Guides
Invoicing guides
Plain-English guides to invoice requirements around the world. Written for freelancers and sole traders, paired with a free generator that helps prepare the document without claiming to certify it.
How to make an invoice, step by step
An invoice records what a customer owes for supplied goods or services. There is no single worldwide invoice format: required fields, tax wording, num...
What is a proforma invoice?
A proforma invoice is a proposed transaction set out in invoice form. It can support price approval, import arrangements, a letter of credit or an adv...
EU VAT invoice requirements
A full EU VAT invoice generally shows the issue date, a unique sequential number, both parties' names and addresses, the supplier's VAT number, a desc...
Freelance invoice template
A freelance invoice template is a reusable layout a solo freelancer - such as a writer, designer, developer, or other independent professional - uses...
Contractor invoice template
A contractor invoice is the document an independent contractor sends a client for work outside an employment relationship. This guide covers useful fi...
Consultant invoice template
A consultant invoice records advisory or professional services billed by time, retainer, milestone, or another agreed basis. This guide covers useful...
Commercial invoice requirements
A commercial invoice records a cross-border sale of goods and is one of the main documents customs may use to value and clear the shipment. The exact...
Graphic design invoice template
A graphic design invoice records the deliverables, billing basis, separately agreed costs, tax, and amount due for design work. This guide explains pr...
Photography invoice template
Photography work can combine a booking retainer, shoot fee, second photographer, editing, prints, albums, and a commercial usage licence. This templat...
Construction invoice template
A construction invoice bills work, materials, equipment, subcontracted scope, or another amount due under a building contract. This guide explains lin...
Cleaning invoice template
A cleaning invoice records the property, service date or period, work performed, pricing basis, and amount due. This guide covers per-visit, hourly, a...
Web development invoice template
A web development invoice is the document you send a client to bill for building or maintaining a website or web application. This guide covers common...
Catering invoice template
A catering invoice records the food, staffing, rentals, delivery, and other agreed charges billed for an event. This guide explains how to show quanti...
Trucking invoice template
A trucking invoice is the document a carrier or owner-operator sends to a broker or shipper for a completed load. This guide covers common freight-inv...
Landscaping invoice template
A landscaping invoice records maintenance, planting, design, installation, or other agreed work at a property. This guide covers per-visit, recurring,...
Plumbing invoice template
A plumbing invoice is the document you give a homeowner, landlord, or contractor for a repair, installation, or call-out. This guide covers call-out o...
Electrician invoice template
An electrician invoice records completed electrical work, the agreed labour basis, supplied parts, separately disclosed fees, and the amount due. This...
HVAC invoice template
An HVAC invoice is what a heating and cooling contractor sends a homeowner, property manager, or commercial client for an installation, repair, or mai...
Painting invoice template
A painting invoice records the property, completed scope or billable stage, agreed pricing basis, materials, approved changes, earlier payments, and a...
Auto repair invoice template
An auto repair invoice records the completed work, supplied parts and final price for a vehicle. The exact estimate, authorization, parts disclosure,...
Handyman invoice template
A handyman invoice records a repair or installation, the service location, agreed labour basis, supplied parts, separately disclosed fees, and amount...
Roofing invoice template
A roofing invoice is the document a contractor sends a homeowner, property manager, or main contractor for a repair, replacement, or new installation....
Lawn care invoice template
A lawn care invoice is the document a landscaper or mowing crew sends to a homeowner or property manager for a completed visit or season. This guide c...
Bookkeeping invoice template
A bookkeeping invoice records the services billed for a stated period, such as transaction entry, account reconciliation, payroll support, reporting,...
Tutoring invoice template
A tutoring invoice records lessons or another agreed education service billed to a student, parent, school, platform, or other payer. This guide cover...
Personal trainer invoice template
A personal trainer invoice is the document you send a client for coaching, whether that is a session, package, online program, or monthly retainer. Th...
Pest control invoice template
A pest control invoice is the document a pest management company sends to a homeowner, landlord, or property manager for an inspection, treatment, or...
Invoice template for Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word can produce a polished invoice from a Microsoft template or a document you build yourself. Word tables can perform basic formulas, but...
Invoice template for Canva: when a designed invoice matters
Canva offers editable invoice designs, PDF export and Canva Sheets with formulas. A conventional invoice template is still a design file, however, not...
Invoice template for Google Docs
To make an invoice in Google Docs, start with a blank document or a template you have verified, lay out the parties, lines, totals and terms, then dow...
Invoice template for Excel and Google Sheets
Excel or Google Sheets can calculate an invoice, but the formulas, rounding, numbering and record controls are yours to design. This guide shows a sim...
Receipt template: what a receipt is and how to make one free
A receipt records money received for a specific transaction. It can confirm full or partial payment, while an invoice states an amount billed. The two...
Invoicing in Germany
A German Rechnung needs the section 14 UStG particulars and any details required by the transaction. Section 19 UStG provides a small-business VAT exe...
Invoicing in France: how to create a facture
A French invoice, or facture, must carry general details plus any mentions that apply to the seller, customer and transaction. These cover the parties...
Invoicing in Spain: how to make a factura
A Spanish factura needs prescribed party, numbering, transaction and tax details. IVA depends on the supply, while IRPF withholding appears only for i...
