Fixed Price Invoice Template
A fixed price invoice bills an amount agreed before the work started, for a defined scope, whatever the work actually took. That changes what the invoice has to prove. An hourly invoice shows hours times rate; a fixed price invoice shows that the agreed scope (or the agreed stage of it) was delivered and that the amount matches the quote. So it names the quote or contract and its price, describes the deliverables, says which part of the payment schedule this invoice is (100% on completion, or 50% of $6,000 on delivery), and bills any change orders as separate, separately priced lines so the original price stays visibly unchanged. It ends with a short running account: adjusted contract price, invoiced so far and what remains. The download is an editable HTML invoice with invoice number, dates, a line-item table and totals; fill it in your browser and print it or save it as PDF. In InvoiceQuickly, Pro users can send the fixed price as an estimate, let the client accept it in their portal and convert it to an invoice in one click.
Preview this editable document
Download the HTML file to edit its fields, then print or save as PDF. Totals are entered manually.
What This Template Includes
- Quote, proposal or contract reference and date
- Agreed fixed price for the whole scope
- Scope delivered: the deliverables this invoice covers
- Payment stage: this invoice as a percentage or amount of the fixed price
- Approved change orders: number, approval date and agreed price
- Adjusted contract price (fixed price plus approved change orders)
- Invoiced to date against this contract
- Remaining to invoice after this one
- Client purchase order number
How to Create Your Fixed Price Invoice
- 01
Describe your work
Type a plain English description of the services you provided, the client, and the amount.
- 02
AI generates your invoice
InvoiceQuickly's AI drafts the client, line items, dates, and totals for you to review before saving.
- 03
Review, download, and send
Check every detail, download the PDF, or use Pro to email the PDF directly to your client.
Recommended Payment Terms
Fixed price work is usually paid on a schedule written into the quote, and the invoice should quote that schedule back. Small jobs are often billed 100% on completion. Projects of a few weeks often use 50% on signing and 50% on delivery, or three stages such as 30/40/30. Anything longer, with named deliverables and acceptance at each step, is milestone billing and is better served by the milestone invoice template. Whatever the split, say what triggers each invoice (signed quote, delivery, written acceptance) and how long the client has to pay from the invoice date: net 14 is common for small businesses, while larger clients often pay on net 30 through accounts payable. If a client sits on an acceptance, the quote can say that delivery counts as acceptance after a set number of days without written objection. Print the actual due date on the invoice, not just 'net 14'.
Need help writing payment terms? Read our guide to invoice payment terms for best practices and templates.
Tax Information
Pricing a job as a fixed fee does not change whether it is taxable: what you sell and where you sell it decide that. United States: many services are not subject to sales tax, but some states tax specific services, and a fixed price that bundles taxable goods (materials, prints, hardware) with services may need the taxable part shown separately. Check with your state revenue department before adding tax. A business client that pays an independent contractor $2,000 or more for services in 2026 generally reports it on Form 1099-NEC (the threshold was $600 for earlier payments), so expect a request for Form W-9 before the first payment. United Kingdom: charge VAT only if you are VAT registered; registration is compulsory once taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000. If the price is billed in stages, each stage invoice charges tax on its own amount. InvoiceQuickly applies one tax percentage per invoice and copies saved tax IDs to new invoice PDFs; check the saved IDs and PDF before sending when it must appear. General information, not tax advice. Last reviewed October 2026.
Industry context (2026)
Fixed price is a defined contract type, not just a billing style. The US Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR 16.202-1) describes a firm-fixed-price contract as providing a price that is not subject to adjustment on the basis of the contractor's cost experience, placing on the contractor maximum risk and full responsibility for all costs and the resulting profit or loss. Private contracts are not bound by the FAR, but the principle carries over: once a price is agreed, only an agreed change of scope changes it. That is why the change order, priced and approved before the work, is the most important supporting document for a fixed price invoice. For tax, the same rules apply as for any invoice. In the United States, payments of $2,000 or more to a contractor for services in 2026 are generally reported on Form 1099-NEC (IRS instructions, accessed October 2026); in the United Kingdom, VAT registration is compulsory above £90,000 of taxable turnover in the last 12 months (GOV.UK, accessed October 2026). Checked 28 October 2026; general information, not legal or tax advice.
