Should I show hours on a fixed-price invoice?

No, unless your agreement says so. The client agreed to the result and the price.

How often should I invoice hourly work?

Weekly, every two weeks or monthly, whatever you agreed. Shorter cycles mean less money owed at once.

Can one invoice have hourly and fixed lines?

Yes. Keep them on separate lines so each can be checked against what was agreed.

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Hourly or fixed price: how to invoice each so the client pays without asking a single question

Souptik Debnath · 14 October 2026 · 6 min read

Quire

Bill the wayyou agreed.

Freelance billing · 6 min read

Short answerInvoice hourly work with one line per task or period showing hours, rate and amount. Invoice fixed-price work by deliverable or milestone at the agreed fee, without listing hours. For mixed projects, keep the fixed fee and any approved extra hours on separate lines, and always show the total and what's still due.

Most invoice queries come from one mismatch: the client agreed to one thing and the invoice shows another. Agree an hourly rate and send a lump sum, and they ask what the hours were. Agree a fixed price and list your hours, and they start counting them.

The rule is simple. Invoice the way you priced.

Hourly: show the time, line by line

List each task or week, the hours, your rate and the amount. Example: Research and planning, 3 h × $75 = $225. Design revisions, 4.5 h × $75 = $337.50. Client calls, 1 h × $75 = $75. Total $637.50, due 1 November.

Track time as you go, not from memory.
Agree the increment (15 minutes, or 0.1 hour) up front.
Attach a timesheet if the client wants the detail.

Fixed price: show the result, never the hours

The agreed fee is the basis, not your hours. Bill it in one of three ways:

Upfront deposit, often 30–50%, then the balance on delivery. See how to bill a deposit.
Milestones: invoice as each stage is approved.
On completion: the whole fee when the work is accepted.

Example, a $4,000 website over three invoices: deposit 50%, $2,000 · design approved 25%, $1,000 · launch 25%, $1,000. Each invoice shows the contract total, what's been billed before, and the amount due now.

Both on one job: two kinds of line, kept apart

Fixed fee for the main job, hourly for extras the client approved: put them on separate lines. Website redesign, agreed fee $3,000. Extra feature, 4 approved hours × $100 = $400. Total $3,400. Only bill extras that were agreed in writing first.

Let the agreement write the invoice for you

In Quire, a project agreement already holds the fee and deposit. Press Bill from this and it creates the deposit invoice, then the balance, each marked "Per agreement C-001" so the client can match them. Set your payment terms once and every due date follows.

Questions

Should I show hours on a fixed-price invoice?: No, unless your agreement says so. The client agreed to the result and the price.
How often should I invoice hourly work?: Weekly, every two weeks or monthly, whatever you agreed. Shorter cycles mean less money owed at once.
Can one invoice have hourly and fixed lines?: Yes. Keep them on separate lines so each can be checked against what was agreed.

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