How to choose the best free invoice generator
The right free invoice generator lets you finish the document without an unexpected invoice cap, watermark, card requirement or PDF paywall. Tax field...
What is an online invoice generator?
An online invoice generator is a browser-based tool that turns entered party, line, tax and payment details into an invoice document. Some tools creat...
What to include on an invoice
A useful invoice identifies the parties, the document and supply dates, what was billed, the currency, totals, terms and a safe way to pay. Tax, compa...
How to write an invoice
An invoice records a supply and requests or documents payment. This guide covers the fields most business invoices use, then shows how to identify the...
How to invoice as a freelancer
To invoice as a freelancer, follow the timing agreed with the client and send a clearly labelled document that identifies the parties, the work, the a...
Do freelancers need to charge VAT?
Whether a freelancer charges VAT depends on the rules where the supply is taxed, the freelancer’s registration or small-business scheme, and whether t...
UK VAT invoice requirements
A full UK VAT invoice identifies the supplier, customer and supply, uses a unique sequential number, and shows the net values, VAT rates and total VAT...
Invoice payment terms explained
Invoice payment terms state when and how a customer should pay. "Net 30" commonly means the full amount is due 30 days after an agreed starting date,...
How to charge late payment fees on overdue invoices
A contract or statute may allow interest, recovery costs or another charge after a payment becomes overdue. The right, rate, disclosure, tax treatment...
Invoice number format: how to number invoices
An invoice number identifies one invoice in your records. Many tax systems require uniqueness, and some, including EU VAT and UK VAT rules, require a...
Invoice vs receipt: what is the difference?
An invoice records a supply and commonly requests payment, while a receipt acknowledges that payment was received. They can appear at different stages...
Purchase order vs invoice
A purchase order (PO) is usually the buyer's documented order. An invoice is usually the seller's bill for goods or services supplied or otherwise due...
How to send an invoice
Send an invoice through the channel the client accepts. That may be a PDF attached to a short email, an upload to a supplier portal, or a structured e...
Invoicing as a 1099 contractor
A US independent contractor commonly invoices a business client outside payroll. The payer generally does not withhold payroll taxes, but backup withh...
A free alternative to Wave for invoicing
FreeBillGen is a focused invoice generator with a free core, configurable VAT and 80 options for invoice labels. Wave offers accounting and invoicing...
A free alternative to Zoho Invoice
FreeBillGen and Zoho Invoice both offer free invoicing, but their scope differs. FreeBillGen is a focused hosted generator with unlimited invoices and...
Free alternative to QuickBooks
FreeBillGen offers unlimited invoice documents in its free core. QuickBooks now publishes a limited $0 plan in the United States alongside paid accoun...
Free alternative to Invoice Ninja
FreeBillGen is a hosted alternative for people who want to create invoice documents without running a server. Invoice Ninja publishes source-available...
A free alternative to FreshBooks for invoicing
FreeBillGen is a focused invoice generator with a free core, no client cap and 80 options for invoice labels. FreshBooks is a paid cloud accounting an...
A free alternative to Bonsai for invoicing
FreeBillGen is a focused invoice generator with a free core and 80 options for invoice labels. Bonsai is a paid suite that combines proposals, contrac...
A free alternative to Stripe Invoicing
FreeBillGen is a focused invoice generator that does not charge per invoice or process client payments. Stripe Invoicing combines hosted invoices with...
Best free invoicing software (2026)
Free invoicing products use different models: some limit clients, some charge when an invoice is paid, some connect to a wider suite, and some expect...
How to invoice in the United States
The United States has no federal VAT or single national sales tax. General invoice content, sales-tax registration, sourcing and exemptions depend on...
How to invoice in Canada
The sales tax on a Canadian invoice depends on the type of supply, the applicable place-of-supply rules and the customer. A taxable supply may carry G...
How to invoice in Australia
Australian businesses use either a regular invoice or a tax invoice. If you are registered for GST and make a taxable sale, a valid tax invoice gives...
How to invoice in India
A registered supplier making a taxable supply under India's GST regime uses a tax invoice with prescribed identifiers, classifications, values and tax...
How to invoice in the UK
A UK invoice normally identifies the supplier and customer, describes the goods or services, records the supply and invoice dates, and shows the amoun...
Invoicing in the Netherlands
A Dutch factuur needs the general invoice fields plus any details required by the VAT treatment, which is called BTW in the Netherlands. This guide ex...
Invoicing in Italy
Most invoices between parties established in Italy must be created as structured XML and sent through the tax authority's Sistema di Interscambio (SdI...
How to invoice in Poland
A Polish VAT invoice needs the prescribed identifiers, dates, transaction details, values and VAT treatment. Covered invoices now also use KSeF under...
Invoicing in Brazil
Brazilian taxable transactions commonly require an official electronic fiscal document, not just a PDF designed by the seller. Goods generally use NF-...
Invoicing in Mexico
A Mexican fiscal invoice is a CFDI (Comprobante Fiscal Digital por Internet), currently using version 4.0. The structured document is digitally sealed...
Invoicing glossary
An invoicing glossary is a reference that defines the words you meet on invoices, in tax rules and in cross-border trade, in plain language. This guid...
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