What should an architect invoice show?

The project, each phase or service, the share of the fee you are billing and how you got there (such as 40% of $14,000), reimbursables on their own lines, the total and the due date. Clodou prints each line as you give it, with your logo, your business details, the next number in your sequence and a note for your terms. There is no architect invoice template to fill in: one sentence describes the invoice.

Can I bill a percentage of construction cost?

Yes. Work out the fee from the figures in your agreement and give Clodou the amount, with the figures in the line, such as design development, 20% of a 9% fee on a $450,000 construction cost, $8,100. If the construction cost changes, give the new figures for the next invoice. Clodou uses the amounts you state.

How do I bill reimbursable expenses?

Log each one as an expense on the project, from a sentence or a receipt photo you confirm, so the project shows what it cost. Then put them on the invoice as their own lines at cost, or with the markup your agreement states as an amount you give. Clodou never adds a markup by itself.

Can I take a retainer at signing?

Yes. Invoice it on its own with your terms in the note, such as credited against the final invoice. Clodou does not apply the credit by itself: when you invoice the last phase, state the amount after the credit and say so on the line, such as construction administration, $10,000 less the $4,000 retainer, $6,000. In Clodou's Retainers page, a retainer means something else: a fixed monthly amount that Clodou prepares as a draft invoice every month.

Does Clodou replace my project or drawing tools?

No. Clodou has no drawings, CAD or BIM files, document control, submittals, AIA billing forms or e-signature, and it does not take card payments. It handles the business side: clients, quotes, invoices, payments, expenses, projects with budgets and time. Keep your design and project tools; Clodou bills what you tell it.

Free covers up to 5 clients and 20 AI actions a month, with no separate cap on quotes and invoices (making them in the chat uses AI actions). Solo, with your payment link on invoices, is $29 a month per workspace. Team, with 5 seats and automatic reminders, is $79 a month. Prices are in USD, and the first 14 days are a free Team trial.

Who it's for / Architects

Architect invoices by phase, with reimbursables kept apart

Architects and small practices bill in a few ways: a fixed fee split across the phases of a project, a percentage of the construction cost, or hourly for additional services and small jobs. Invoices follow the phases or go out monthly by percentage complete, a retainer is often paid at signing, and permit fees, printing and travel are billed back as reimbursables. Tell Clodou what you agreed and it writes each invoice with the phase, the fee and the reimbursables on their own lines, and keeps track of what is still owed.

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Sound familiar?

A fee split across five phases worked out in a spreadsheet before every invoice
Permit fees, printing and travel paid by the practice and billed back late
Additional services agreed by email and never invoiced
No clear view of what each client has paid against the total fee

How Clodou helps

Invoices by phase or percentage complete

"Invoice the Okafors for design development: 20% of the $40,000 fee, $8,000" is one line that shows how you got there. Clodou uses the amounts you state, and the project keeps the fee as its budget next to the costs you record.

Hourly additional services

Create a project with your hourly rate and log time on it as you go. Invoicing the unbilled time turns the billable hours into one draft invoice, one line per entry with its date, and marks them billed so none is invoiced twice.

Reimbursables on their own lines

Log permit fees, printing and travel as expenses on the project, from a sentence or a receipt photo you confirm. Bill them back on their own lines at cost, or with the markup your contract states as an amount you give.

How architects bill, and how Clodou handles it

A fixed fee split by phase

Many practices agree a fixed fee and split it across the phases of the work, such as schematic design, design development, construction documents, permitting and construction administration, then invoice each phase when it is done or monthly by percentage complete. Each invoice has a line per phase with the share you bill, such as construction documents, 40% of $14,000, $5,600. Clodou uses the amounts you state; the fee schedule comes from your agreement.

A percentage of construction cost, or hourly

When the fee is a percentage of the construction cost, work out the phase's fee from the current cost estimate and give Clodou the amount, with the figures in the line so the client can follow them. Additional services, feasibility studies and small jobs are often billed hourly: log time on a project with your hourly rate and turn the unbilled hours into one draft invoice.

Retainers at signing and reimbursables

A retainer paid at signing is invoiced on its own, with your terms in the note, such as credited against the final invoice; when you invoice the last phase, state the amount after the credit and say so on the line. Reimbursable expenses such as permit and filing fees, printing and travel are billed back at cost or with the markup your agreement states. Whether tax applies to your fees or to reimbursables is for you to check with your accountant; Clodou applies the rate you set, per line if needed.

