Free Simple Invoice Template (Fillable PDF, Word, Excel)

What is on the simple invoice template

Invoice number

Unique and sequential. Tax authorities in most countries expect invoices to be numbered without gaps; INV-2026-001 onwards is fine.

Invoice date and due date

The date you issued it and the date payment is due. "Net 14" means 14 days after the invoice date. Writing the actual due date gets you paid faster than writing the term.

Bill to and from

Legal names and addresses on both sides. Add your tax ID or VAT number if your customers need it for their records.

Customer PO number

If the customer issued a purchase order, their accounts team will not pay without the number on your invoice.

Line items

What you did or supplied, quantity or hours, rate, amount. One line per item; be specific enough that the customer recognises it.

Discount, tax, deposit

Discounts come off before tax. Deposits already paid come off at the end so the amount due is what is actually owed.

How to pay

Bank name and account, routing or sort code, online options, and who checks are payable to. The single biggest cause of late payment is a customer who could not find this.

Terms and late fee

Payment terms and what happens if the invoice is late. State it on every invoice; a late fee that was never mentioned cannot be charged.

What makes an invoice valid

There is no single legal form for an invoice in the United States, but to be accepted by a customer's accounts department, and by the IRS as a record of income, it needs: the word "Invoice", a unique number, the date, your business name and address, the customer's name and address, a description of what was supplied with quantities and prices, the total, and the payment terms. If you collect sales tax it must be shown separately. In the UK and EU, VAT invoices must additionally carry your VAT number, the VAT rate and amount per line, and the customer's VAT number for B2B supplies. All three designs here carry those fields.

Invoices are also contracts of a sort: the terms printed on them (due date, late fee, dispute period) are what you can rely on if the customer does not pay. Keep the terms short and the same on every invoice.

Which design to use

• Basic: no tax to show. Freelancers under the registration threshold, services exempt from sales tax, private invoices.
• With tax and discount: anyone collecting sales tax, VAT or GST, and anyone invoicing business customers who send purchase orders.
• Hourly with time log: billing by the hour. Each line is dated so the client can match it to their own records, and total hours are summed.

How to fill it in

1. Number it from your sequence and enter the invoice date. Set the due date, not just the term.
2. Fill bill-to from the customer's records, including their PO number if there is one.
3. One line per item or per day of work. Use the same descriptions as the accepted estimate or quote and quote its number in the notes.
4. Apply discount, tax and any deposit received.
5. Fill the How to pay block completely. Account, routing, online option, payee name.
6. Save as PDF with the invoice number in the filename and email it. Keep a copy.
7. When paid, issue a payment receipt and mark the invoice paid in your billing tracker.

Mistakes that delay payment

• No due date, or a term like "on receipt" that the customer interprets as "eventually".
• Bank details missing or buried in an email instead of on the invoice.
• Missing the customer's PO number, which puts the invoice in an exceptions queue.
• Vague line descriptions ("services rendered") that get queried.
• Tax included in the unit price instead of shown separately; business customers cannot reclaim it that way.
• Sending it late. Invoice the day the work finishes.

Invoice vs receipt vs statement

An invoice requests payment. A receipt confirms it. A statement lists all invoices and payments on an account over a period and is sent to customers with several open invoices. If you only ever have one invoice open per customer you do not need statements; a payment reminder that quotes the invoice number is enough when one goes overdue.

Editing the Word and Excel versions

Excel calculates line amounts, subtotal, discount, tax, deposit and the amount due; the hourly design also totals the hours. Put your From block, tax ID, bank details and terms in once and save as a master so every new invoice is a copy with new lines. In Word, the How to pay block is a two-column table; type over the sample text. To add a logo, insert the image above the From block.

Questions

Do I need a tax ID on my invoice?

In the US, only if your customer asks (common for B2B, since they may need it for a 1099). In the UK and EU a VAT-registered business must show its VAT number. The box is there if you need it.

What payment terms should I use?

Net 14 for small clients and freelance work, Net 30 for business customers who expect it. Always write the actual due date next to the term.

Can I charge a late fee?

Yes, if it was stated on the invoice (or in a contract) before the invoice became overdue. Typical is 1 to 1.5% per month or a flat fee after 30 days. Check state limits on interest.

How should I number invoices?

Sequentially, with no gaps or reuse. A year prefix (INV-2026-001) keeps it tidy. Credit notes and estimates get their own series.

Does the PDF calculate totals?

No, the PDF is fillable but does not calculate. Use the Excel version for working totals, then save it as PDF to send.