Invoicing guides
Eight guides to invoicing, written for the person doing it rather than for a search engine: what an invoice must contain, how to write one that is not sent back, how to send it so it gets paid, and what to check before you pay one.
They are written as one set rather than eight separate articles. What an invoice is comes first, then how to write one and how to send it so it gets paid; invoice numbers and the difference between an invoice and a receipt cover the two things that most often get an invoice sent back. Proforma and commercial invoices are the documents people meet when a sale crosses a border or comes before the work. Each links to the others where it helps, so you can start anywhere.
How to invoice as a freelancer
Invoicing without a company behind you changes a few specific things: whose name goes on it, what you leave off, and what to agree before the first one.
What is an invoice?
An invoice is a dated request for payment — not a quote, not a receipt. The eight things every invoice must carry, and the documents it gets confused with.How to write an invoice
Every field an invoice needs, in the order it should appear — plus the four mistakes that get one rejected by a client's accounts department.
How to send an invoice
Who to address it to, what to write in the email, why PDF and not Word, and what to send when nothing comes back. Includes the wording, ready to copy.
Invoice numbers
Every invoice needs a unique number in sequence with no gaps — in most countries that's law, not habit. Three schemes that work, and what breaks.
Invoice vs receipt
An invoice asks for money; a receipt proves it arrived. Most sales need an invoice and a receipt — which to issue, when, and what each one has to say.
What is a proforma invoice?
A proforma invoice looks like a bill but isn't one — it demands nothing and never enters your accounts. When to send one, and what has to follow it.
What is a commercial invoice?
The customs document that travels with goods across a border: every field it must carry, what the Incoterm decides, and what gets a shipment held.
How to pay an invoice
Check it is genuine, check it is right, and use the invoice number as the reference. What to do when it is wrong, disputed, or you cannot pay on time.
Invoice tools, compared
Choosing a tool rather than learning the document? The comparisons cover what each invoice generator actually costs.
Word and Excel invoice templates
Word cannot add up. Excel can, and quietly rounds what it shows while keeping what it stores. Which to use, and the mistakes each one makes for you.Making an invoice in Canva
Canva makes the best-looking invoice on this site and does not know what an invoice is. What that costs, and when the trade is worth making anyway.Google Docs invoice template
Google Docs makes a good invoice and cannot add up, cannot number them, and will let you send the wrong copy. How to build one that survives all three.Invoice generators that need no sign-up
Several generators promise no sign-up and ask for an account at the download button. Which ones let you finish, and what you give up by not registering.Zoho, Invoice Ninja and Invoice2go alternatives
Three tools that meter three different things: clients, server hosting, and invoices per year. Which limit you are about to hit, and what to move to.Invoicing software for freelancers
Freelancers rarely struggle to make an invoice. They struggle to get paid for it. Which features change that, which are sold instead, and what each tool costs.FreshBooks alternatives
FreshBooks prices by how many clients you have, not how much you invoice — and archived ones still count. What that means, and what to use instead.QuickBooks alternatives
Most people wanting a QuickBooks alternative do not need accounting software — they need to send invoices. How to tell which you are, and what to use.The best invoice generators, compared
Ten invoice generators compared on the thing none of them advertise: what the free tier actually costs you. Watermarks, caps, and who can really email a client.
Where to start
- You have never sent one
- Begin with what an invoice is — the eight things it has to carry, and the three documents it gets confused with. Then how to write one, field by field, in the order they appear.
- You are sending one today
- How to send an invoice is the practical one: who to address it to, what to write in the email, and four escalating reminders to use when nothing comes back. Invoice numbers covers the field that gets invoices rejected most often.
- Somebody has sent you one
- How to pay an invoice is written from your side — how to check it is genuine before you pay it, what to use as the payment reference, and what to say when the amount is wrong or you cannot pay on time.
- Goods are crossing a border, or money is moving first
- A commercial invoice is the customs document that travels with physical goods. A proforma invoice is the one you send before the sale is agreed — it looks like a bill and is not one, and treating it as one causes real accounting trouble.