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Mobile App Developer Invoice Template

Mobile app work is usually approved by more than one person: a product owner checks the build, a technical lead checks the platforms, and accounts payable checks the numbers against the contract. A mobile app developer invoice should give each of them what they need on one page: the sprint or milestone, the build number or release tag that proves delivery, hours split by platform (iOS, Android, backend) and by role (UI/UX design, QA), store submission work, change orders with their approval, reimbursed costs at cost, and the running total against any cap in the statement of work. Use this template for time-and-materials sprint billing, or for fixed-price milestones on an iOS and Android build. The download is an editable HTML file with the invoice header, a description, quantity, rate and amount table, and app-specific fields for the project and PO, sprint dates, build delivered, platform and design hours, QA, store submission, change orders, reimbursements, the cap and your IP transfer clause. Fill it in your browser, then print it or save it as PDF.

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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

  • Project, statement of work and client PO number
  • Sprint number and dates, or milestone name
  • Build number or release tag delivered
  • Hours by platform: iOS, Android, backend
  • UI/UX design hours or design phase
  • QA testing hours and devices covered
  • App Store and Google Play submission work
  • Change orders with number and approval date
  • Reimbursed costs at cost: store fees, cloud, APIs, device testing
  • Hours or fees billed to date against the cap
  • IP transfer on payment: contract clause reference

How to Create Your Mobile App Developer Invoice

  1. 01

    Describe your work

    Type a plain English description of the services you provided, the client, and the amount.

  2. 02

    AI generates your invoice

    InvoiceQuickly's AI drafts the client, line items, dates, and totals for you to review before saving.

  3. 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

Time-and-materials app work is usually invoiced at the end of each two-week sprint or monthly, net 14 or net 15, with the hours, rate and a short ticket list. Fixed-price builds are invoiced on milestone acceptance, each invoice due in 14 days, with the trigger written in the contract (prototype approved, feature-complete test build accepted, store submission, warranty end) rather than store approval, which you do not control. Post-launch maintenance fits a monthly retainer billed in advance. Show the running total against any not-to-exceed cap on every T&M invoice, and do not bill above it without written approval.

Need help writing payment terms? Read our guide to invoice payment terms for best practices and templates.

Tax Information

Sales tax on custom software development, and on software delivered electronically, varies by US state, and custom and off-the-shelf software are often treated differently. Check your state's guidance before adding tax. US business clients usually ask for Form W-9 before paying you, and report payments of $2,000 or more in a year on Form 1099-NEC for tax years beginning after 2025; card and third-party network payments are reported on Form 1099-K instead. For clients abroad, state the currency on the invoice and check whether reverse charge or local VAT rules apply in the client's country. InvoiceQuickly applies one tax percentage per invoice and copies saved business and client tax IDs to new invoice PDFs. This is general information, not tax advice.

Industry context (2026)

Store rules shape a mobile developer's invoices in two ways. First, account costs belong to the publisher: Apple's enrollment page lists the Apple Developer Program at 99 USD per membership year, with prices that may vary by region, and Google's Play Console Help says there is a US$25 one-time registration fee. Billing these as reimbursements at cost, from accounts in the client's name, keeps them out of your development lines. Second, platform requirements move every year, which is why post-launch maintenance is billable work rather than warranty. Apple's upcoming requirements page says apps uploaded to App Store Connect must be built with Xcode 26 or later using an iOS 26 SDK from 28 April 2026, and that iOS and iPadOS uploads must target iOS 13 or later from 9 September 2026. Android Developers' target API page says new apps and updates on Google Play must target Android 16 (API level 36) from 31 August 2026, with extensions available to 1 November 2026, and existing apps must target at least Android 15 (API level 35) to stay available to new users on newer Android versions. Each of these can trigger a rebuild for a client whose app is otherwise finished.

Worked example

Northpier Apps bills Tidewater Bikes Co. for sprint 7 of a time-and-materials engagement under a statement of work with a $60,000.00 not-to-exceed cap on labour. The rates below are the example's contract rates, not market data: development $110 an hour, UI/UX design $95, QA $75. Invoice INV-0058, PO TB-4471, sprint 7, 12 to 25 October 2026, issued 26 October, net 15. Delivered: iOS 2.3.0 (41) on TestFlight and Android 2.3.0 (41) on the Google Play internal testing track. Line 1: iOS (Swift), checkout flow and Apple Pay sheet, 28 h x $110 = $3,080.00. Line 2: Android (Kotlin), checkout flow and Google Pay, 26 h x $110 = $2,860.00. Line 3: backend API, order endpoints, 8 h x $110 = $880.00. Line 4: UI/UX design, checkout redesign and handoff, 10 h x $95 = $950.00. Line 5: QA, regression on 6 test devices, 12 h x $75 = $900.00. Line 6: App Store Connect and Play Console submission prep for 2.3.0, 2 h x $110 = $220.00. Line 7: cloud device-testing minutes, reimbursed at cost, receipt DF-20931, 1 x $49.00. Labour: $3,080 + $2,860 + $880 + $950 + $900 + $220 = $8,890.00. Invoice total: $8,890.00 + $49.00 = $8,939.00, with no sales tax on the assumption that custom development is not taxable in the developer's state. The notes add: labour billed to date $41,230.00 (sprints 1 to 6) + $8,890.00 = $50,120.00 of the $60,000.00 cap, $9,880.00 remaining, and the ticket list for the sprint. Tidewater's product owner can test build 41 before approving, the tech lead can check iOS and Android hours separately, and accounts payable can see the cap has not been exceeded.

