Learning how to make an invoice properly not only helps you get paid on time, but it also helps you keep accurate records of all your financial transactions.
If you’ve recently started a new business and aren’t sure how to create an invoice from scratch, this post will help you get started with invoicing on the right foot.
In this article, we’ll introduce you to:
We've also added some best practices and tips throughout the article to help you create a professional invoice for your own business.
If you want to skip the tutorial and start creating an invoice, sign up for our free invoice maker (with templates) and get started right away.
Before we get into the step-by-step guide of creating an invoice, it’s important to know the basic elements that make up an invoice.
We’ve created this infographic to help you visually understand these essential elements.
Read a detailed explanation of each element and when to add it to your invoice throughout our step-by-step tutorial below.
If this is your first time creating an invoice, it’s best to start with a professional invoice template.
An invoice template comes with pre-made headers, sections, formatting and even placeholder content. So, all you need to do is replace the existing text with your own information.
Create professional invoices online quickly and easily by getting started with one of Visme’s ready-made templates. Download as an image or PDF file, share it directly with your client and more. Find an invoice template that looks great and gets you paid on time.
Using an invoice template can save you valuable time and effort. You don’t need to worry about designing a layout from scratch, or think about where to place each section. Instead, you can invest that time in more important things — like growing your business.
Plus, if your invoice template comes with placeholder content, you’re less likely to miss any details, like adding an invoice ID or your business address.
Pro-tip: If you’re using an invoice maker like Visme, you can customize the design of your invoice template to match your company’s branding. Upload your logo, brand fonts and colors, and even save your invoice as a custom template to use later.
The next step of invoicing is to address the two basic parts of your invoice:
Let’s take a look at each one in detail.
An invoice ID or invoice number is a unique identification number that helps you keep track of your invoices. This usually goes at the top of your invoice, like this:
You can choose to go with an increasing numbering system to mark your invoices, such as 0001, 0002, 0003 and so on. Or, you can use a combination of numbers and letters, such as A0021, B4022, H2213 and so on.
Using letters in your unique invoice number is helpful if you have multiple clients as you can simply assign a letter to each individual client. This makes it easier to keep track of and distinguish your invoices.
For example, all invoice IDs starting with the letter A are those billed to Client A, and all invoice IDs starting with the letter B are those billed to Client B.
Business owners can also use number-letter combos to distinguish between invoice types. For example, invoices with the letter T could indicate tax invoices, and invoices with the letter S could denote standard invoices.
Another basic element to add to your invoices is company details.
This includes the name, address and contact information (phone numbers and email addresses) of both your own business and your client’s.
Make sure you also include the name of the contact person you’re sending the invoice to. You can add this information at top or bottom of your invoice, depending on your design.
Double-check all of this information before finalizing your invoice — especially the details of your client. Any incorrect detail can lead to delays in payment, such as if your invoice is delivered to the wrong address.
Once you’ve added the basic details to your invoice, it’s time to add information about the products or services provided to your client.
The best way to list the items sold in your invoice is in the form of a table. This helps you present the information in an organized way so your client is less likely to miss any detail.
Here’s an example of an itemized table in an invoice.
In your table, you may include some or all of the details below:
The next step to creating your invoice is to add the total amount due.
Mentioning this amount at the end of your itemized list of products and services makes it easier for clients to quickly see how much they’re expected to pay in total and for what.
You may also want to highlight this number by using a bold or different-colored font. If your client is too busy to read the entire breakdown of costs, they can just look at the total amount due and make the payment.
Here’s an example of an invoice design that uses a bold font for the grand total.
In many cases, all you have to do is to add up the individual costs of the items, and mention the total sum at the end.
But sometimes, you may need to take any discounts, prepayments and taxes into consideration before calculating the total amount.
In that case, you can simply add another row after the subtotal, and mention any additions or subtractions there.
Then, you can calculate the total amount and display it at the end, like this:
Any invoice is incomplete without dates.
There are three types of dates you can add to your invoice, depending on the nature of your business, your understanding with the client and your personal preferences:
Adding exact dates for the above, especially the invoice due date, can help prevent any delays in payment. These dates are also useful for keeping an accurate record of all your invoices, including when they were sent, and when you provided the products or services.
Lastly, you should always mention any pre-decided payment terms between you and your client. This includes the payment methods to be used, as well as any discounts or penalties that may be applicable on the invoice amount.
When it comes to invoice payment methods, we recommend you add more than one method to make it easier for clients to pay you on time.
Here are some payment methods you may want to offer:
To incentivize your clients to pay you on time, you may also want to offer them discounts on early payments. In a similar vein, you can charge them a penalty for missing the due date.
Whatever your payment terms are, make sure you mention them in your invoice in a dedicated section at the bottom to avoid any misunderstandings and disputes in the future.
Anyone can whip up a plain-looking invoice in Microsoft Word or Excel, but if you want to go the extra mile and turn your invoice into a marketing tool, you need to get creative.
A great-looking invoice can make your business look professional. Better yet, if you add your company logo and brand colors to it, it can help you generate brand awareness and reinforce your brand identity in the minds of your clients.
If you’re using Visme to make your invoice, you can easily customize the template design so it’s aligned with your brand.
