How to Make an Invoice for a Small Business (2026): Fields, Terms and Examples

To make an invoice for a small business, list your business name and contact details, the customer's details, a unique invoice number (such as INV-0001), the issue date and due date, each item with quantity and price, any tax and discount lines, the total due, and payment terms like “Net 30”. Save it as a PDF and send it within a day of the sale or job.

You don't need accounting software for this. A spreadsheet, a word processor template or our free invoice generator will do the job; the generator builds the invoice as you type and downloads a PDF without sign-up. This guide is the deeper version, with numbering, payment terms, tax lines and two worked examples. It's general information, not tax or legal advice, so check local rules with an accountant if you are registered for VAT, GST or sales tax.

How to make an invoice for a small business, step by step

Gather the order details, fill in a template, check the math, then send a PDF. Here's the full sequence.

1. Pick a tool. Use a free generator, a spreadsheet, a word processor template or your accounting software. What matters is that every invoice follows the same layout.
2. Add your business details: legal or trading name, address, email, phone, and a tax ID or VAT number if you have one. Add your logo if you use one.
3. Add the customer's details: name or company, billing address and email. For business customers, include their contact person or purchase order (PO) number if they gave you one.
4. Give it a unique invoice number and the issue date. Add an order number if the sale came through your store.
5. List each item or service on its own line: description, quantity, unit price and line total. Add a SKU if you sell products, so the invoice matches your inventory.
6. Add discounts, tax and shipping, then the subtotal, total and any amount already paid, so the balance due is clear.
7. Write the payment terms: due date, accepted payment methods, bank or payment-link details, and any late fee you have agreed with the customer.
8. Check it, save as PDF and send it. Email it with the invoice number in the subject line, and keep a copy in a folder named by year.

In our invoice generator, those steps are three panels: your details and logo, the line items (each with its own tax and discount percentage), and a live preview you download as a US Letter or A4 PDF. It supports seven currencies (USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, INR and BDT), and Save draft keeps your business details in that browser for next time. Nothing you type is uploaded.

What information is required on an invoice?

In most places, a basic invoice needs who is billing, who is paying, what was sold, how much is owed and when it's due. The table splits must-haves from nice-to-haves.

Invoice field requirements were checked in October 2026. Marketplaces change their rules, so confirm the current requirements in your seller dashboard before you upload a large batch.

For a checklist version with the mistakes that get invoices paid late, read what to include on an invoice.

How should I number my invoices?

Use one sequence that only goes up, and never skip, reuse or delete a number. If you void an invoice, mark it void and keep it. Many tax authorities, including those for VAT in the UK and EU, expect invoice numbers to be unique and sequential, and it makes your own records much easier to audit.

If you also sell products, a consistent SKU scheme helps the invoice, packing slip and stock count agree. Our guide to creating SKU numbers covers formats, and the free SKU generator builds them in bulk.

What payment terms should I put on an invoice?

For one-off customers, “Due on receipt” or Net 7 gets you paid fastest; Net 30 is standard for business customers who pay through an accounts department. Always write the actual due date as well, because “Net 30” alone invites arguments about when the 30 days started.

Late fees only work if the customer agreed to them before the work, for example in a quote or wholesale agreement. In the US, the maximum interest you can charge depends on your state. In the UK, businesses can usually claim statutory interest on late business-to-business payments. Keep the wording factual, such as “Payments received after November 10, 2026 incur a 1.5% monthly late fee as agreed in our wholesale terms.”

How do I add tax, discounts and shipping to an invoice?

Apply discounts first, then tax on the discounted amount, then add shipping, and show each as its own line so the customer can follow the math.

• Discounts: show the original price and the discount, not just a lower price. “Wholesale discount 10%: −$43.20” is clear.
• Sales tax (US): rates vary by state and sometimes city. If you sell through Etsy, Amazon or other marketplaces, they usually collect and remit sales tax on those orders under marketplace facilitator laws, so you don't add it again on your own invoice for the same sale.
• VAT and GST: if you're registered, show the rate and the tax amount, plus your VAT or GST number. If you charge more than one rate, show each rate separately.
• Shipping: list it as a separate line. Whether shipping is taxable depends on where you are, so check your state or country's rules.

Small business invoice examples

Two common cases: a product order and a service job. Both use the same skeleton.

Example 1: wholesale order from a maker

The shipping line is where many makers lose money on wholesale. Bulky orders often bill on dimensional weight, so price it from the packed boxes; see how to calculate dimensional weight.

Example 2: a service invoice

A product photographer bills a client: “Product photography, half day, 4 hours @ $75 = $300.00. Edited images, 20 @ $6 = $120.00. Subtotal $420.00. Deposit paid (October 1) −$150.00. Balance due $270.00, due on receipt.” Showing the deposit as “amount already paid” avoids the classic double-billing complaint.

Should I send an invoice or a receipt?

Send an invoice to request payment and a receipt to confirm payment already made. If a customer pays at checkout in your online store, the order confirmation usually works as the receipt; you'd only send an invoice if they ask for one, for example for their own bookkeeping. For the box itself, sellers usually use a packing slip, which lists items without prices. Our packing slip generator turns the same order into one, and what is a packing slip explains the difference.

Frequently asked questions

How do I make an invoice for free?

Use a free online invoice generator, a spreadsheet template or a word processor template. Add your details, the customer's details, an invoice number, dates, line items, totals and payment terms, then save it as a PDF. AiArter's invoice generator does this in your browser without sign-up.

What is the correct format for an invoice?

Put “Invoice”, your business details and the invoice number and dates at the top, the customer's details below, then a table of items with quantity, price and line totals. Finish with the subtotal, discounts, tax, shipping, total due and payment terms.

Can I make an invoice without a registered business?

In many countries, yes. Sole traders and freelancers can invoice under their own name. You'll still need to report the income, and if you're registered for VAT or sales tax you must follow those invoice rules, so check with a local accountant.

How do I number my first invoice?

Start anywhere, such as INV-0001 or INV-2026-001, then go up by one each time. Never reuse or skip a number. Starting at a higher number like 1001 is fine as long as the sequence continues from there.

Do I need to charge tax on my invoice?

It depends on where you and your customer are, what you sell and whether you're registered. US sales tax rules vary by state, and VAT or GST applies once you're registered in countries that use it. This isn't tax advice; check with your tax authority or an accountant.