Free Invoice Generator

How to create an invoice

This free invoice creator makes a finished, sendable PDF in one pass. Fill the form on the left and the invoice on the right updates as you type.

An invoice is a request for payment and a legal record of a supply. It needs enough detail that your client can approve it without calling you, and enough detail that a tax inspector can reconcile it against your books years later. The generator above covers both.

1. Enter your business details. Trading name, address and contact. If you are VAT or GST registered, put the registration number in as well: an invoice missing it is not a valid tax invoice and your client cannot reclaim the tax on it.
2. Enter the client's details. Use their registered company name, not the name of the person you deal with. Payment disputes hinge on billing the correct legal entity.
3. Set a unique invoice number. Sequential, no gaps.
4. Add line items. One line per distinct piece of work, with a description specific enough to recognise six months later. "Design work" is a weak line; "Homepage and 4 inner-page designs, revision round 2" is a strong one.
5. Apply tax and any discount. Tax is calculated on the discounted subtotal, which is the treatment HMRC and SARS both expect.
6. Add payment details. The single largest cause of a late invoice is a client who cannot see how to pay it.
7. Download the PDF and send it.

What must appear on an invoice

The exact requirements vary by country, but the following set satisfies the UK, South Africa, Australia, Canada and most of the EU:

• The word "Invoice", clearly, so it is not mistaken for a quote or a statement
• A unique, sequential invoice number
• The date the invoice was issued, and the date payment is due
• Your business name, address and contact details
• Your VAT, GST or tax registration number if you are registered
• The client's name and address
• A clear description of the goods or services supplied, with quantities and unit prices
• The subtotal, the tax rate and tax amount shown separately, and the total due
• Payment terms and how to pay

If you are VAT registered, the tax must be shown as its own line with the rate stated. A single total with tax folded in is not a valid VAT invoice, and a client who cannot reclaim the input tax will send it straight back.

Where this tool stops

This page makes a PDF. It does not send it, it does not remember which invoices you have raised, and it does not tell you which ones went unpaid. That is deliberate: a generator should generate.

Once you are raising invoices regularly, the work moves from making the document to chasing it. Recurring invoices, automatic payment reminders, a record of what is outstanding and who is late, multi-currency, and time tracking that turns into billable lines are what a Tidybill account adds. The free plan covers 5 invoices a month and needs no card.

Invoice generator or invoice template?

A generator builds the document from fields you fill in, which suits a one-off invoice or a client you will not bill again. A template is a starting point you edit and reuse, which suits a trade with the same handful of line items every time.

Invoice templates by profession

If you would rather start from a filled-in example with the line items your trade typically bills for, there are profession-specific invoice templates covering contractors, freelance writers, mechanics, electricians, consultants and several hundred others.