A 3 step guide covering everything you need to know about creating your own invoice templates. Ensure everything’s legally compliant, your invoices look the part, and that you get paid on time.
Not bad for a 5-minute read! (That said, if you’re in a hurry you can download this free, ready-made invoice template instead.)
1. Legal requirements
First up, what does government guidance say about the contents of your invoice?
It needs to have the word ‘invoice’ clearly displayed on it (usually in the top right corner), as well as the following information:
- Your company name, address and contact info
- Your customer name and address
- A clear description of what you’re invoicing for
- The date you provided your services on, and the date the invoice was raised (note these are not necessarily the same)
- The amount being charged, the amount of VAT (if applicable), and the total amount your customer owes
You’ll find some handy in-depth articles about invoicing and taking payment from customers directly on Informi.
2. Optional Extras and Best Practice
All your invoices need to be numbered, and the numbering needs to be sequential. That doesn’t mean you need to start with ‘Invoice 001’ though. You don’t want your customer to know they’re the first person you’re invoicing. You can, in fact, start with whatever number you want and just continue from there.
Invoices are pretty dull documents. So you could try breathing some life into them by adding a personalised thank you message. It could be as short and sweet as “thanks for your business, see you again soon”, or you could also add a discount code for their next order.
3. Layout
Now you have all the information it’s just a case of putting it together.
- Conventionally your logo and customer details go in the top left.
- In the top right include the invoice number, the invoice date, and (most importantly) the due date. You may even want to write this in bold/ a bigger font so it stands out.
- The body of the invoice is for the products/ services you’re invoicing for. Typically you’d make a table out of this information.
- Add a description for each item (so it’s clear to the customer what they’re being charged for). Include the quantity, VAT (if applicable), and a total amount for each line.
- Under the table write the total due. If the invoice includes VAT you’ll need to show the total amount of VAT to be paid, as well as the overall total for the invoice.
- In the footer add your contact and payment details.
Once you’re done, hit save. The template is now ready to be used as often as you need it! If you’ve got any questions please add them to the comments section below.
