Invoice format: what goes on an invoice, field by field

What a standard invoice contains

Most invoices list the same parts, in the same order, whatever the country or trade:

• Header. Your business name and logo, and the word "Invoice" at the top.
• Seller details. Your name, address, email or phone, and your tax or company number if you have one.
• Buyer details. The client's name and address, and their tax number if they have one.
• Number and dates. A unique invoice number, the issue date and the due date.
• Line items. One row per piece of work, with a description, quantity, unit price and line amount.
• Totals. The subtotal, the tax and the total you are asking to be paid.
• Payment details. Bank account, online payment link or another way to pay.
• Notes. Payment terms, a reference or a thank you.

Keep each line specific. "Monthly bookkeeping, March" tells the client more than "Services".

How the totals add up

Every invoice uses the same three steps, and the editor does them for you as you type:

If you give a discount, it comes off the subtotal before the tax is worked out. A tax rate of 0% hides the tax line completely.

What changes from country to country

The layout stays the same, but a few details depend on where you are:

• Tax name and number. VAT in the UK and much of Europe, GST in Australia, New Zealand and India, GST or HST in Canada, and sales tax in many US states. Your tax or company number goes in the seller details.
• Paper size. Letter in the US and Canada, A4 in most other countries. The editor picks one from your country and currency. You can change it under Paper size.
• Date and number style. Dates are printed in the style of the document's language and country.
• Money format. The currency symbol and digit grouping follow the country, so 1,234.50 in the US and 1,23,456.00 in India.

Read the India bill format if you need GST details such as GSTIN and CGST or IGST.

A sample invoice to copy

The example above the editor is a complete invoice from a small US bookkeeping business. It has the header, both parties, a number, dates, three lines, the total and a payment method. Copy the layout and replace the details with your own.

For trade-by-trade samples, see the invoice examples. That guide has eight worked examples, so this page only shows the layout.

Other documents use the same layout

The editor uses one layout for every document type. Switch the Document setting to change the title and the labels: a receipt says "Receipt" and "Amount paid", a quote says "Quote" and "Valid until". The numbers and the lines stay the same.

If you want a page for one of those, see the quote template, the proforma invoice and the receipt generator.