How to make an invoice

Making an invoice, step by step

An invoice asks your client for a set amount by a set date, and it becomes a record you both keep for your accounts. The steps below follow a job from the day you agree it to the day you're paid, in that order, because most late payments trace back to something that should have been settled a step or two earlier.

Agree the terms first

Before you start, agree the price, what it covers and when the client will pay, and get it in writing, even if that's only an email the client replies to. The invoice then confirms what you both accepted, which leaves nothing to dispute. Larger companies often need a purchase order (PO) number on the invoice, which is the reference their accounts team uses to match it to approved spending, so ask for one now rather than after the invoice has stalled.

Collect the client's details

Ask for the client's full legal name, which may differ from the brand you know, its billing address and the email address for invoices, which often belongs to an accounts department rather than your contact. If the client is a business in another country, ask for its VAT (value added tax) number too, because it can change which tax goes on the invoice. An invoice made out to the wrong company usually has to be reissued before anyone can pay it.

Number and date it

Each invoice needs its own number so that everyone can refer to it and a missing one shows up as a gap. Some countries write this into law, and Germany's rule is typical. Each invoice gets a unique number from one or more consecutive number series, assigned only once by the issuer. A series such as 2026-001, 2026-002 does the job, and how to number invoices explains the options. Date the invoice on the day you issue it and add when you did the work, so the client can match it to the job.

Describe the work

Write each line so that someone in the client's accounts team who never saw the project can recognise it. "Design work" tells them nothing, while "Logo design for Harbour Bakery, three concepts and two rounds of revisions" matches the job they approved. Give each line a quantity, a unit such as hours or days, and a unit price, so the amount can be checked by multiplying, which often decides whether an invoice is approved on sight or sent back with a question.

Add tax correctly

The right tax depends on where you are, whether you're registered to charge it, what you sell and who the client is. A VAT-registered UK business usually charges 20%, a German business 19% or the reduced 7% on some goods and services, and in the US the tax is sales tax, which varies by state and by what you sell. Show the rate on each line and the tax as its own amount under the subtotal, so the client can see what it's paying and book it correctly. If you're not registered to charge tax, leave it off entirely.

Totals, payment details and due date

Below the lines come the subtotal, the tax and the total due in the agreed currency, and then how to pay: your bank details (in Europe your IBAN, the international account number, and BIC, your bank's code; in the US your routing and account number) or another method such as a PayPal link or, in the US, Zelle or a check. Give the due date as a calendar date rather than only "Net 14" (payment within 14 days), and ask the client to quote the invoice number with the payment so you can match it. Net 30 and other payment terms explains how to choose the period.

Check it before it goes

Read the invoice once as the client will. Is their name right, do the lines match what you agreed, does the arithmetic add up, is the PO number there and is the due date in the future? Two minutes now saves the fortnight an error would cost you once the invoice has been sent back.

An example invoice

Here is a short invoice from a VAT-registered freelance designer in Bristol to a small bakery, for a branding job finished in October 2026. Above the table it shows the designer's name, address and VAT registration number (GB123456789), the bakery's legal name and address, invoice number 2026-014, the invoice date of 3 November 2026, the date the work was completed, 31 October 2026, the bakery's PO number and the due date.

Each description names the job and what was delivered, so the bakery's bookkeeper can tick the lines off against the quote it accepted, and the consultation shows hours and an hourly rate that can be checked in seconds. Each line shows its VAT rate, and the VAT is then added up as its own amount under a subtotal excluding VAT, so a VAT-registered client can see exactly what it is paying in VAT and book it without asking. Below the table come the bank details and a request to use 2026-014 as the payment reference.

If the designer weren't registered for VAT, the same invoice would end at £870.00, with no VAT rates, no VAT line and no VAT number. Some unregistered businesses add a note such as "Not registered for VAT." so the client doesn't wonder why VAT is missing.

Sending the invoice and following up

Send the invoice as a PDF rather than a Word file or spreadsheet, because a PDF looks the same on every device and can't be changed by accident. Email it to the address the client gave you for invoices, with the invoice number and amount in the subject line and a short message giving the total and the due date, so whoever opens it can approve it without searching through earlier emails.

