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Web Developer Invoice Template

A web developer invoice has to show which kind of billing it is. A milestone invoice names the stage the client approved (kickoff, staging sign-off, launch) and the share of the fixed price it releases. An hourly invoice lists the period, the tasks and the hours, ideally split into frontend and backend work so the client can see where the time went against the estimate. Both kinds need the same extras kept on their own lines: numbered change orders with their approval dates, hosting, domains and licences you paid for on the client's behalf, at cost with a receipt, and any care-plan overage. This template has fields for the project and site URL, the milestone or billing period, the hours, the change orders, pass-through costs and the launch or handover condition. The download is an editable HTML invoice with invoice number, dates, a line-item table and totals. In InvoiceQuickly you can type or say what to bill and review an editable draft before saving.

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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 name, site or staging URL and contract reference
  • Milestone and its approval date, or the billing period
  • Share of the fixed price this milestone releases
  • Frontend hours: tasks and rate
  • Backend and integration hours: tasks and rate
  • Hours to date against the estimate
  • Change order number, scope and approval date
  • Hosting, domain or licence: whose name, period and receipt
  • Care plan: included hours, hours used and overage
  • Client purchase order number, if used
  • Launch, DNS or handover condition

How to Create Your Web 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

Match the terms to the billing model. For a fixed-price build, the reviewed InvoiceQuickly guide to invoicing as a web developer recommends three stage invoices (a kickoff deposit, a staging-approval payment and a final payment due before DNS is switched to the new site), each due in about 7 days. For hourly work, invoice on a fixed cycle (every two weeks or monthly) with net 14 or net 30, and show hours to date against the estimate so an overrun is visible before it becomes a dispute. Care plans are billed monthly in advance, with overage on the next invoice. Corporate clients often pay net 30 against a purchase order and will not pay before launch; agree that in the contract and price the delay in, rather than discovering it at the final invoice.

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

Tax Information

United States: a business client that pays you $2,000 or more for services in 2026 generally reports it on Form 1099-NEC (the threshold was $600 for payments made before 2026), which is why clients ask for Form W-9 before the first payment. Sales tax on web work depends on the state. Washington is the clearest recent change: under ESSB 5814, from 1 October 2025 custom website development services (the design, development and support of a website, including website consulting and training) are retail sales subject to Washington sales tax, and the Department of Revenue says these services do not include web hosting or domain name registration. Other states tax some digital services and exempt others, so check your state's revenue department before adding tax. InvoiceQuickly applies one tax percentage per invoice, so when development is taxable and a pass-through cost is treated differently, bill the pass-through on its own invoice. It copies saved tax IDs to new invoice PDFs. General information, not tax advice. Last reviewed: 28 October 2026.

Industry context (2026)

Washington's Department of Revenue made the biggest recent change to web invoicing. Under Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5814 (Laws of 2025, chapter 422), custom website development services became retail sales subject to the retailing B&O tax and retail sales tax from 1 October 2025. The Department defines them as the design, development and support of a website provided by a website developer to a customer, includes website consulting and training that support a website's functionality, and states that they do not include web hosting or domain name registration. Federally, the IRS raised the Form 1099-NEC reporting threshold to $2,000 for payments made after 31 December 2025, so a client that pays a contractor less than that in 2026 generally does not file one. For domains, ICANN says the registrant takes responsibility for the registration and must keep its contact details accurate, which is why most contracts keep the domain in the client's name. For pay context, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics put the median annual wage for employed web developers at $92,650 in May 2025 and says 18% of web developers are self-employed. Sources accessed October 2026; general information, not tax advice.

Worked example

Worked example (illustrative rates, not market data): a freelance developer adds online booking and a members area to an existing WordPress site for a dental group, estimated at 60 hours and billed hourly every two weeks, net 14. Invoice INV-0108, issued 16 November 2026, due 30 November, covers 2 to 15 November. Line 1: frontend, booking form and member pages, 18.5 hours × $85.00 = $1,572.50. Line 2: backend, booking API integration and user roles, 12 hours × $100.00 = $1,200.00. Line 3: fix for a contact-form bug reported 4 November, under the 30-day launch warranty, 1.5 hours × $0.00 = $0.00. Line 4: staging server for November, bought on the developer's card, reimbursed at cost with receipt, 1 × $24.00. Subtotal $2,796.50. Notes: 'Hours to date: 30.5 of 60 estimated. Change orders this period: none.' The same job as a fixed price of $5,400 in two milestones would have produced one invoice of $2,700.00 when the client approved the booking flow on staging, and no hours on the invoice at all: the client carries no overrun risk, and the developer carries all of it. Two details matter for tax. A Washington developer selling to a Washington client would charge sales tax at the local rate on the $2,772.50 of development, because custom website development has been a retail sale there since 1 October 2025; the staging-server cost is not website development, so with one tax rate per invoice it goes on a separate invoice. And the warranty fix stays on the invoice at $0.00 because InvoiceQuickly, like many invoicing tools, does not allow negative lines.

