Interior Designer Invoice and Retainer Template
An interior designer's invoice should take a design retainer up front and draw hours against it, or bill flat by phase, and keep furnishings on entirely separate invoices at cost-plus or with a stated procurement fee — never mixed with your fee. Site visits, revisions beyond the included rounds, and trade coordination each get their own line. ShowTheReceipts invoices the retainer, tracks draw-down, and bills procurement separately.
Header block
- Business name, address, tax ID, insurance
- Client name, project address, billing contact
- Phase covered and period
- Invoice number, retainer balance, due date
Design fee lines
- Design retainer — paid up front, drawn against hours
- Hours billed this period — with the remaining balance shown
- Flat phase fee — concept, development, documentation
- Site visits / installation days — per visit or day rate
- Trade coordination — contractor and vendor management
- Additional revision rounds — hourly, beyond included
- Travel — mileage or day rate for out-of-area work
Furnishings go on their own invoice
| Item | How it’s billed |
|---|---|
| Furnishings and materials | Separate invoice, paid in full in advance |
| Procurement | Cost-plus 20–35%, or a flat fee |
| Freight, delivery, receiving | Passed through, itemized |
| Design fee | Never mixed into the furnishings invoice |
Never place a vendor order on your own credit. The client’s money buys the client’s sofa.
Show the retainer draw-down
Put “$4,200 retainer, $2,750 remaining” on every invoice. It stops the two questions that dominate design billing — what the hours went to, and when the next retainer is due — and it triggers replenishment before you’re working unpaid.
Revisions have a count
Two rounds per phase, with your hourly rate stated for anything beyond. Unlimited options don’t just cost you hours; they push every downstream order past its lead time.
What not to do
- Don’t start design work before the retainer clears
- Don’t front furnishings on your own credit
- Don’t bury procurement markup instead of stating it
- Don’t leave revision rounds uncounted
Frequently asked questions
How much retainer should an interior designer take?
Commonly 10–20 hours of your rate, or 25–50% of a flat phase fee, paid before design work begins and drawn down as hours are billed. Design is unrecoverable labour — once the concept is delivered, the client has the idea whether or not they pay.
Should furnishings be on the same invoice as my design fee?
No — keep them on separate invoices. Furnishings are paid in full in advance by the client, because you should never place a five-figure vendor order on your own credit. Mixing them also makes your design fee look like a fraction of a huge number, which invites discounting.
How do designers charge for procurement?
Either cost-plus — the trade price plus 20–35% — or a flat procurement fee per order or per project. Whichever you choose, state it on the invoice: procurement is real work covering sourcing, ordering, tracking, freight claims, and receiving, not a passive markup.
How do I stop endless revisions?
State the included revision rounds per phase on the invoice with your hourly rate beyond them. Two rounds per phase is standard. Without the line, 'can we see one more option' is unpaid work that also delays every downstream order.