Common mistakes to avoid

One line for the whole sprint

'Development, sprint 7: $8,890' gives the client nothing to approve. Split by platform and role and attach a ticket list so the product owner and finance can each check their part.

Billing on store approval

App review timing is outside your control. Tie milestones to submission or to the client's acceptance of a test build, so a slow review does not delay your payment.

Publishing from your own developer account

It makes you the publisher of record and complicates handover. Have the client enroll and add you to their team, and bill any fee you pay for them at cost.

Folding change requests into sprint hours

Unapproved extra scope buried in a sprint total is hard to defend. Give each change order a number, an approval date and its own line.

Ignoring the cap

Going over a not-to-exceed cap without written approval invites a short payment. Show billed-to-date against the cap on every T&M invoice and warn the client before you reach it.

Invoicing Tips

  • 1Name the build on every invoice: 'iOS 2.3.0 (41) on TestFlight, Android 2.3.0 (41) on the internal testing track'. It ties the invoice to something the product owner can open and test.
  • 2Split hours by platform when different people approve different parts. A client can accept the iOS work and query the Android hours without holding up the whole invoice.
  • 3Bill store submission as work, not as store approval. Trigger the milestone on submission, because review timing is out of your hands.
  • 4Keep developer accounts in the client's name. Apple's program is 99 USD per membership year and Google Play charges a one-time US$25 registration fee; if you pay one for the client, bill it at cost with the receipt.
  • 5Put each change order on its own line with its number and approval date, so the original sprint scope or fixed price stays visible.
  • 6Quote the IP clause in the final invoice notes, for example 'On payment in full, copyright in the deliverables transfers under section 9 of the agreement'.
  • 7Log hours with the InvoiceQuickly Pro timer or your own tracker, and paste a ticket list into the notes. InvoiceQuickly has no Jira or GitHub connection.

Related Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

What should a mobile app developer invoice include?

Your business and the client's details, invoice number, dates and terms, then the sprint or milestone, the build number or release tag delivered, hours or fees by platform (iOS, Android, backend), design and QA hours, store submission work, change orders with approval dates, reimbursed costs at cost and, for T&M work, the total billed to date against the cap. Add the client's PO number if they use one.

Should I invoice per sprint or per milestone?

Invoice per sprint (or monthly) for time-and-materials work, with hours, rate and tickets. Invoice per milestone for a fixed-price build, with the acceptance trigger from the contract. Many projects use both: fixed-price milestones for the first release, then T&M sprints or a retainer afterwards. The how to invoice as an app developer guide below walks through a four-milestone fixed-price build.

How do I bill iOS and Android work on one invoice?

Use a separate line for each platform with its own hours and rate, plus separate lines for shared backend, design and QA work. If you build cross-platform (for example one Flutter or React Native codebase), bill the shared code once and list only platform-specific work separately, so the client is not charged twice for the same hours.

Who pays the App Store and Google Play fees?

The client should, from accounts in their own name: the Apple Developer Program costs 99 USD per membership year (prices vary by region) and Google Play charges a one-time US$25 registration fee. If you pay on the client's behalf, put it on the next invoice as a reimbursement at cost, with the receipt.

How do I bill app maintenance after launch?

Separately from the build, usually as a monthly retainer with included hours. Platform requirements change: Apple has required uploads to be built with Xcode 26 since 28 April 2026, and Google Play requires new apps and updates to target Android 16 (API level 36) from 31 August 2026. Keeping an app shippable is ongoing work, so price and invoice it as such.

Can I create mobile app developer invoices in InvoiceQuickly?

Yes. Type or say what to bill and InvoiceQuickly drafts an editable invoice for you to review, with up to 100 lines. Pro adds estimates the client accepts in a portal and converts to an invoice, email delivery, scheduled reminders and Stripe or PayPal payment links for the balance. Pro also tracks time with a timer or manual entries and bills selected hours into a draft invoice. It has no Jira or GitHub connection, no deposit feature and no negative lines, and it applies one tax rate per invoice.