In the interior design business, time billing invoices are a way for interior designers to document and charge for the time they spend working on a project. It is a method of invoicing clients based on the actual hours worked rather than a fixed fee or a percentage of the project cost.
Best Practices
Here's how time billing invoices typically work in the interior design business:
1. Time + Expense Tracking: Interior designers track the time they spend on various tasks and incurred expenses related to a project.
2. Hourly Rates: Designers typically have an hourly rate that they charge for their services. This rate may vary depending on factors such as the designer's experience, expertise, location, and the complexity of the project. The hourly rate is usually agreed upon between the designer and the client before the project begins.
3. Documentation: As designers work on the project, they keep a detailed record of the time spent on each task and enter expenses as they go.
4. Invoice Preparation: Once a specific period (e.g., weekly, monthly) has elapsed or a significant milestone has been reached, the designer prepares an invoice for the client. The invoice includes a breakdown of the tasks performed, the corresponding hours worked, and the total amount due based on the hourly rate. Optional, include both expenses and time entries on the same invoice.
It is also important to note, when invoices created via the Actions dropdown they are automatically pushed to the invoice approval queue in your Notifications, streamlining the billing process.
5. Review and Approval: The design team reviews the time billing invoice adds a description of services then verifies accuracy of the hours worked and the expenses incurred. If everything is in order, the client is invoiced for payment. Invoices created via the Actions dropdown are automatically pushed to the invoice approval queue in your Notifications, streamlining the billing process.
When a Time + Expense Invoice is approved, it will automatically sync to QuickBooks Online. Time billing invoices in the interior design business provide transparency and accountability to both the designer and the client. They ensure that the client is billed accurately for the time and effort invested in the project, while also allowing the designer to be compensated fairly for their work.
Note: you can also create Time Billing Invoices from a Single Project Page > Time Entries tab.
Tips for Editing Invoices:
To edit Time Entries once they have been added to an Invoice - there are a few options for updating those Time Entries.
To remove existing or to add new Time Entries from an Invoice, go to the Item List tab (next to the pdf preview):
OR to edit the data on a Time Entry go to the Time Entries tab to make these edits:
Video Guide on creating Time Billing Invoices:
Additional Guides