A security services invoice bills guard hours by post and shift, listing each assignment with dates, hours, and the contracted hourly rate. Typical U.S. billing rates run $25–$50 per hour for unarmed guards and $35–$75 for armed guards — roughly 1.5–1.8× the guard's wage to cover insurance, licensing, and supervision. Invoices should carry the company's security license number and bill weekly or monthly against the service agreement.
Security Invoice Template
Reviewed by the Agiled editorial teamUpdated June 2026
Security billing is schedule math: posts, shifts, and hours that have to reconcile against the client's own sign-in logs. This template structures the invoice the way contracts are audited — one line per post and period with hours and the contracted rate, holiday and overtime differentials shown separately, and your license details printed where procurement expects them. Download it in PDF, Word, Excel, Google Docs, or Google Sheets, or generate a pre-filled version below.
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Your Company Name
123 Business St, City, State 12345
billing@yourcompany.com
INVOICE
INV-0001
Bill to
Client Company
Due
Net 30
| Description | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Security guard service (8 hours) | 4 | $200.00 | $800.00 |
| Equipment rental | 1 | $300.00 | $300.00 |
| Event security planning | 1 | $250.00 | $250.00 |
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Create online- Unarmed guard
- $25 – $50/hour billed (markup over wage covers insurance and supervision)
- Armed guard
- $35 – $75/hour billed
- Billing cycle
- Weekly or monthly, Net 15–30, against the service agreement
- License number
- On every invoice — most states require it on business documents
What to include on a security invoice
Post and site identification
"Main gate — Riverside Distribution Center" per line. Multi-site contracts are reconciled post by post; one blended line can't be audited.
Service period and hours per line
Date range, scheduled hours, and actual hours billed. Where your logs and the client's sign-in sheets disagree, the line-level detail is what gets you paid for the hours that match.
Rate by guard classification
Unarmed, armed, supervisor, K9 — each classification at its contracted rate. Mixing classifications under one rate violates most service agreements.
Overtime and holiday differentials
Billed at the contracted multiplier (commonly 1.5×) on separate lines with the triggering dates named. Unexplained premium hours are the first thing AP flags.
Your security license number
State private-security license (PPO/B-license or equivalent) printed on the invoice. Many corporate and government clients can't process payment to an unlicensed-looking vendor.
Reference to the service agreement
Contract or PO number. Security is recurring contract work — every invoice should declare which agreement and rate schedule it bills under.
Incident or special-coverage charges
Emergency call-outs, event coverage, or extra posts added mid-period get their own clearly labeled lines with authorization references (who requested, when).
Typical security billing rates (U.S., 2026)
| Service | Typical billed rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Unarmed guard (standing post) | $25 – $50/hour | Region and site risk drive the spread |
| Armed guard | $35 – $75/hour | Insurance and licensing premium |
| Site supervisor | $40 – $80/hour | |
| Event security (per guard) | $30 – $60/hour, 4-hour minimum | Short engagements carry minimums |
| Mobile patrol (per visit) | $15 – $40 per pass | Or monthly route pricing |
| Emergency call-out | 1.5× – 2× standard rate | Plus response minimum |
Billed rates run roughly 1.5–1.8× guard wages to cover liability insurance, training, licensing, scheduling, and supervision. Government contracts may be subject to prevailing-wage requirements that set floors.
How security billing actually works
Recurring contract coverage: the weekly/monthly cycle
Standing contracts bill on a fixed cycle — weekly for staffing-heavy sites, monthly for smaller ones — with one line per post per period. Attach or reference the shift detail report; AP departments that can tie invoice lines to sign-in logs pay without queries, and queries are where security invoices go to die for 45 days.
Event security: quote, minimums, same-week billing
Events bill per guard-hour with a 4-hour minimum per guard, quoted up front and invoiced immediately after the event while headcounts are fresh. New event clients should prepay or pay a deposit — one-off events have no relationship to protect a Net 30 promise.
Mid-contract additions and emergency coverage
Extra posts, strike coverage, or emergency call-outs get invoiced on the next cycle as separate labeled lines with the authorizing contact and date ('additional post per J. Alvarez email, June 3–10'). Unauthorized-looking additions are the most disputed line type in security billing — the authorization reference is the fix.
Invoicing mistakes that cost security professionals money
Hours that don't reconcile to the site logs
If the client's sign-in sheet shows 158 hours and your invoice shows 164 with no detail, the whole invoice waits while six hours get argued. Bill from your verified shift reports, line by post, and flag known variances proactively on the invoice.
Blending overtime into the base rate
Quietly averaging holiday premiums across regular hours makes your base rate look inflated and breaches rate-schedule contracts. Differentials go on their own lines at the contracted multiplier.
Missing license and insurance references
Corporate procurement and government clients validate vendor compliance at payment time. License number on the invoice and current COI on file prevent the 'pending vendor compliance review' hold.
Letting receivables age on a labor business
You pay guards weekly; a client on day 50 of Net 30 is financing their security with your payroll. Enforce the day-20 reminder, charge contracted late fees, and treat two late cycles as a re-negotiation trigger — security margins can't absorb 60-day money.
How to use this template
- 01
Download the template in your preferred format, or generate a pre-filled version with the download studio above.
- 02
Add your company details with your state security license number, and the client's AP contact and PO number.
- 03
Add one line per post per period: site, dates, hours, classification, and contracted rate.
- 04
Add overtime, holiday, and call-out lines separately at the contracted multipliers with authorization references.
- 05
Reference the service agreement and attach the shift detail report.
- 06
Set terms (Net 15–30 per contract), send to AP, and follow up before the cycle closes.
Skip this template if…
- Alarm and camera installation — that's a systems-integration invoice with equipment, labor, and monitoring subscription lines.
- Private investigation work — PI billing runs on hourly investigation time plus expenses, under different licensing.
FAQs
How much do security companies charge per hour?
Typical U.S. billed rates are $25–$50 per hour for unarmed guards and $35–$75 for armed guards, with supervisors and specialized coverage higher. The billed rate is usually 1.5–1.8× the guard's wage, covering liability insurance, licensing, training, and supervision.
What should a security services invoice include?
Your company details with state license number, the client's PO and contract reference, one line per post per period showing site, dates, hours, guard classification, and rate, separate lines for overtime and holiday differentials, any authorized additional coverage, and the payment terms from the service agreement.
How often do security companies invoice?
Weekly or bi-weekly for large staffed contracts (matching payroll exposure) and monthly for smaller sites, on Net 15–30 terms. Event work is invoiced immediately after the event, and new event clients typically prepay.
How is security overtime billed to clients?
At the multiplier in the service agreement — commonly 1.5× the contract rate for over-40-hour weeks and recognized holidays — on separate invoice lines naming the dates. The client pays contracted differentials, not your internal payroll obligations, so the agreement's rate schedule is what governs.
Why does the guard company's license number belong on the invoice?
Private security is a licensed industry in nearly every state, and many clients — especially government and corporate procurement — verify vendor licensing before releasing payment. Printing the license number (and keeping a current certificate of insurance on file) removes a standard payment hold.
Should event security be paid in advance?
For one-off and first-time event clients, yes — full prepayment or a 50% deposit with the balance due before the event. Recurring corporate event clients can move to invoice terms once they have payment history.
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