Common mistakes to avoid

Hourly and fixed on the same line

'Website development, $4,200' after a fixed quote invites the question whether hours were counted. Name the milestone for fixed work and list hours for hourly work, on separate lines.

Hosting folded into development

Burying a hosting or domain cost inside a development line hides a recurring cost the client should own, and in Washington it mixes a taxable service with charges outside the website-development definition.

Change orders with no approval date

An extra page billed without the change order number and the date the client approved it looks like scope creep. Reference both on the line.

Deducting the deposit as a negative line

Many tools, InvoiceQuickly included, do not accept negative amounts. Invoice each stage for its own share instead of billing the full price and subtracting the deposit.

No launch condition

If the final invoice does not say that DNS switches on payment, the client can reasonably expect launch first and payment on net 30.

Invoicing Tips

  • 1Say which billing model the invoice uses in the first line: 'Milestone 2 of 3, staging approved 20 April' or 'Development, 2 to 15 November, hourly'. Mixed signals are the most common reason a web invoice is queried.
  • 2Split hourly work into frontend and backend lines, or by feature, with a short task list. The client compares hours with the estimate, not with your commit history.
  • 3Show hours to date against the estimate on every hourly invoice ('30.5 of 60 estimated hours'). An overrun flagged at 50% is a conversation; one found at 120% is a dispute.
  • 4Bill hosting, domains and licences at cost with the receipt, say whose name the account is in and when it renews. Keep them off the development lines.
  • 5InvoiceQuickly line amounts cannot be negative. For no-charge warranty fixes use a $0.00 line so the work is still on record; for a goodwill reduction use the invoice's single discount percentage.
  • 6Put the launch condition in the notes of the final milestone invoice ('DNS will be switched to the new site once this invoice is paid').

Related Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

What should a web developer invoice include?

Your details and the client's, an invoice number and dates, the project and site or staging URL, the milestone and its approval date or the billing period, the hours and rates for hourly work, change orders with their numbers and approval dates, hosting, domain and licence costs at cost, any tax, the total, the due date, payment details and the client's PO number if they use one.

Should web developers bill hourly or by milestone?

Fixed-price milestones suit builds with a clear scope: the client knows the price and you are paid at each approval. Hourly suits open-ended work, ongoing feature development and agency subcontracting. Many developers quote a fixed price for the build and an hourly rate for change orders and work outside the care plan.

How do I bill hosting and domain costs to a client?

Ideally the client owns the hosting and domain accounts and pays the provider directly. If you pay, buy in the client's name where possible and rebill at cost with the receipt, stating the period and renewal date. Agree any margin in the contract before adding one.

How do I invoice a deposit on a website project?

Issue it as its own invoice at kickoff, as 'Milestone 1 of 3, kickoff deposit, 30% of $9,600'. Then invoice each later stage for its own share. InvoiceQuickly has no deposit field and does not allow negative lines, so stage invoices are cleaner than deducting the deposit at the end.

Do web developers charge sales tax?

It depends on the state. Washington has taxed custom website development as a retail sale since 1 October 2025, while hosting and domain registration fall outside that definition. Other states draw different lines between services and digital products, so check your state revenue department.

How do I invoice bug fixes after launch?

Decide in the contract what counts as a bug (the site not doing what the approved staging site did) and for how long fixes are free. Free fixes can go on the invoice as a $0.00 line for the record; new features are change orders or care-plan hours billed at your rate.

Can I create a web developer invoice in InvoiceQuickly?

Yes. Type or say the milestone or hours and InvoiceQuickly drafts an editable invoice you review before saving. On Pro, hours can come from its timer or manual entries and be billed into a draft invoice; otherwise bring them from your own tracker. Free covers 5 invoices, 5 clients and 3 AI drafts in total; Pro is $9 a month for unlimited invoices, estimates, email delivery, reminders and payment links through your own Stripe or PayPal account.