Architect fee invoice template
Architect fee invoice template: claim design stages as a share of the agreed fee, bill extra site meetings separately and pass on printing and permit fees.
Templates by industry
- Concept design stage, 15% of the agreed fee
- Permit drawings stage, 20% of the agreed fee
- Extra site meeting requested by the client
- Plan printing and application fees paid on your behalf
Preparation guide
Example workflow
Confirm scope and quantities
Example: reconcile the approval and work record for "Concept design stage, 15% of the agreed fee" to establish the quantity for this invoice.
Record delivery and acceptance
Check completion for every line, including "Plan printing and application fees paid on your behalf". Confirm completed quantities, site photos, agreed test results and any remaining remedial work.
Send the billing record
Send the final charges, delivery reference and due date to the customer, then reconcile payment against the invoice number.
Architects are rarely paid in one sum. The appointment usually splits the fee across design stages, and each invoice claims the stages finished since the last one. This template names every stage with its percentage, so the client can tick it off against the agreement, and keeps the work outside the stages apart: a meeting the client asked for beyond those included, and printing or permit fees you paid on their behalf. The running total belongs in the notes.
Fields to prepare
- Deliverables and line items
- Concept design stage, 15% of the agreed fee, Permit drawings stage, 20% of the agreed fee, Extra site meeting requested by the client, Plan printing and application fees paid on your behalf: record the quantities actually supplied and the service period.
- Concept design stage, 15% of the agreed fee
- Use the stage name from the appointment and its exact percentage, and bill it only once the client has the stage drawings.
- Permit drawings stage, 20% of the agreed fee
- Name the permit submission the drawings were prepared for; the client's lender often asks to see this stage separately.
- Extra site meeting requested by the client
- Give the date and purpose of each extra meeting and say that it went beyond the meetings the fee includes.
- Plan printing and application fees paid on your behalf
- Pass on application fees at the amount on the authority's receipt and keep a copy; check how tax applies to such pass-through costs.
- Site and measured quantities
- Record the site, work zones, areas, lengths or counts, and access hours.
- Materials and work stages
- Specify materials, labor, removal, disposal and making-good allowances, and completion criteria for each stage.
- Scope to agree
- Claim each completed design stage as its agreed share of the fee, keep extra meetings and fees paid for the client on their own lines, and state the fee claimed so far.
Before sending
- Does “Concept design stage, 15% of the agreed fee” show the quantity actually supplied, not the quantity first quoted?
- Is “Permit drawings stage, 20% of the agreed fee” charged at the rate the customer agreed to, with any change approved?
- Is “Extra site meeting requested by the client” finished and accepted, or does it belong on a later invoice?
Show 4 more
- Does “Plan printing and application fees paid on your behalf” show the quantity actually supplied, not the quantity first quoted?
- Agree how quantity changes following measurement or drawing revisions will be approved.
- Confirm client-supplied materials and work that other contractors must finish first.
- Match completed work to the order or approval record, and confirm the payment due date and amounts already received.
Worked example: two stages of a family house
The figures are an example, with an example tax rate of 8%. An architect's appointment sets a fee of $40,000. The concept and permit stages are complete, the client asked for two extra site meetings, and the plan printing was paid on the client's behalf.
| Item | Quantity × unit price | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Concept design stage, 15% of the agreed fee | 1 × $6,000.00 | $6,000.00 |
| Permit drawings stage, 20% of the agreed fee | 1 × $8,000.00 | $8,000.00 |
| Extra site meeting requested by the client | 2 × $280.00 | $560.00 |
| Plan printing and application fees paid on your behalf | 1 × $185.00 | $185.00 |
| Subtotal | $14,745.00 | |
| Sales tax (8%) | $1,179.60 | |
| Total | $15,924.60 | |
The four lines come to $14,745.00; tax at 8% is $1,179.60; the invoice asks for $15,924.60. The remaining 65% of the fee is named in the notes so the client can see what is still to come.
Common mistakes on an architect's fee invoice
- Billing a stage before the client has received its drawings.
- Rounding stage percentages so the stages no longer add up to the whole fee.
- Charging for meetings the fee already includes.
- Passing on permit fees without the authority's receipt.
- Leaving out the running total, so the client loses track of what remains.
What the document must show
These details make an invoice easier to approve and to file.
- Your business name, address and registration or tax number
- The customer's name and address
- Issue date and a document number you do not reuse
- Each line item with quantity, unit price and amount
- Tax shown separately from the net amount, and the total payable
- Payment terms: due date, bank details or accepted payment methods
The sales tax depends on where the work is supplied, so set the rate that applies to your customer before sending.
Official rate reference: US government: state and local taxes
Frequently asked questions
How do I show the stages billed on earlier invoices?
List them in the notes with their invoice numbers and the total fee claimed so far, and keep the lines for the stages of this invoice. The client then sees how much of the fee remains.
What if the client stops the project after the concept stage?
Bill the stages completed and any work done on the next stage as the appointment provides for a termination. Name the clause in the notes so the claim can be checked.
The construction cost estimate went up. Does my fee change?
Only if the fee is a percentage of the construction cost and the appointment says it follows the estimate. Then show the new fee base in the notes before applying the stage percentages.
Should printing be billed at cost or with a margin?
Follow what the appointment says about expenses. If it names cost, bill the printer's invoice amount; if it allows a handling charge, show it as a separate line.
How is tax calculated on this template?
The sales tax depends on where the work is supplied, so set the rate that applies to your customer before sending. The editor keeps the net amount, the tax and the total apart, and recalculates all three when you change a quantity, a unit price or the country setting.
How should I number invoices?
Use one unbroken sequence per business, never reuse a number, and issue a credit note rather than deleting an invoice you have already sent.
Read next
Reading for the Architect fee invoice template: How to write an invoice: a step-by-step example and Credit note vs invoice (and credit memo): how to issue one. The VAT and GST calculator works out the tax line for you.