Free Retainer Invoice Generator
Invoice a monthly retainer with the period, the included hours and any overage on separate lines, then download it as a PDF.
Saved invoices
Saved automatically in your browser.
Your business name
INVOICE
INV-001
Billed to
Client name
| Description | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Item description | 1 | — | $0.00 |
- Subtotal
- $0.00
- Total
- $0.00
Billing a month of retainer work: period, hours, overage
The period is the part a retainer invoice cannot afford to leave out. Write it into the description of the retainer line itself — "Monthly retainer — marketing ops, 1–31 July 2026 (20 hours included)" — because a line that just says "monthly retainer" is undated work to the person approving it, and unrecognizable to you in a year. Quantity 1 with the monthly fee in the rate column covers a single month; if you bill a quarter in one go, put 3 in the quantity column and name the three months in the description.
Overage never belongs inside the retainer line. Extra hours go on a line of their own — "Additional hours beyond the 20 included — June, per time log" — with the hours as decimals in the quantity column and your overage rate beside them. Set that rate above the retainer's own effective hourly rate, or going over the cap costs the client less than staying inside it. Work that sits outside the retainer scope entirely, like a one-off landing page or a set of email templates, gets its own line too, quoted separately and labeled as out of scope. That separation is what lets a client see, without asking, which part of the bill is the standing arrangement and which part is not.
The rollover policy has no field, so it lives in the notes: how many unused hours carry into the next month, when they expire, and whether they survive a pause. Put the rest of the standing terms there as well — whether the retainer is billed in advance or in arrears, the notice period for ending it, and how the overage rate is applied. The draft autosaves in the browser, so next month is a matter of bumping the number, changing the period in the description, and replacing the overage line.
Month four of a retainer, with an overage and a project on top
July on a 20-hour marketing retainer, billed on the 1st. The retainer itself is one flat line for the named month, June's overage is billed a month behind because the hours are only final once the month closes, a promo landing page the client asked for mid-June fell outside the retainer scope and was quoted separately, the email templates are counted per template at the out-of-scope rate, and the stock photography bought for the page is passed through at what it cost.
| Description | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly retainer — marketing ops, 1–31 July 2026 (20 hours included) | 1 | $2,800.00 | $2,800.00 |
| Additional hours beyond the 20 included — June, per time log | 6.75 | $175.00 | $1,181.25 |
| Out of scope: summer promo landing page build — fixed quote 3 July | 1 | $950.00 | $950.00 |
| Out of scope: campaign email templates — per template | 3 | $180.00 | $540.00 |
| Stock photography licensed for the promo page — passed through at cost | 1 | $112.00 | $112.00 |
| Subtotal | $5,583.25 | ||
| Total due | $5,583.25 | ||
The retainer fee stays a flat figure against a named month, and everything the retainer did not cover sits underneath it as its own line, priced its own way.
What a retainer invoice must spell out
The month, in the description
Put the actual dates in the retainer line — 1–31 July 2026 — so the invoice still makes sense to an approver who has never seen your agreement.
Included hours on the same line
Adding "(20 hours included)" gives the flat fee a shape and makes the overage line below it read as arithmetic rather than an extra charge.
Overage counted from the log
Extra hours go on their own line as decimals at the overage rate, with the month they belong to named, so the retainer fee itself never moves.
Out-of-scope work labeled
Projects quoted separately keep their own lines and the words "out of scope", which is how the client learns where the retainer's edges actually are.
Rollover and notice in the notes
There is no field for policy, so the notes carry the rollover allowance and its expiry, the notice period, and whether this month was billed in advance or in arrears.
How to create an invoice online
- 1
Fill in the details
Add your business info, your client, line items, tax, and an optional logo or discount.
- 2
Watch the live preview
The invoice updates as you type, so you always see exactly what your client will receive.
- 3
Download the PDF
One click generates a clean, professional PDF invoice — free and without a watermark.
A simple invoice maker for freelancers and small businesses
Everything you need to bill a client properly — and nothing you don't. Create an invoice, check the live preview, download the PDF, get paid.
Instant PDF download
Generate a polished A4 invoice PDF in one click — no waiting, no email required.
No sign-up, no watermark
Completely free to use. Your invoice is yours, with no branding stamped on it.
Private by design
Everything happens in your browser. Your invoice data never touches a server.
Logo, tax & discounts
Add your logo, any tax label and rate (VAT, GST, sales tax), and percentage or fixed discounts.
Saves as you type
Your draft is stored locally in your browser, so an accidental tab close loses nothing.
20 currencies
Invoice in USD, EUR, GBP, INR, JPY and more, with correct rounding for each currency.
Frequently asked questions
Do I invoice a retainer in advance or in arrears?
Retainers that reserve your availability are usually billed in advance at the start of the period, while ones that settle work already done are billed in arrears. Either is fine as long as the invoice says which — add "billed in advance" to the line description and set the due date to match.
How do I show included hours and bill the overage?
Name the included hours inside the retainer line description, then put the extra hours on a second line at your overage rate with the decimals straight from your time log. Overage is commonly set at 1.25 to 1.5 times the retainer's effective hourly rate; rolling it into the retainer fee instead makes the fee look like it changes month to month, which is the fastest way to invite a query.
Where does the rollover policy go?
In the notes field, since there is nowhere else for it — state how many unused hours roll forward, how long they last, and what happens to them if the retainer ends. Keeping it on every invoice means the policy is never something the client has to go hunting for.
How do I handle a paused month or a one-off credit?
For a partial month, bill the retainer line at the agreed reduced fee and explain the reason in the notes. For a genuine credit against the whole invoice you can use the single discount field, fixed or percent, but say in the notes what it is for — the PDF prints that row as just "Discount", with no room for a reason.