Blank Invoice Template

When a blank invoice is the right tool

Sometimes you need an invoice now, on paper, with nothing pre-filled to delete. A trade job finished at a customer's house. A market stall. A one-off favour for a neighbour who insists on paying properly. A client who wants something they can sign. The blank invoice template is for those moments: the headings and boxes are in place, the five line rows are empty, and there are no sample entries or notes to clear out first.

It comes in three files. The PDF prints cleanly on plain paper for handwriting. The Word file is for typing into on a laptop, and you can change the wording or add a logo. The Excel file has formulas, so the amounts, subtotal, discount, tax and total add themselves up as you type. If you would rather not download anything, the builder on this page gives you the same blank layout in your browser and saves a PDF.

How to fill in a blank invoice

• Your details top left: business or trading name, address, email, phone. Add a logo if you have one.
• Invoice number top right. Use a sequence that never repeats: 0001, 0002, and so on. If this is your first invoice ever, start at 0001 and keep a note of the last number used.
• Dates. The date you issue it and the date payment is due. If you expect payment on the spot, write due on receipt.
• Bill to. The customer's name and address, exactly as they would want it on a receipt.
• Lines. One row per item or task, with a clear description, quantity, rate and amount. Hours go in the quantity column with your hourly rate as the rate. A fixed price is a quantity of 1.
• Totals. Add the lines for the subtotal, take off any discount, add tax on what is left, and write the total due. The Excel file and the online builder do this for you.
• Notes. How to pay, and the terms in one line. Bank details, a payment link, or cash and card accepted.

What every invoice must include

Whatever the format, an invoice needs the word Invoice on it, a unique number, the date, your name and contact details, the customer's name, a description of what was supplied, the amount for each item, any tax, the total, and how and when to pay. Some countries add requirements such as a tax registration number or a sequential numbering rule. If you are registered for sales tax or VAT, put the registration number in the notes and show the tax as its own line.

Keep a copy

A handwritten invoice is a record as much as a request. Fill in two copies, or photograph the one you hand over before it leaves your hands. When it is paid, write paid and the date on your copy. At the end of the year those copies are your sales record, and the one thing a blank template cannot do is add them up for you.

Other templates and tools

If you would like sample lines to copy from, the invoice template has them. Freelancers billing hours and fixed fees should use the freelance invoice template. To make a single invoice in your browser with the totals calculated, use the free invoice generator. When a customer does not pay, our guide to getting a client to pay past-due invoices covers what to do next. Harpoon's invoicing keeps every invoice, payment and reminder in one place once you are ready.