Browse through dozens of pre-made invoice templates, customize text, colors, fonts, tables and everything else, upload your logo, brand colors and fonts, and more.
Another great idea to enhance your invoice design is to add a border.
Borders can help frame your invoice and make it look clean and professional. This doesn’t need to be a fancy border — the invoice template above uses a simple duo-tone border to stand out.
With Visme, you can also save your unique invoice design as a custom template. That means if you have multiple clients or bill one client regularly, you can simply go in and edit your custom template to save time.
Finally, it’s time to download your invoice and share it with your client.
There are several ways to share your invoice. If you prefer dealing with hard copies, you can save your PDF invoice and get it printed.
Or, you can share the file via email with your client if you find soft copies easier to work with.
Visme lets you save your invoice in various formats, including PNG, JPG and PDF. You can also skip the downloading process and share your invoice directly with a link.
That’s it. You’re ready to create your invoice and start billing your clients.
If you want to accelerate the process of invoicing, we’ve put together a bunch of invoice templates for you in the next section.
If you’re creating an online invoice, you can make it interactive by adding links to it. This is not just innovative, but it’s also a great way to prompt clients to pay you on time.
For example, you can add a “Make Payment” button to your invoice, and link it to PayPal or any other payment page to make it easier for clients to pay on the spot.
If you’re making your invoice in Visme, you can easily make your invoices interactive by adding links to various elements.
Share your interactive invoice online with a link, or download it in HTML5 format (offline web page) to preserve interactivity. You can also add hover effects, pop-ups, animations and more to make an extra-creative invoice.
Creating invoices from scratch can be a chore, especially if you’re short on time.
Thankfully, there are plenty of sample invoice templates available online to help you skip the hassle and get started quickly.
We’ve handpicked 11 invoice templates for various use cases below.
Each template is fully customizable in Visme, and comes built-in with placeholder content so you don’t miss any important details like company addresses and payment terms.
This simple invoice template is free to use, and perfect for all kinds of businesses — from retail and ecommerce to contractors, consultants and manufacturing companies.
The big, centralized header at the top draws focus to your company name or logo, and the total amount due at the end also has a space for you to add any taxes, discounts or surcharges.
You can easily change the color scheme of this free invoice template by choosing from one of our one-click color themes. Or, change the color of each element separately.
This clean and professional invoice template is designed with service businesses in mind, but you can use it for any other purpose.
The solid-colored border frames the invoice to make the information in the center stand out and look organized. You can change the color of the border to your primary brand color, and add your own business logo at the top.
This invoice template is designed for contractors, home repair businesses and any company operating in the construction, remodeling or real estate industry.
However, you can easily use it for any other purpose or business by editing the text, swapping the logo for your own, changing the color scheme and fonts, and dragging and dropping the elements as needed.
This professional invoicing template is made especially for consultants, accountants and other business services, but it can easily be used for any other purpose.
The yellow header and total amount due is designed to stand out against the gray color scheme, but if you want to change the colors to fit your brand, you can quickly do so in Visme’s invoice generator.
This invoice template is a great fit for freelancers, small businesses and consultants. It’s simple, straightforward and professional, and covers all the necessary details.
The big header at the top highlights your business name, and the payment terms section at the bottom is an excellent place to add your account information, payment methods, links, terms and conditions, and other details.
If you’re looking for an invoice template that’s as creative as your services, this artistic, colorful invoice template is just what you need.
This template is ideal for graphic design services, branding services and other creative businesses, but you can also use it for any other purpose as long as it’s aligned with your brand identity.
This ecommerce invoice template is ideal for retailers, online stores and businesses in the fashion industry.
The highlight of this invoice design is that it allows you to add images of your products to pinpoint the exact items sold.
However, if you want to use this template for any other purpose, such as for services and consulting, you can do so by customizing the template in Visme’s invoice editor.
This invoice template is ideal for modern accounting businesses and other corporate services that want to stand out with a non-boring, professional invoice design.
Unlike traditional invoices, this template is designed with an eye-catching side bar that holds important information like invoice number, date and company details.
Create a branded invoice to bill clients for your photography services using this specialized invoice template.
This invoice template is unique and designed especially for photographers and videographers — it comes with a large image header, covers all the important details a photographer needs, and has a warm and friendly vibe.
Modify this invoice with your own details and brand colors, and share it online, send off in an email or download in high-quality PDF format with bleed marks for printing purposes.
This green invoice template is a perfect fit for organic, food, environmental and gardening businesses with its nature-inspired design.
However, you can easily modify it with your own colors and fonts for your own business. For example, you might want to use it for your vegan restaurant.
This invoice template is simple and professional, with a clean design made with plenty of white space that allows your content to breathe.
Because of its simplicity, this invoice template is incredibly versatile. It’s crafted for a cargo company, but can easily be customized for any other business or industry.
There’s even a space for you to add your digital signature. If you’d prefer a handwritten signature, you can delete the placeholder signature in Visme’s invoice editor, and leave the space blank before downloading and printing.
Creating an invoice is easy if you know what elements to add and where.
However, if you don’t have the time to create an invoice from scratch, you can use Visme’s invoicing software that comes with pre-made invoice templates to save hours of work.
Simply choose a template, replace the placeholder content with your own, customize the colors and design with a few clicks, and you’re good to go.
