Ask for the PO at booking, not at billing
Many accounts payable teams will not pay an invoice without a PO number, or with a billing period the PO does not cover. Get the PO when the client confirms the order and put it on the schedule too.
Staffing agency invoice template (free Excel)
Bill event staff the way accounts payable wants to see it: PO number, billing period, one line per worker per shift with regular and overtime hours, fees, sales tax and, when two companies share the bill, the split between them to the cent.
What is inside
- Lines: date, event, worker, role, regular and OT hours, bill rate, OT rate (1.5x), amount
- Fees: rush, holiday premium, mileage, parking
- Sales tax rate you set, on labor, fees or both
- Split billing between two payers by percentage
- Excel and Google Sheets, prints on US Letter, no email needed
Preview: the Invoice tab
The sample festival weekend. Sunday's lines are shown, Friday and Saturday are summed. Grey cells are formulas.
staffing-invoice-template.xlsx
Harbor & Pine Event Staff
1200 E 6th St, Suite 210
Austin, TX 78702
INVOICE
- Invoice number
- HP-2026-0112
- Invoice date
- Nov 16, 2026
- Payment terms
- Net 30
- Due date
- Dec 16, 2026
- PO number
- BB-PO-55821
- Billing period
- Nov 13, 2026 to Nov 15, 2026
Bill to
Bluebonnet Beverage Co.
Attn: Accounts Payable
Event or program
Eastside Food & Wine Fest
Fairgrounds Pavilion, Austin, TX
| Date | Worker | Role | Regular h | OT h | Bill rate | OT rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Nov 13 and Sat, Nov 14: 17 lines | 131.00 | $6,550.00 | |||||
| Sun, Nov 15 | Maya Thompson | Captain | 9.00 | $50.00 | $75.00 | $450.00 | |
| Sun, Nov 15 | Luis Ortega | Bartender | 4.50 | 4.00 | $50.00 | $75.00 | $525.00 |
| Sun, Nov 15 | Jasmine Carter | Bartender | 7.50 | $50.00 | $75.00 | $375.00 | |
| Sun, Nov 15 | Marcus Bell | Bartender | 7.50 | $50.00 | $75.00 | $375.00 | |
| Sun, Nov 15 | Sofia Alvarez | Bartender | 7.50 | $50.00 | $75.00 | $375.00 | |
| Sun, Nov 15 | Devon Price | Barback | 7.50 | $50.00 | $75.00 | $375.00 | |
| Sun, Nov 15 | Andre Williams | Brand ambassador | 6.00 | $50.00 | $75.00 | $300.00 | |
| Labor subtotal | 180.50 | 4.00 | $9,325.00 | ||||
| Fees and reimbursements | Quantity | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rush fee: second Saturday barback, ordered under 48 hours out (25% of the bill rate) | 7.5 hours | $12.50 | $93.75 |
| Holiday premium: 0.5x the bill rate per hour worked on a holiday (none this period) | 0 hours | $25.00 | $0.00 |
| Mileage: supply runs, Austin office to the Fairgrounds (rate per the service agreement) | 84 miles | $0.70 | $58.80 |
| Parking for the captain, 3 days | 3 days | $15.00 | $45.00 |
Split billing
| Payer | Share | Amount due |
|---|---|---|
| Bluebonnet Beverage Co. (bar program) | 70% | $6,665.79 |
| Eastside Festival LLC (sampling team) | 30% | $2,856.76 |
| Check (should be 0.00) | $0.00 | |
- Labor
- $9,325.00
- Fees and reimbursements
- $197.55
- Sales tax (0.00%)
- $0.00
- Invoice total
- $9,522.55
Payment is due within 30 days of the invoice date, by December 16, 2026. Please put the invoice number and PO number on your payment.
What this staffing invoice template does
A staffing invoice is not a product invoice. The client pays for hours, by person and by role, overtime is billed at a different rate, the accounts payable team matches it to a PO and a billing period, and some events have two payers: a brand and a retailer, a sponsor and an organizer. A generic invoice template has room for none of that.
Here every amount is a formula. Line amount = regular hours x bill rate + overtime hours x OT rate, where the OT rate is the line's bill rate x the overtime multiplier (1.5). Fees = quantity x rate. Sales tax = rate x the taxable amount, labor and fees each switched on or off. Split billing rounds the first payer's labor, fees and tax to the cent and gives the remainder to the second payer, so the two always add up to the total.
The sample bills a fictional festival weekend at $50 an hour: 180.50 regular hours and 4.00 overtime hours make $9,325.00 of labor, $197.55 of fees, $9,522.55 in total, split 70% and 30%: $6,665.79 and $2,856.76. Every figure on this page was recalculated from the file's own formulas.
How to fill in the invoice, step by step
- 1
Put your agency in once, then save your own copy
Name, address, phone, billing email and EIN at the top of the Invoice tab. Save the file as your master template so every invoice starts from it.
- 2
Fill the invoice details
Invoice number (keep a sequence), invoice date, payment terms from the dropdown (the due date computes itself), the client's PO number and the billing period the hours belong to.
- 3
Bill to the right person
The client's legal name and its accounts payable contact, not the event manager who booked you, then the event or program the hours were worked on.
