While you can make invoices manually on Microsoft word and Excel, QuickBooks provides ready-to-use small business invoice templates for various industries. QuickBooks also offers Invoicing Software used by millions of small businesses worldwide that allows you to create and send custom invoices and automate your invoicing process to save you even more time.

You can use various formats for your small business invoice including Microsoft Word, Excel and PDF. Read our guide on the best invoice templates for small businesses to learn more about the features of each template and how to create an invoice in each format.

The following components should be included on a small business invoice: header, logo, business name and details, client’s name and details, date, invoice number, itemized list of goods or services, invoice total or balance due, payment terms and conditions, payment options and instructions.

Read our invoice guide for more details on what to include on your small business invoice. 

QuickBooks provides small business invoice templates for different industries that you can customize with your business colours, fonts and logos to reinforce your branding. Simply download a template and add an itemized list of goods and services specific to your business. You can even add a personalized message thanking your clients for their business.

To arrive at a fair price that will profit your small business while still considering your client’s best interest, you need to develop a pricing strategy for your products or services. Your pricing strategy should consider the cost of labor, materials, overheads, and operating expenses involved in producing your product or providing your services.

You can develop a pricing strategy by obtaining reports that break down your business’s financial statements including:

• Profit & Loss Statement 
• Cash Flow Statement 
• Income Statement 
• Balance Sheet Summary 
• Sales Tax Report 
• Accounts Receivable

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

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 the signing of the contract and break down the remaining payments into monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly payments.

QuickBooks invoicing software allows you to schedule recurring invoices, send progress invoices for large projects and automate payment reminders. Try a free 30-day trial today.

Using invoicing software will make creating and sending professional invoices easier and more efficient for your small business. With QuickBooks Online invoicing software you will get access to features that will allow you to create and send custom invoices that match your branding, set up scheduled invoices, automate sales tax calculations, accept customer payments, send late payment reminders and track the status of your invoices in real-time. Sign up for a free 30-day trial today and see how QuickBooks can automate your small business invoicing.