In the maker you can download the PDF without an account and attach it to your own email. With a free account you can also send it from the maker, either by email with the PDF attached, where replies come straight to you, or as a link to a page where the client can view and download it, and you can see whether it has been opened. Free accounts send 10 invoices a month and show ads, while Pro, at $3 a month, has no limit and no ads.

Following up is part of invoicing rather than an awkward extra. Mark the invoice as sent, and check your invoice overview around each due date for anything still unpaid, because the maker flags overdue invoices but doesn't chase anyone on its own. If a due date passes, send a polite reminder with the invoice number, the amount, the original due date and your payment details, and attach the PDF again so nobody has to look for it. The maker drafts that reminder for you from the overdue invoice, and the guide to payment reminders has wording for a first, second and final reminder. Many late payments are simple oversights, and when the money arrives, mark the invoice as paid.

What changes from country to country

The steps are the same everywhere, but what an invoice must show differs, and the United States is the most relaxed. No federal law prescribes invoice numbering; giving each invoice a unique number is customary, and invoices to federal agencies must carry an invoice number, account number or other identifying number agreed in the contract. The question that needs care there is sales tax, which is set state by state, and US contractor invoices explains what clients expect and how to charge tax only on the lines that are taxable.

In the UK the dividing line is VAT registration. A registered business issues VAT invoices showing its VAT registration number and the VAT charged, while an unregistered business charges no VAT at all, for the reason given under mistakes below. UK invoices for sole traders and the self-employed lists the details needed in each case.

Germany asks for the most. An invoice there carries one of two numbers. The Steuernummer is the tax number your local tax office gives you for your tax returns. The VAT ID, the Umsatzsteuer-Identifikationsnummer (USt-IdNr.), is a separate number used for trade with businesses elsewhere in the EU and looks like DE123456788. It matters when you invoice a business in another EU country, because those sales often fall under reverse charge, which in plain words means the customer rather than you is liable for the VAT. The invoice then shows no German VAT, carries both your VAT ID and the customer's, and prints the note "Reverse charge: the customer is liable for the VAT"; when you choose reverse charge, the maker adds that note and the customer's VAT number for you. Small businesses under the Kleinunternehmerregelung (§ 19 UStG) charge no VAT at all and print a sentence such as "No VAT is charged under § 19 UStG (small business exemption)." instead of a VAT line.

The bigger change in Germany is e-invoicing. An e-invoice is an invoice in a structured data format that the client's accounting software reads directly; an ordinary PDF, like the ones the maker produces, doesn't count. Every business has had to be able to receive e-invoices (EN 16931 formats such as XRechnung or ZUGFeRD from version 2.0.1) since 1 Jan 2025, while issuing them for domestic B2B sales becomes mandatory on 1 Jan 2027 (previous-year turnover above €800,000) or 1 Jan 2028 (everyone else), with small businesses under § 19 UStG and invoices up to €250 exempt from issuing. The maker produces PDFs, not e-invoices, so once the rule applies to you, your domestic business invoices will need software that can create them; invoices in Germany explains the dates and the exceptions.

Mistakes that delay payment

Most late invoices weren't refused: they were set aside because something on them was missing or didn't match. The commonest cause is no due date, because an invoice that just says "payment due" lets the client pay whenever its payment run happens to fall, and gives you no date to point to when you chase it. A calendar date, agreed in advance and printed on the invoice, fixes both problems.

Vague descriptions come next. When an invoice says only "Services – £2,000", whoever processes it has to find out what the services were and who approved them, and that question can take a week to reach you. Naming the job, the deliverable and the period, as in the example, avoids the delay entirely.

A wrong tax line can cost more than time. Charging VAT while unregistered, using the wrong rate, or adding VAT where the client should account for it under reverse charge all mean a careful client won't pay until the invoice is corrected. In the UK the rule is strict. Only a VAT-registered business may issue a VAT invoice: if you are not registered you must not show VAT, and if you do, HMRC can charge a penalty of up to 100% of the VAT shown and still collect that amount from you. If a VAT invoice shows more VAT than is due, you must pay HMRC the higher amount unless you correct the error with your customer by issuing a credit note.

Missing or wrong client details are the last common cause. An invoice addressed to your contact instead of the company, or without the PO number the client asked for, often can't be booked, so it comes back to you and the wait starts again. Collecting the details at the start means you only have to do it once.