A house, from schematic design to an hourly study

Step 1
Create a project, Okafor residence, for Ada and Ben Okafor with a $40,000 budget, the fixed fee. Then invoice schematic design, complete: 15% of the fee, $6,000.
Adds Ada and Ben Okafor as a client, creates the Okafor residence project with a $40,000 budget and creates draft invoice INV-0019 with one line: schematic design, 100% complete, 15% of the $40,000 fixed fee, $6,000. No tax is set on this workspace, so the total is $6,000.
Step 2
This month: design development is complete, 20% of the fee, $8,000, and construction documents are 40% complete, 40% of $14,000, $5,600. Add the reimbursables at cost: building permit fee $1,250 and plan printing $186. Log both as expenses on the project too.
Creates draft invoice INV-0020 with four lines: design development, 100% complete, $8,000; construction documents, 40% of $14,000, $5,600; building permit fee, at cost, $1,250; plan printing, at cost, $186. Total: $15,036. Records two expenses on the Okafor residence project, $1,436 in all.
Step 3
The Okafors asked for a garage study, billed hourly at $150. Create a project for it, log 6 hours today and invoice the unbilled time.
Creates the Okafor garage study project at $150 an hour, logs 6 billable hours dated today and creates draft invoice INV-0021 with one line for that entry, 6 h at $150, $900, marking the hours billed.
Step 4
I sent INV-0019 to INV-0021. The Okafors paid INV-0019 in full and $10,000 on INV-0020.
Marks the three invoices as sent and shows two approval cards: $6,000.00 on INV-0019 and $10,000.00 on INV-0020. Once you approve them, INV-0019 is marked paid, and $5,036.00 is still owed on INV-0020 and $900.00 on INV-0021.

Just ask

Invoice the Okafor residence for schematic design: 15% of the $40,000 fixed fee, $6,000

Log a $1,250 building permit fee on the Okafor residence project

Invoice Harbor Café for this month's unbilled hours on the kitchen layout study

Questions

What should an architect invoice show?: The project, each phase or service, the share of the fee you are billing and how you got there (such as 40% of $14,000), reimbursables on their own lines, the total and the due date. Clodou prints each line as you give it, with your logo, your business details, the next number in your sequence and a note for your terms. There is no architect invoice template to fill in: one sentence describes the invoice.
Can I bill a percentage of construction cost?: Yes. Work out the fee from the figures in your agreement and give Clodou the amount, with the figures in the line, such as design development, 20% of a 9% fee on a $450,000 construction cost, $8,100. If the construction cost changes, give the new figures for the next invoice. Clodou uses the amounts you state.
How do I bill reimbursable expenses?: Log each one as an expense on the project, from a sentence or a receipt photo you confirm, so the project shows what it cost. Then put them on the invoice as their own lines at cost, or with the markup your agreement states as an amount you give. Clodou never adds a markup by itself.
Can I take a retainer at signing?: Yes. Invoice it on its own with your terms in the note, such as credited against the final invoice. Clodou does not apply the credit by itself: when you invoice the last phase, state the amount after the credit and say so on the line, such as construction administration, $10,000 less the $4,000 retainer, $6,000. In Clodou's Retainers page, a retainer means something else: a fixed monthly amount that Clodou prepares as a draft invoice every month.
Does Clodou replace my project or drawing tools?: No. Clodou has no drawings, CAD or BIM files, document control, submittals, AIA billing forms or e-signature, and it does not take card payments. It handles the business side: clients, quotes, invoices, payments, expenses, projects with budgets and time. Keep your design and project tools; Clodou bills what you tell it.
What does it cost?: Free covers up to 5 clients and 20 AI actions a month, with no separate cap on quotes and invoices (making them in the chat uses AI actions). Solo, with your payment link on invoices, is $29 a month per workspace. Team, with 5 seats and automatic reminders, is $79 a month. Prices are in USD, and the first 14 days are a free Team trial.

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Every new workspace starts with a 14-day trial of Team, no card required. Then stay on Free: up to 5 clients and 20 AI actions a month; quotes and invoices have no separate cap, and making them in the chat uses AI actions.

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