As a freelance interior designer or a small business owner, you have a lot on your hands. You spend most of your time sketching designs, looking for the best materials, and making sure your clients are satisfied with your work. So when it's time to get paid, you want to send professional invoices that reflect your hard work while providing all necessary information to encourage prompt payments.
This doesn't mean you have to spend more of your time behind a desk to carefully write and proofread all invoices. Instead, create your own interior design invoice template that already has the vital details pre-filled, so you can easily add the client-specific information and go on with your busy day. Read on to find out what your invoice template should include.
Note: If you're looking to reduce the time spent on administrative tasks, use Bonsai's complete invoicing software. You can bill your customers automatically, send payment reminders, get viewing notifications, apply late fees and more. Come on board, we have your back!
Essential Elements of an Interior Design Invoice Template
When creating your interior design invoice template, you want to make sure all the details are clear and easy to understand for your clients. At the same time, it's important to have all business-related information in place to help you keep your accounting records organized. For flawless invoices every time, include the following essential elements on your invoice template.
Business Information
Start your interior design invoice template with a section for your contact details such as your full name (and business name if it is registered differently), phone number, street address, email address and website. If you offer any specialized services such as lighting design, sustainable interior design, retail design, etc., add a few lines in this section to mention them.
For more professional invoices, include your interior design business logo, industry-related imagery and any other branding elements.
Client Information
Next, include a section for your client's information starting with their full name (or company name), phone number, billing address, and email address in case you're sending the invoice through email. If you are doing interior design work for large corporate clients, make sure to also address the invoice to the person in charge of the accounts payable department to avoid payment delays. You may also add a client ID number if you maintain a database.
Invoice Number and Date
Make sure to assign a unique invoice number to all of your invoices. This will help you keep better organized accounting records, not to mention large clients usually don't accept invoices without an invoice number. Additionally, include the date when the invoice was sent out, which you can use as a reference to set a payment due date and apply any late fees accordingly.
Project Details
Include a section to briefly describe the interior design project you're charging for such as kitchen renovation, retail store interior design, office reinstatement, etc. You may also mention any other relevant details such as the address, square foot area, and dates in which the project took place. Especially if you are billing your client on different projects this addition will help you keep better track of the services provided and avoid confusion.
Services Provided
Your interior design invoice template must have enough space for a detailed list of the services provided along with a short description of each. If you are charging on an hourly basis, be clear about how many hours were spent on each task, the total hours spent on the project, rate per hour and finally the total labor cost. You may add a timesheet to the invoice so your clients can easily understand how the time they're paying you for was invested.
You want to also specify all the materials, supplies, furniture, and any other items chargeable to your client, including quantities, unit price and total cost for each.
Totals
On the totals section of your interior design invoice template, you want to have separate lines to specify the cost of services and materials before taxes (subtotal), then add the applicable taxes, and provide the total amount to pay. This is also the ideal section to include any applicable discounts for regular clients, referrals, etc., by subtracting the discounted amount from the subtotal before you add the taxes.
Payment Details
If you want to increase your chances of getting paid quickly, pay close attention to this section of your interior design invoice template. You want to provide your clients with all the accepted payment methods such as debit/credit cards, checks, cash, ACH transfers or online payments. Add the corresponding account numbers, account holder's name, payment links, and mailing address for the checks.
Add a few more lines to this section to disclose your payment terms including the invoice due date, partial payments, payment arrangements available and late fees that may apply to overdue accounts. Make sure the payment instructions are crystal clear and it's easy for your clients to make payments.
Notes
Save a little bit of space at the end of your interior design invoice template to add a personal note, or a message to thank your clients for their business. You may also use this space to encourage referrals, good reviews, or offer a promotion for a second project. All this can help you strengthen client relationships and can easily lead to more business.
Use Our Free Invoice Template for Interior Designers
Creating your own invoice template can be a time-consuming task, and with so much on your plate, you probably don't want to sit down for hours to figure it out. Luckily, you don't have to. Simply download Bonsai's free interior design invoice template which you fully customize to easily create professional invoices in minutes!
With just a few tweaks, you can add that personal touch to create custom invoices with minimal effort. Save your free template in your preferred file format to use it for all of your interior design services, ensuring consistency and speeding up your billing process. But that's not all! With Bonsai's all-in-one product suite, you have access to countless tools to help you take your freelance gig or small business to the next level.
Use our accounting software to track your expenses, income, get tax estimates, identify write-offs, keep track of hours worked, and ultimately keep your business finances under control. You can also sign up for the top-rated business checking account, which you can link to your interior design invoice templates and instantly have access to your funds as soon as your clients pay. All this and more, to help you save time and focus on your passion