- 4
Set the bill rate and the overtime multiplier
The default bill rate fills each line as soon as you type hours. Type a different rate over it on any line, for a captain billed higher than a server for example. The OT rate is always that line's rate times the multiplier, 1.5 by default.
- 5
Copy the lines from approved timesheets
One line per worker per shift: date, event, worker, role, regular hours, OT hours. Amount = regular hours x bill rate + OT hours x OT rate. The template holds 40 lines.
- 6
Add the fees agreed in writing
Rush, holiday premium, mileage, parking: quantity x rate. Only bill what your service agreement or the client's order confirms.
- 7
Set sales tax, then the split
Enter the tax rate and whether it applies to labor, fees or both, after checking your state's rule with your accountant. If two companies share the bill, set the first payer's share: the second pays the rest and the check cell must read 0.00.
- 8
Save as PDF and send it with the timesheets
The Invoice tab is set up for US Letter, portrait, fitted to the page width. Attach the approved timesheets for the same billing period.
Billing habits that get staffing invoices paid
Send the hours with the invoice
Attach the approved timesheets for the same period: worker, date, clock-in, clock-out, breaks. State a window for questions in your terms (the sample gives 10 days), so disputes come early or not at all.
Write the overtime rule before the first invoice
Who pays the premium when a worker crosses 40 hours because of jobs for other clients? In the sample, the agreement says the client pays it on any hour past 40. Settle it in the contract, not in an email thread. Our pricing guide covers overtime and minimums.
Price the rush instead of absorbing it
A slot filled under 48 hours costs you calls, texts and sometimes a higher pay rate. The sample bills a rush fee of 25% of the bill rate on those hours: an example, not a benchmark. Put your own rule in the service agreement.
Bill minimums as hours
If a 2-hour demo is billed on a 4-hour minimum, put 4 hours on the line and say "4-hour minimum" in the event column. Clients accept a stated rule; they dispute a number they cannot trace.
Agree the split in writing
When a brand and a venue share a team, confirm the percentages before the event. The template splits each part of the invoice the same way, so both payers can check their share against the same total.
Not sure what to bill per hour?
The bill rate has to cover the wage, the employer taxes, workers' comp, insurance and your overhead before it leaves a margin. The bill rate calculator works it out from your pay rate, line by line.
Sources
- Fact Sheet #23: Overtime Pay Requirements of the FLSA, U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division
- Overtime FAQ, California Labor Commissioner's Office
The agency, clients, workers, bank details and fees in the sample are fictional, and the rates are examples ($50 an hour billed). Sales tax and overtime rules differ by state: check them with your accountant and your state before you send an invoice. Nothing here is tax or legal advice.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions.
What should a staffing agency invoice include?
Your agency's legal name and contact details, an invoice number and date, the client's legal name and accounts payable contact, the PO number, the billing period, one line per worker per shift with date, role, regular hours, overtime hours, rate and amount, any agreed fees, sales tax where it applies, the total, the due date and how to pay. This template has a place for each.
How do you bill overtime on a staffing invoice?
Put the overtime hours in their own column and bill them at the overtime rate, usually 1.5 times the bill rate, mirroring the time and a half you owe the worker. Under the federal FLSA, overtime is owed after 40 hours in a workweek; some states also count by the day (California after 8 hours in a workday). Whether the client pays the premium is a contract term: write it into your service agreement.
How do I split an invoice between two payers?
Set the first payer's share in the Split billing block, for example 70%. Labor, fees and tax are each split and rounded to the cent for the first payer, and the second payer gets the remainder, so the two amounts always add up to the invoice total. A check cell turns red if they do not.
Do staffing agencies charge sales tax?
It depends on the state and often on the kind of work the staff perform. The template lets you set a rate and choose whether it applies to labor, fees or both. The sample uses 0%. Ask your accountant for the rule in each state where you bill.
Can I use this staffing invoice template in Google Sheets?
Yes. In Google Sheets, use File > Import > Upload with the .xlsx file. The formulas, dropdowns and the split check come with it.
Can I bill different rates for different roles?
Yes. Each line takes the default bill rate when you enter hours, and you can type another rate over it on that line. Its overtime rate follows automatically.
Is this invoice template free?
Yes, with no email and no account. The agency, clients and workers in the sample are fictional: replace them, and replace the placeholder bank details with yours.
When does an agency outgrow invoice spreadsheets?
Usually when hours are retyped from timesheets every week, when several clients each want their own split or PO, or when sales tax differs by state. Staffli bills the hours you validated: client invoicing with split billing and sales tax by state, exported to QuickBooks or Xero.
Related guides and tools
- Free toolBill rate calculator for staffing agenciesTurn a pay rate into a bill rate: FICA, FUTA, SUTA, workers' comp, liability and overhead, then markup or margin, per hour.Open the tool
- Free toolEvent staff schedule templateFree Excel and Google Sheets schedule for event staff: shifts, breaks, hours, confirmations, open slots and labor cost per event.Open the tool
- StaffliAgency invoicingStaffing agency invoicing software for event agencies: validated hours become consolidated client invoices with split billing, structured fees and sales tax by state, exported to QuickBooks or Xero. A payment register for your payroll provider comes from the same hours.Learn more
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