 30-day cycle. State the accepted payment methods and the card-fee policy.
4. Send via email or invoicing software with the PDF attached and a payment link in the body. Track receipt — most invoicing tools show when the client opens the invoice. If a week passes with no open, resend.
5. Reconcile on payment. When the ACH or card payment lands in your business checking account, match it to the invoice in your accounting software and mark the invoice paid.

Payment Terms and Methods to Help CPAs Get Paid on Time

Net 15 sets a shorter payment expectation than Net 30

If your client is a small business paying you out of operating cash, Net 15 sets the expectation that the invoice is current, not future. Net 30 gives the client more room to file it for later. The exception is clients with formal AP cycles, usually larger companies. For those clients, Net 30 may be the floor, and asking for Net 15 just delays you to the next cycle.

ACH and card payments have different cost structures

ACH and card payments cost different amounts; the actual figures depend on your processor, your volume, and the card type. Card payments can be convenient for clients but typically carry higher per-transaction costs. Most firms accept both and either absorb the card fee on small invoices or add it as a line item on larger ones. State the policy on the invoice so there's no surprise.

When a client pays an invoice sent through the Novo business checking account by ACH, the funds deposit into the same account you reconcile from. There's no separate payout schedule and no transfer step between a processor and a different account.

How to state late fees without straining the client relationship

A late-fee clause works best when you almost never enforce it. A common approach is 1.5% per month, subject to your state's usury limits, stated on every invoice and in the engagement letter. The first time a long-term client is late, waive it and send a friendly note. The third time, apply it.

Deposits and prepayment for new or catch-up clients

For catch-up bookkeeping or a first-time 1040, ask for a 50% deposit before starting. The deposit invoice is structured the same as any other, with a line item like "Deposit: 50% retainer for [project], applied against final invoice." This screens out clients who are unlikely to pay and protects your time if they stop responding.

How Does Novo Invoicing Work for Accounting Professionals?

Most invoicing tools sit outside the account you reconcile from. The client pays, the money lands at a processor, and a few days later it sweeps into your checking account on the processor's schedule. That extra hop is where reconciliation gets messy and where small firms lose visibility into what's actually been paid.

Novo invoicing works differently. You send an invoice from the Novo business checking account, the client pays by ACH or debit/credit card, and the payment deposits into the same Novo account you already use day to day. The account you reconcile in QuickBooks is the account the money is in. For a deeper look at the account itself, see Novo's business checking for accountants and bookkeepers.

A few specifics that matter for accounting and bookkeeping firms:

• No monthly fees on the Novo business checking account.
• Free incoming wires. Useful when a larger client pays by wire instead of ACH.
• QuickBooks, Stripe, and Shopify integrations sync transactions for reconciliation.
• No cash deposits. Novo does not accept cash deposits, so it is best suited to accounting and bookkeeping firms that collect payments by ACH, card, check, or wire.
• Account opening. U.S.-based sole proprietors, LLCs, PLLCs, and corporations can apply online in about 10 minutes (subject to final Novo determination).

Compared with legacy business checking at a traditional bank, the Novo business checking account lets you send invoices, receive payments, and sync transactions to QuickBooks from one account.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should a bookkeeping invoice include?

A bookkeeping invoice should include an invoice number, issue date, due date, itemized services, and payment terms. Add your firm's EIN and contact details, the client's billing address, a reference to the engagement letter, and clear remittance instructions for ACH, card, and check.

How do accountants bill for monthly retainer services?

Issue one invoice per month, dated the first, due by the fifteenth, for the same amount each month. Use a single line item that names the month and references the engagement letter, for example, "Monthly retainer, September 2025, per EL-2025-014." Keep the scope detail in the engagement letter, not on the invoice.

Is sales tax charged on accounting services?

It depends on the state. Sales tax on accounting and bookkeeping services varies by state, so firms should check the applicable state department of revenue before invoicing tax. If you have nexus in multiple states, check each. When in doubt, ask a state tax specialist before issuing the first invoice.

What's the typical payment timeline for CPA and bookkeeping invoices?

Net 15 sets a shorter payment expectation for small-business clients than Net 30. If a client misses the due date, send a polite reminder the next business day, follow up again after a week, and call if the invoice is still unpaid after two weeks. Most late payments are oversight, not refusal.

Do I need invoicing software, or can I send PDFs by email?

Either works for low volume. PDFs by email are fine if you're sending under ten invoices a month and tracking payment manually. Once volume grows, invoicing software — including the invoicing built into the Novo business checking account — saves time on tracking, follow-up, and reconciliation, and gives clients a one-click payment link instead of asking them to initiate an ACH transfer manually.

Can I accept credit cards without absorbing the processing fee?

Sometimes, but state the policy on the invoice. Common approaches: absorb the fee on invoices under a threshold (say, $500), add it as a line item above that, or only accept ACH and check for invoices over a certain size. Some states regulate credit-card surcharging, so check your state's rules and your card network's surcharge rules before adding a surcharge line.