Worked example
Worked example (illustrative figures, not market rates): a freelance designer quotes a brand identity package for a coffee roaster at a fixed price of $6,000 (proposal P-114, 25 August 2026): logo, colour palette, type system and a 12-page brand guide, two rounds of revisions, 50% on signing and 50% on delivery, net 14. Invoice INV-0031, dated 1 September: 'Brand identity package per P-114, stage 1 of 2, 50% of $6,000 on signing', 1 × $3,000.00, total $3,000.00, remaining to invoice $3,000.00. On 30 September the client asks for a coffee bag label design, which the proposal excludes; the designer prices it as change order CO-1 at a fixed $750, and the client approves it by email the same day. The guide is delivered on 20 October, and invoice INV-0038 is issued that day. Line 1: 'Brand identity package per P-114, stage 2 of 2, 50% of $6,000 on delivery', 1 × $3,000.00. Line 2: 'CO-1, coffee bag label design, approved 30 September', 1 × $750.00. Subtotal $3,750.00, tax 0% (design services are not taxed in the designer's state; this varies), total $3,750.00, due 3 November. Notes: 'Adjusted contract price $6,750.00 ($6,000.00 + CO-1 $750.00). Invoiced to date $6,750.00. Remaining $0.00.' The hours stay off the invoice, but they decide whether the price was right: the package took 58 hours, an effective $103.45 an hour against the designer's usual $95 hourly rate ($5,510.00 if billed hourly). Had it taken 80 hours, the same $6,000 would have earned $75.00 an hour. That risk is what the fixed price transfers from the client to the designer.
Common mistakes to avoid
Editing the price instead of adding a change order
Raising 'Brand package $6,000' to '$6,750' hides why it changed. Keep the original price and add the change order as its own approved, priced line.
Doing extra work before pricing it
A change order agreed after the work is a negotiation you have already lost. Price it and get written approval first, then bill it.
No reference to the quote
Without the proposal number and date, accounts payable cannot match the invoice to an approved amount, and the fixed price looks like an arbitrary figure.
Losing track of what is left
Stage invoices that never state 'invoiced to date' and 'remaining' make it easy to under-bill the last stage or bill a stage twice.
Billing a stage before its trigger
If the quote says 50% on delivery, invoice on delivery. An early invoice gives the client a fair reason to hold payment.
Invoicing Tips
- 1Quote the price and its source on the first line ('Brand identity package per proposal P-114 of 25 August, fixed price $6,000'). The client checks the invoice against the proposal, not against your timesheet.
- 2Leave hours off a fixed price invoice unless the contract asks for them. Showing 58 hours against a $6,000 fee invites a conversation about hourly rates you did not agree to.
- 3Price every change order before doing the work, get it approved in writing, and give it its own line with its number and approval date. Never fold it into the original price.
- 4Show the arithmetic of the stage: '50% of $6,000' tells the client exactly what this invoice is and what is left.
- 5End with a running account (adjusted price, invoiced to date, remaining). On the last invoice the remaining figure should be $0.00, which is a quick check that nothing was missed or billed twice.
- 6Write exclusions into the quote ('two rounds of revisions; print production not included'). They are what make a later change order easy to justify.
Related Resources
- Hourly vs fixed price invoicing: strengths, risks and hybrid models
- Milestone-based invoicing: when a fixed price is paid in many stages
- Invoicing scope creep: billing work outside the agreed scope
- Estimates and quotes
- All invoice and document templates
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a fixed price invoice?
An invoice for an amount agreed before the work started for a defined scope, regardless of how many hours the work takes. It references the quote or contract, describes what was delivered and bills the price, or the agreed part of it, plus any approved change orders as separate lines.
What is the difference between a fixed price and an hourly invoice?
An hourly invoice bills time: hours times rate, so the total moves with the work. A fixed price invoice bills an agreed amount for an agreed scope, so the client knows the cost in advance and the supplier carries the risk of the job taking longer. Hybrid contracts are common: a fixed price for the defined scope and an hourly rate for anything outside it.
How do I invoice a fixed price project in stages?
Agree the schedule in the quote, for example 50% on signing and 50% on delivery. Issue one invoice per stage, each with its own number, showing the stage as a percentage and amount of the fixed price, what triggered it and how much remains. For many stages tied to acceptance of deliverables, use a milestone invoice.
How should change orders appear on a fixed price invoice?
As separate lines, each with the change order number, what it added, the date the client approved it and its agreed price. The original fixed price stays on its own line unchanged, and the running account shows the adjusted contract price. Bill each change order with the next stage invoice or on its own invoice, as the change order says.
Should a fixed price invoice show hours?
Usually not. The client agreed to pay for the result, not the time. Some contracts, including many public-sector ones, ask for supporting detail; include it only when the contract requires it, and label it as information rather than the basis of the charge.
What if the project goes over budget?
On a true fixed price, the extra cost is the supplier's: the US Federal Acquisition Regulation describes a firm-fixed-price contract as placing on the contractor full responsibility for all costs and the resulting profit or loss. You can only bill more if the scope changed and the client approved a change order, so price changes before you do them.
Can I create a fixed price invoice in InvoiceQuickly?
Yes. Enter the fixed price as one line with quantity 1, add change orders as further lines, and add the stage and running account in the notes. On Pro ($9 a month) you can send the price as an estimate, let the client accept it in the portal and convert it to an invoice. InvoiceQuickly has no deposit or payment-schedule feature, so issue each stage as its own invoice. Free covers 5 documents and 3 AI drafts in total.