While invoicing may not be the most exciting part of a business, it’s crucial to keep your finances flowing and your business running. If you’re new to invoicing, you might be wondering what information should be on a standard invoice—this guide is exactly about that. We’ll share with you what information and essential elements you should include in your invoice.
What You Must Include In Your Invoice
Invoice
You must identify the document by adding the word “invoice” to it. This is so you can differentiate it from an estimate, receipt, or credit note. It must be clear, easy-to-read, and apparent. Most invoices add the word “invoice” at the top left or right of the document.
Invoice Date
The invoice date must indicate the date when you created the invoice. The date can help you keep track of your invoices. It’s also easier to charge late fees when the date is clearly stated on the invoice.
Invoice number
Invoice numbers are critical when making invoices. When your invoices have invoice numbers, it’s easier for you to identify and keep track of them. They also make record-keeping easier. And when you need to make follow-ups, you can use them as a reference. The invoice number is usually a combination of numbers and letters.
When adding invoice number to your invoice, it’s best to keep them in sequence so you can manage them easily.
Your company information
Your clients need to know whom the invoice came from, especially if they’re dealing with multiple businesses. Hence, you must clearly show your business name, address, and contact information. Adding your contact details will help your customers contact you in case they have queries or disputes.
Your customer’s information
It doesn’t matter if your customer is a company or a sole proprietor—it’s a standard procedure to add your customer’s information on all invoices, except only for simplified VAT invoices. This is important, so your customers can claim back any VAT that’s been charged.
Itemized products or services
List down the products or services you have rendered. It’s best to include brief, clear descriptions of the items. Make sure to list each item on a separate line to avoid confusion as well.
The amount of each item or services to be paid
Along each line of the itemized products and services, make sure they are marked with their prices.
The supply date
Don’t confuse the invoice date with the supply date. The invoice date is when you created the invoice, while the supply date is when you issued the goods or services. The supply date may be different or the same as the invoice date, but it is typically within 30 days.
Discounts, fees, and tax
If you have discounts, fees, and tax to charge your customers, you must indicate them in the invoice in separate lines. As for discounts, they can be either in fixed rates or percentages.
Additional notes
If there is anything you want the client to know about the invoice, products, or services, you may write them down in the Additional Notes section. You can also thank your customers for their patronage of your business.
You may also use this section to state your payment terms and preferred payment channels. When your customers know how to pay the invoice, you are more likely to receive your payment fast.
I own a limited company. What should I include in my invoice?
Your invoice must include your full company name and the registered office address if you own a limited company. You must also indicate your registered company number, which you find on your certificate of incorporation.
Take note, you don’t need to state the names of the directors of your company. But if you do, make sure to list down all the directors.
I’m a sole trader. What should be on my invoice?
Besides the information we listed above, you must add your name and the business trading name you use. If you use a business trading name, you must write down the address of your business premises.
VAT invoices
You must generate a VAT invoice if you are registered for VAT. When creating a VAT invoice, ensure to keep a copy—whether digital or paper. Made mistakes? Don’t throw them away. Keep all invoices you issued, even the ones canceled or issued by mistake.
Important Elements On A Standard Invoice
Here’s a list of elements to keep in mind when you’re creating your invoice:
Branding
We said this before—your invoice represents your business. Therefore, you must craft your invoice in a way that will resonate with your brand. Think of the color, fonts, logo, and wordings in your invoice.
Make sure to add your business logo to your invoice. Our free invoice templates are highly customizable, allowing you to mark them with your company logo. You can also change the color schemes, edit the labels, and add rows or columns.
You want your invoice to impress your customers. A beautiful, sleek, professional invoice can make lasting impressions.
Adding your company logo to your invoice also helps your customers recognize your invoice easily.
Legal information
Some information should be legally included on your invoice, including invoice number, business information, customer’s information, itemized products or services, invoice date, VAT amount, and the total amount payable.
Price
When it comes to billing, it’s crucial to keep the amounts accurate. Otherwise, you could find yourself in disputes. What’s even worse is that you might find yourself asking your customers for more money or giving them money back. Inaccurate amounts on invoices can have an impact on your reputation and therefore hurt your brand.
You want to be professional when it comes to billing, so ensure the prices are indicated correctly. And when you offer discounts or charge fees and taxes, ensure you calculate them right.
Download Spark Invoice Maker Now
We offer free invoice templates that you can freely use anytime you want. Our free templates are editable, meaning you can add your own brand to them. You may also edit the labels or add more fields to suit your business needs. Our free invoice templates are available in various formats.
If you want to generate invoices easier, use Spark Invoice Maker.
Spark Invoice Maker is a mobile app that enables you to generate invoices and estimates instantly. You don’t have to worry about creating tables or formatting a document—Spark does the job for you.
When you use Spark Invoice, you can make a list of your clients and your products. Once you have added them, you can just easily select them when creating an invoice.
Spark Invoice displays your business information to your invoice. It also allows you to add your company logo, making it easy for your clients to recognize your invoice. Spark also automatically generates invoice number in a sequence, which you can customize or change.
Adding Business Information
When you first open Spark Invoice, it will prompt you to enter your business details. Complete the form by adding your name or company name, address, and contact information.
This information will be saved on the app and will be displayed on your invoices automatically, meaning you don’t have to enter your business information every time you make an invoice.
Next, it will ask you to add a company logo, which you may choose to skip. Lastly, it will let you modify your tax type and estimate name. The tax type could be tax-inclusive (all prices include tax) or tax-exclusive (you have to add the tax manually). To learn more about charging tax, read our guide How Do I Charge Taxes Using the Invoice Generator?
Managing client and product list
Spark Invoice lets you create a client and product list. This is ideal, especially if you have multiple repeat clients. When you have your client’s information stored in the app, you can just tap on their name when creating an invoice. It will automatically enter your client’s information, saving you time from repetitive data entry tasks. You can also import a client straight from your contacts list.
As for your products, you can make a list of your items or services, along with short descriptions and prices. Spark Invoice automatically stores your product’s information whenever you add new ones. The next time you need to create a new invoice with the same products, you can just select them from your list.
Accurate, error-free calculations
Spark Invoice does the math for you. With our smart app, you don’t have to worry about miscalculations. Our app will automatically calculate the total amount payable for you, including the discounts, charges, and taxes.
If you have important messages for your clients (may that be regarding the amount, the items, or services), you can use the Additional Notes section.
Spark Invoice Maker is a free-to-download mobile app available on Google PlayStore and Apple App Store. Download Spark Invoice Maker now and start streamlining your invoicing processes!
