An invoice, or a bill, is a commercial document sent from a seller to a buyer as a request for payment, indicating what was sold and how much is owed.

Invoices, like bills, are issued from a vendor to a customer for something they’ve already received, something in development, or something that’s ready to be created. But invoices, unlike a restaurant bill, aren’t necessarily due immediately upon receiving them. You may choose to set invoice payment terms of up to 3 months, to give your customers flexibility to manage their cash. Get a more in-depth invoice definition with examples in our guide.

Invoices are used for account-based transactions between vendors and sellers who work with each other on a regular basis. Invoices can also be used to keep track of how much your customers owe you in total, as a basis to monitor your cash flow.

There are a variety of different types of invoices depending on the type of business and transaction. 

Common types of invoices used include: service invoice, sales invoice, purchase invoice, recurring invoice, proforma invoice, interim invoice, credit invoice, debit invoice, mixed invoice, commercial invoice, timesheet invoice, expense report, past due invoice, final invoice, and more.

You may choose the type of invoice based on your business model and how you’d like to get paid. For small businesses that send invoices after goods or services have been exchanged, a simple commercial invoice, like our free invoice template, will suit your needs. 

If your business requires payment upfront, you may choose to use a proforma invoice, indicating a fee agreement and/or estimated costs. 

With QuickBooks invoicing software, you can choose from many different invoice templates based on your needs.

The best time to send an invoice is immediately after you complete a service or project, or deliver a product. The sooner you send an invoice, the sooner the customer can pay. 

You may choose to send invoices first thing in the morning when most people are checking their emails and establishing their to-do lists. Alternatively, you could also send invoices at the end of the work day so that your customers can see them when they check their email first thing in the morning.

The elements of an invoice are important so you and your customers are aligned on the total cost of your services and the payment terms and details. 

Here are the basic elements of an invoice you should include: 

• Your business information: Your business name, address, phone number, email address, and website. 
• Customer information: Your client’s name, address, and email. Include the shipping address and billing address if the two differ. 
• Invoice number: The reference number assigned to each invoice you send. This will help you keep track of recurring invoices. 
• Invoice date: The date the invoice was issued. 
• Description of products and services: Name of the product or description of the service provided and the price and quantity of each. 
• Total cost: The total cost of all of the items or services you provided, plus any applicable tax like sales tax.  
• Payment terms: The date the payment is due, and any penalties for overdue payments. 

No. An invoice serves as a payment request for services rendered or goods delivered.

Depending on how your business accepts payments, customers could pay with credit cards, debit cards, cash, check, ACH bank transfers, and more. 

With QuickBooks Payments, customers can pay right in the online invoice, using credit cards, debit cards or ACH bank transfers–even from their mobile device. No setup or transaction fees!

There are many reasons to use this invoice generator, such as: 

• It’s free! 
• Invoices are customizable to your business
• Intuit AI helps create your invoice quickly, skipping manual data entry  
• Invoices can be downloaded in a variety of formats, like Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Google Docs, Google Sheets and PDF
• Clean, professionally-designed invoices leave a good impression
• Invoices that get created and sent sooner can get paid faster

If you’re tired of manually creating each invoice, try the additional benefits that come with online invoicing in QuickBooks, such as pay-enabled invoices and instant deposits!

Here are some tips on how to get paid faster:

• Accept all forms of payment: credit cards, debit cards, ACH bank transfers, digital wallets, PayPal, and checks.
• Create clear invoices with specified due dates
• Send invoices a soon as you complete the work
• Consider establishing overdue payment penalties
• Automate reminders–QuickBooks Invoicing software does this for you!
• Incentivize early or on-time payments with rewards or perks

With QuickBooks Payments’ pay-enabled invoices, customers can pay right in the online invoice, helping you get paid sooner!

Here are some tips to help you create clear and effective invoices:

• Make sure product descriptions are easy to follow and understand
• Create a purchase order
• Specify your payment terms and due dates
• Provide contact information for customer questions
• Save time with recurring invoices
• Accept payments online
• Automate invoices with QuickBooks Payments