How to make an invoice: a plain guide for small businesses

How to make an invoice in five steps

1. Say who is billing whom. Put your business name, address and a way to reach you at the top, then the name and address of the client. A logo is nice but not needed.
2. Number it and date it. Give the invoice a number nobody else will repeat, the date you issue it, and the date payment is due. If you agreed on terms such as net 30, write them out.
3. List what you did or sold. One line for each job or product, with a plain description, a quantity and a price. Write the description so the client can match it to what they asked for.
4. Add the extras. Add any discount, sales tax, shipping and deposit already received, then check that the total and the amount due are what you expect.
5. Say how to pay and send it. Add payment instructions in words, save the PDF, and send it with a short message. Keep a copy for your own records.

What to put on an invoice

The IRS says the law does not require a particular kind of record, and that the invoices you issue count as support for the income you report. So there is no single required format. In practice, a good invoice answers the questions your client will have when it lands in their inbox: who is this from, what is it for, how much, and by when.

• Who is selling: business name, address, email or phone, and a tax ID or permit number if you have one.
• Who is buying: the client's name, and an address or email if you have it.
• An invoice number that is unique, so you and your client can both refer to it.
• The issue date and the due date, or the payment terms such as due on receipt or net 30.
• Itemized lines: a short description, a quantity, a unit price and the amount for each line.
• The subtotal, any discount, sales tax shown as its own line, shipping, and the total.
• Any deposit or payment already received, and the amount still due.
• How to pay, written in words, and any notes or terms you want the client to see, such as a late-fee policy.

Only the client name is required by the generator. Fill in as much of the rest as your client needs. A one-line job for a neighbour needs less than a monthly bill for a company with a purchasing department, which may also want a purchase order number on the page.

Invoice, estimate or receipt: which one do you need?

The three documents look alike but do different jobs. Using the right one avoids confusion and, sometimes, disputes.

A common flow is estimate first, invoice when the work is done, and a receipt when the money arrives. For small jobs paid on the spot, a receipt alone is enough.

Sales tax on an invoice

Sales tax rules are set by each state, not by the IRS, and they change. This section is a short, general note based on Texas Comptroller pages. It is not tax or legal advice. Check the current rules with the Comptroller or a tax professional before you rely on any of it.

In Texas the state sales tax rate is 6.25 percent. Cities, counties and special districts can add up to 2 percentage points, so the combined rate can reach 8.25 percent, and the rate depends on where the sale is made or delivered. The Comptroller provides a rate locator you can search by address.

The Comptroller says a Texas seller should generally show the sales tax amount separately on the invoice or receipt, or give the customer a written statement that tax is included in the price. That is why the generator lists each tax on its own line, and has a switch for prices that already include tax.

Not everything is taxable. Many services are taxable in Texas and some are only partly taxable, so the generator lets you mark each line taxable or not, and it works the tax out on the taxable lines only. If you bundle taxable and non-taxable items into one lump sum, the Comptroller's guidance treats the whole sum as taxable unless the non-taxable items are stated separately, so itemising helps.

Some buyers, such as nonprofits and government bodies, are tax-exempt and give the seller an exemption certificate. You are not required to accept one, but if you do, keep it on file and note on the invoice that the customer is exempt.

The tax rate box is empty by default. Nothing is pre-filled, because the right rate depends on your situation. Type your rate, or several rates if you have a state tax and a local one, and the tool does the arithmetic.

Invoice numbers and payment terms

A numbering pattern keeps your invoices in order. A common one is a short prefix, the year and a running count, such as INV-2026-0001. The generator builds that for you and, if you turn on Remember on this device, adds one after each download. If you would rather number your own way, type any number you like.

Payment terms say when you expect to be paid. Due on receipt means right away. Net 15 means within 15 days of the invoice date, net 30 within 30 days, and so on. Shorter terms mean faster cash but can put off larger clients, who often have their own payment cycles. Whatever you choose, agree it before the work starts and write it on the invoice.

If you charge a late fee, say so in the terms before you need it, for example a flat amount or a percentage per month after the due date. Check what your state allows. The generator's terms box is free text, so it can hold whatever wording you and your client agreed to; it does not suggest a fee.

English, Spanish or both on one invoice

Many small businesses serve clients who read English, Spanish or both. The generator lets you choose the language of the document separately from the language of the page, so a Spanish-speaking owner can bill an English-speaking client, and the other way round.

In bilingual mode every label appears in both languages, English first and Spanish smaller underneath, while the description lines you type stay exactly as you wrote them. The Spanish labels were written for US business use and are awaiting a native-speaker review; if one reads oddly for your region, the descriptions and notes are free text you can write yourself.

Spanish accents, the inverted question and exclamation marks and the euro sign all print correctly. If you type a character the standard PDF font cannot draw, such as a letter from another alphabet, the generator switches to an embedded open-license font for that document so nothing turns into a box.

Your data and privacy

The invoice generator runs in your browser. What you type is not uploaded to our servers, and the generator page has no ads and no third-party scripts. This guide page is different: it may carry ads, because pages like it pay for the free tools. Any ads stay on this page and never appear on the generator page.

By default nothing is saved. A draft is kept in the open tab so a refresh does not lose your work, and it vanishes when the tab closes. The Remember on this device switch stores your details in your browser until you press Clear saved data. Leave it off on a shared or public computer, because anyone who uses that browser later could read what was saved.

The tool has no fields for card or bank numbers and takes no payments. If you paste something that looks like a card number into a notes box it will warn you. You can also save a backup file of your invoice and open it again later. The backup is plain text, so keep it somewhere private.

Tips for getting paid sooner

Send the invoice the same day the work is finished, while the job is fresh. Put the due date in plain sight and the amount due in the biggest type on the page. Make paying easy: say exactly how, whether that is a check payable to a name, a bank transfer to details you give by phone, or a payment link you send separately.

Keep your descriptions specific. A line such as "Install shelving in front office" is easier to approve than "Labor". If a client needs a purchase order number, put it on the invoice or it may sit in a queue. Offer a modest deposit on larger jobs and show it on the invoice so the balance is clear.

If an invoice goes past due, a short, friendly reminder with the invoice attached usually works. Keep every message polite and factual. If an invoice stays unpaid for weeks, check your local rules and consider asking for advice from a professional.

Sources and further reading

• IRS: What kind of records should I keep
• Texas Comptroller: Sales and use tax, including the rate locator
• Texas Comptroller: Collecting sales tax, frequently asked questions
• Texas Comptroller: Exemption certificates

Frequently asked questions