Invoice for services as a contract employee

Question

I recently graduated from graduate school and am currently working in a firm under a contract with a staffing agency. Technically, I would be considered a contract employee under the staffing agency but my 'supervisor" would be my immediate manager at the client site. I was told to provide a weekly invoice for services provided. This is my first, formal job out of graduate school and I am not sure how such a document is typically done.

How is such a document prepared and what I should include in it besides the obvious rate information?

Answer 1

Most employees whether they are going through a staffing agency or they are a permanent employee do not know how much the end customer is being billed for their time. In your case the staffing agency may be adding a hourly fee on top of what you think you make. They also may be setting aside money for any benefits you get, though mot staffing agencies give very little in the way of benefits.

You will be able to provide work hours, and a description of your tasks, but are unlikely to be told the final billing rate.

You need to contact the staffing company regarding the format of the invoice. If they were not the one that requested this invoice, they may also want a copy so that they know your work details. It is not unusual in a contracting situation that you have to provide a "time card" in multiple formats. In one situation I needed to provide 3: one for the customer, one for the prime contractor, and one for my employer who was a sub contractor.

Answer 2

How is such a document prepared and what I should include in it besides the obvious rate information?

This is something typically handled by the staffing agency (at least in my part of the world).

Talk with your boss at the agency. I'm sure they'll tell you how to satisfy the requirement from the contracted company. Most likely they handle this all the time.

Where I work, our contractors send me a weekly timesheet for approval. It includes the hours worked each day, the contracted rate, and the total amount. The contractor provides the hours, but the staffing agency actually sends the invoice.

Answer 3

This sounds a bit unusual. What is usual is for you to provide some record of the work you did each week, such as a short report, a timesheet or similar.

Writing an invoice usually only makes sense if you are self-employed and paid by the hour. If you have a regular employment contract with the staffing agency, there's nothing for you to bill - you get your pay every month according to your contract.

Since this is a slightly unusual request, just ask whoever told you to write an invoice. Ask what exactly should be in the invoice, who it should go to, and whether they have some sort of template. It's unlikely you are the first to ask; others before you probably had the same questions when they started.