How to Make an Invoice: What to Include, With a Free Template

To make an invoice, write your business details and your client's details at the top, add a unique invoice number, the issue date and the due date, list each product or service with its quantity and price, then add tax and the total due. The quickest way is a free tool such as ConvertLime's invoice generator: pick a template, type onto the invoice, and download a PDF in a few minutes, with no sign-up. This guide explains what to include on an invoice and how to make one step by step.

What to include on an invoice

Every invoice should have these parts. Leaving one out is the most common reason an invoice gets paid late.

Part	What to write	Why it matters
Your details	Business or full name, address, email, phone	Your client knows who to pay
Client details	Client name or company, address	Shows who owes the money
Invoice number	A unique number, e.g. INV-0001	Needed for your records and theirs
Issue date	The day you send it	Starts the payment clock
Due date	The exact date payment is due	Removes any doubt about timing
Line items	Each product or service, quantity, price	Shows what the client is paying for
Totals	Subtotal, discount, tax, total due	The amount to pay, clearly worked out
Payment details	Bank details, payment link or method	Makes it easy to pay you

Some countries ask for more, such as your VAT or GST number, or the client's tax number for business sales. If you are registered for tax, put your number under your business details.

How to make an invoice step by step

1. Open the invoice generator and pick a template. Classic is clean and traditional. Studio and Midnight have a large title and a cover image, Editorial uses an elegant serif type, and Bold puts the total up front.
2. Add your details. Click the From area and type your business name, address and contact details. Click Add logo to put your logo at the top.
3. Add your client. In Bill to, type the client's name and address.
4. Set the number and dates. The invoice starts at INV-0001. Change it to your own format if you already have one. The issue date is today and the due date is two weeks later; click either date to change it.
5. List what you sold. Type a description, quantity and price for each line, and click to add more lines. Each line amount and the subtotal update as you type.
6. Add tax, discount and shipping. Type a tax rate such as 20% VAT, a discount percentage, or a shipping charge. If the client already paid a deposit, enter it under Paid and the invoice shows the balance due.
7. Write the payment details. Use the notes and terms to say how to pay, for example your bank account or a payment link, and any late fee.
8. Download the PDF. Click Download PDF and attach it to an email to your client.

How to number your invoices

Every invoice needs a number that is unique and goes up in order. It helps you track who has paid, and many tax offices expect it. Simple formats work best:

• INV-0001, INV-0002, INV-0003 – a prefix and a counter.
• 2026-001, 2026-002 – the year and a counter, restarting each year.
• ACME-014 – a client code and a counter, if you bill a few clients a lot.

When you click New invoice in ConvertLime, the number goes up by one and keeps your prefix. Your details, logo, currency and tax rate carry over, so the next invoice takes seconds.

How to add tax or VAT to an invoice

Tax is worked out on the subtotal after any discount. For example, two days of work at $400 a day is $800. With a 10% discount the subtotal becomes $720, and 20% VAT on that adds $144, so the total due is $864.

Write the tax rate on the invoice, not only the amount, so your client can check it. If you are not registered for tax, leave the rate at zero.

Make your invoice look professional

A few small touches make an invoice look like it came from an established business:

• Use your logo. A logo with a transparent background looks best on a colored or dark template. If yours has a white box around it, use remove background to cut it out first.
• Keep the logo file light. A huge logo makes the PDF slow to open. Compress the image first if it is several MB.
• Pick one accent color that matches your brand and use it everywhere.
• Write clear line descriptions, such as "Website design – homepage and 3 pages" instead of "Work".

If your client also needs receipts or photos of delivered work, you can join them into one file with image to PDF and send it with the invoice.

Invoice generator, Word or Excel?

You can make an invoice in Word, Google Docs or Excel, but you have to build the layout, do the sums, and track invoice numbers yourself. A mistake in a formula means a wrong total.

An invoice generator does that work for you: totals, tax and numbering are always right, and you get a clean PDF every time. ConvertLime's is free, has no sign-up and no watermark, and keeps everything in your own browser, so your client list and prices are never uploaded anywhere.

When and how to send an invoice

Send the invoice as soon as the work is done or the goods are delivered; the sooner it goes out, the sooner you are paid. Attach the PDF to an email with a short message that gives the invoice number, the amount and the due date. Keep a copy of every invoice you send, and if the due date passes, send a polite reminder with the same invoice attached.