Free Invoice Generator

How to use the invoice generator

Work down the form on the left and watch the invoice take shape on the right. Start with your own business name and address, then the client's. The invoice number begins at INV-0001; change it to whatever comes next in your sequence. The date defaults to today and the due date to 30 days later, which is the net 30 terms most clients expect. Change either with the date pickers.

Add a line for each thing you are charging for. Description, quantity and rate is all a line needs; the amount is worked out for you. Hours go in the quantity column with your hourly rate as the rate. A fixed-fee item is a quantity of 1. Use Add line item for more rows and the cross to remove one.

When it reads the way you want, click Download PDF. Your browser opens its print dialog; pick Save as PDF as the destination and you have a file to email. Only the invoice is in the PDF, not this page.

What goes on an invoice

An invoice is a request for payment, and it needs enough detail that the client can approve it without asking questions. The pieces are the same everywhere: who is billing, who is being billed, a unique invoice number, the date it was issued, the date payment is due, what was delivered with the price of each part, any discount or tax, the total, and how to pay. The generator has a field for each. The notes area at the bottom is where payment instructions go, such as bank details or a link to pay online, along with a line of thanks.

Worked example

Say you designed a landing page for a client and also spent time on a strategy call. The first line is Landing page design, quantity 1, rate 1,500. The second is Strategy call, quantity 2 (hours), rate 95. The subtotal is 1,690. The client negotiated 10 percent off, so you enter 10 with the discount type set to percent: 169 comes off and the taxable amount is 1,521. With an 8.25 percent sales tax the tax line is 125.48 and the total due is 1,646.48. All of that appears on the preview as you type.

Discounts and tax

The discount is taken off the subtotal first, and tax is charged on what is left. That is the order most tax authorities expect, because tax is due on what the client actually pays. The discount can be a percentage of the subtotal or a fixed amount. Leave both fields blank if they do not apply and the lines disappear from the invoice.

Whether you should add tax at all depends on where you and your client are and what you sell. If you are unsure, ask an accountant once and then use the same rate every time.

Common mistakes

• Reusing an invoice number. Every invoice needs a unique number in sequence. It is how you and the client refer to it, and how an accountant reconciles it.
• No due date. An invoice without a due date is a suggestion. Set one, and put the terms in the notes so there is no debate later.
• Vague descriptions. Work gets questioned. Homepage redesign, two rounds of revisions gets paid.
• No way to pay. Bank details, a payment link, or the accepted methods belong in the notes. Make the client's next step obvious.
• Forgetting the copy. Save the PDF somewhere you will find it. Your entries stay in this browser, but a PDF is the record.

Other free tools

If you bill by the hour, total the week with the timesheet calculator or a single day with the hours calculator before you fill in the quantity. Prefer a file you can edit offline? Download the invoice template in Word, Excel or PDF, the blank invoice template for handwriting, or the freelance invoice template with hourly and fixed-fee lines. When a client is slow to pay, our guide on handling a client who does not pay walks through what to do. Harpoon's built-in invoicing replaces all of this once you are ready to stop doing it by hand.