Are you a small business owner? Photographers, graphic designers, contractors, and even bands can operate as a small business. But knowing how much to bill your client and what items to bill for isn’t always easy.

Download our free small business invoice template to simplify your billing process.

What should you include on your small business invoice template?

When you're starting a small business, there are a lot of moving parts. This makes it easy to overlook small details around tasks like invoicing.

However, invoicing is a very important part of your business — this is how you get paid.

To ensure your invoices look professional, there are certain items you should always include on your small business invoice template.

Branding

Your invoice is an extension of your business and should reflect your business’s brand. Try to stay consistent with any brand logos, fonts, colours, or wording within your invoice. 

Customizing your invoice through branding will help keep your document looking professional. 

Invoice header

The header should clearly state what the document is — an invoice. This point may seem obvious, but it’s important the recipient knows exactly what the document is as soon as they receive it. No one wants to receive a bill and start questioning what it is and where it came from. 

Alongside the header or right beneath it, you should include a unique invoice number. This way, you can easily identify and keep track of each invoice, which will help you maintain an organized bank account and stay on top of cash flow. This will be especially useful if you send multiple invoices to the same client. 

Business contact information and recipient information

Your invoice needs to include your business’s contact information as well as your recipient’s. 

Business contact information: 

• Your name
• Company name (if you’re a sole proprietor, you can just keep your name)
• Email address 
• Address 
• Telephone number 

You may need to add the department and the contact person’s name if the recipient is dealing with a specific department within your company. 

Recipient contact information: 

• Name
• Company name (and the specific department, if applicable)
• Company address
• Email address
• Telephone number

Important dates and terms of agreement

Noting important dates in your invoice will help you and your client stay on the same page about the agreed-upon invoice payment terms.

Important dates to include:

• Issue date (the day the invoice was created)
• Project start date
• Project completion date 
• Payment deadlines 
• Date the client received any goods or services

If there are any specific conditions for early or late payments, you can include these in your business invoice. 

Description of goods and services 

Create a list of the goods obtained or services rendered. This list should be as detailed as possible to ensure there's no confusion as to what the client is paying for. 

For example, instead of a general description such as “installation”, write down exactly what was installed, (software, T.V., air conditioning, etc), where it was installed, how many hours it took, and if there were any additional parts you needed to purchase for the installation.

Total of what your client owes

A small business owner can use their fee schedule to determine how much the client owes. Any discounts offered will apply to the subtotal, after which you will charge any taxes.

It's up to you to let your customers know if you apply GST/HST to their purchase. Combine all of these figures to determine the grand total.

How much should you charge on your small business invoice?

In order to arrive at a fair price that will profit your business while still considering your client’s best interests, you need to develop a pricing strategy. You can do this by obtaining accurate reports that break down your company’s financial statements.

These statements include:  

• Profit & loss statement 
• Cash flow statement 
• Income statement 
• Balance sheet summary 
• Sales tax report 
• Accounts receivable report

Once you've reviewed these reports, you can start looking at external factors such as market conditions, economy pricing, psychological pricing, geographical pricing, and more. 

Should you send a small business invoice to your clients?

Yes, you should send an invoice to your clients to charge for a product or service. You can bill for obvious things, such as the number of items you sold or the number of hours you spent working on the client's project.

You can also charge for travel time to and from the work location, compensation for additional workers, and parts or equipment costs. Intangible items you might work into your fee schedule include:

• Brand name
• Years of experience
• Marketing costs

While these aren't items to add to the invoice, these are crucial aspects of the service that factor into your fees.

If you have a large number of clients, developing an invoicing schedule is necessary. You can also consider setting up automatic invoices to increase efficiency.

When should you send your small business invoice to your clients?

If you provide short-term, small-scale services, it’s customary to send an invoice at the end of the project directing the client that payment is due upon receipt.

If your projects are larger in scope, breaking them into scheduled invoices is a common practice.

Depending on the scope of a project, you can also invoice for a deposit upon signing the contract and break down remaining payments into monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly payments.

Using online invoices or invoicing tools will make creating and sending your invoices easier and more efficient.

With QuickBooks, you will get access to features that will allow you to:

• Customize your small business invoice template (choosing brand colours, currency type, and language preferences). 
• Set up automated scheduled invoices. 
• Automate sales tax calculations.
• Make it easier for customers to pay with the “Pay Now” button. 
• Automatically match the client's payment with the invoice in your books to save you time and keep everything updated with QuickBooks instant payment matching.

And the list doesn’t end there.

Download the free invoice template and try QuickBooks invoicing solutions today to see how QuickBooks can help simplify your entire billing process.

Disclaimer

This content is for information purposes only and should not be considered legal, accounting or tax advice, or a substitute for obtaining such advice specific to your business. Additional information and exceptions may apply. Applicable laws may vary by region, province, state or locality. No assurance is given that the information is comprehensive in its coverage or that it is suitable in dealing with a customer’s particular situation. Intuit does not have any responsibility for updating or revising any information presented herein. Accordingly, the information provided should not be relied upon as a substitute for independent research. Intuit does not warrant that the material contained herein will continue to be accurate nor that it is completely free of errors when published. Readers should verify statements before relying on them.

We provide third-party links as a convenience and for informational purposes only. Intuit does not endorse or approve these products and services, or the opinions of these corporations or organizations or individuals. Intuit accepts no responsibility for the accuracy, legality, or content on these sites.