Contracts & Invoices, freelancing Options

[queen]

for the freelancers out there, how do you set up your contracts and invoices? do you have custom templates or just use quickbook/excel? do you use layman's terms or official sounding legal mumbo jumbo? do you hire a lawyer to look over and officialize the contract? for your invoices, do you describe every piece of "graphic" or "design" you've provided? do you include hours worked or charge by item? or do you ask for half before the final product and the rest after?

i've been curious with how other people go about as a freelancer. when working for companies, they usually just give me a timesheet since i ask to be paid per hour, but when i do projects for specific clients, i include descriptions of each "product" given and my hours spent.