How to Write a Quotation
What to put on a quotation, in what order, how to word the scope, exclusions and validity, and a worked example for a service job.
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Invoice Guides for Small Businesses and Freelancers
Practical guides to invoicing: what goes on an invoice, how to number and price it, how tax and discounts work, and how to get paid. Written for people running the business, not for accountants.
- Written for the person running the business
- Every guide links to the free tool
- Updated as the tools change
01
Getting started
Write your first invoice, and get the format right once.
How to Make an Invoice
How to make an invoice step by step: your details, the customer, numbering, dates, line items, tax and totals — with examples of what to write.
What Should an Invoice Include?
The eleven things every invoice needs, what each does, and what happens when you leave it out. Plus country-specific requirements and the fields people forget.
How to Make a Professional Invoice
What makes an invoice look professional: layout order, typography, alignment, language, and the presentation mistakes that cause queries.
Invoice Format for Small Business
A standard invoice format for small business: what goes where on the page, choosing a numbering scheme, your standard terms, and filing.
02
Numbers & money
Numbering, terms, tax and discounts — the arithmetic and the conventions.
How Long Is a Quote Valid?
How long a quotation should stay open, what happens when it expires, why to state a date rather than a number of days, and how to extend or reissue a quote.
Invoice Number: What It Is and How to Create One
How to number invoices: four schemes that work, what to avoid, handling corrections with credit notes, and keeping the sequence intact when several people bill.
Invoice Payment Terms Explained
What Net 30, EOM, 15 MFI and 2/10 Net 30 mean, how to choose terms that suit your cash flow, and how to handle late payment.
How to Add Tax to an Invoice
How to apply tax on an invoice correctly: before or after a discount, one rate or a rate per line, rounding, tax-inclusive pricing, and a fully worked example.
How to Add a Discount to an Invoice
Percentage or fixed discounts, where the discount sits relative to tax, labelling it so the customer notices, and early payment discounts.
03
Getting paid
Sending invoices, following up, and the mistakes that cause delay.
How to Write a Receipt
What to write on a receipt, in what order, with a worked example for a cash payment, a bank transfer against an invoice, and a deposit with a balance due.
What Counts as Proof of Payment?
Which documents prove a payment was made, what a receipt adds that a bank statement does not, and what to send when someone asks for proof of payment.
How to Send an Invoice to a Client
Who to send an invoice to, what the email should say, a template to copy, and a follow-up schedule that recovers most late payments.
15 Invoice Mistakes That Delay Payment
The invoicing mistakes that cause queries and late payment — vague lines, missing PO numbers, tax before discounts — and how to fix each.
04
Comparisons
Invoice, receipt, quotation, estimate, proforma and commercial invoice.
Quotation vs Estimate
A quotation is a fixed price; an estimate is a likely cost. What each commits you to, when to use which, and how to word an estimate so it stays one.
Invoice vs Receipt
An invoice requests payment; a receipt confirms it. A full comparison, when you need both, how to handle deposits, and the mistakes that cause double payments.
Invoice vs Quotation
A quotation offers a price; an invoice requests payment. Why validity dates matter, and how an accepted quotation becomes an invoice.
Invoice vs Estimate
The difference between an estimate, a quotation and an invoice, when an estimate is honest, and how to invoice after giving one.
What Is a Proforma Invoice?
A proforma invoice previews the real invoice before the sale completes. What to include, how it differs from a quotation, and what follows.
Commercial Invoice for International Shipments
What a commercial invoice needs for customs: HS codes, country of origin, weights, Incoterms and declarations — and what holds shipments up.
05
Shipping & delivery
Waybills, delivery notes, bills of lading and air waybills explained.
Waybill vs Bill of Lading
A bill of lading is a document of title; a waybill is not. What that means in practice, when each is used, and what a sea waybill is.
What Is a Waybill Number?
What a waybill number is, how couriers use it for tracking, and a numbering scheme for your own waybills that ties each consignment to its invoice.
Air Waybill vs Waybill
What an air waybill is, what the 11-digit AWB number means, how house and master air waybills differ, and how an AWB relates to an ordinary waybill.
Delivery Note vs Invoice
A delivery note lists what was delivered and is signed by the customer; an invoice asks for payment. When to send each and why they should reference each other.
06
By situation
Freelance work, services, and invoicing from a spreadsheet.
Rent Receipt: What to Include
What a rent receipt is, what a landlord or agent must put on it, why tenants need one, and a free rent receipt template and generator.
How to Invoice as a Freelancer
Freelance invoicing by pricing model: hourly, fixed fee, milestones and retainers, plus deposits, purchase orders and chasing late payment.
How to Invoice for Services
How to invoice service work: choosing a billing unit, writing line descriptions that survive scrutiny, expenses, retainers and tax on services.
How to Create an Invoice in Excel
A working invoice layout for Excel or Google Sheets, the formulas to use, and the six errors that break spreadsheet invoices.
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Tools and document guides
Make the document now
Free invoice, receipt, quotation and waybill tools
Every tool runs in your browser with no signup and downloads an A4 PDF. Your business details are kept in this browser and shared between them.
Free tool
Free invoice creator
Invoices with tax, discount, logo and every currency, as an A4 PDF.
Free tool
Receipt maker
Payment method, amount received, balance due and a PAID stamp.
Free tool
Quotation maker
Valid-until date, deposit to proceed, scope and terms.
Free tool
Waybill maker
Sender, receiver, carrier, packages and weight for a delivery.
Free tool
Bill generator
Itemised bills for shops, restaurants and services.
Free tool
Tax invoice generator
GST, VAT or sales tax as its own line, per invoice or per item.
Free tool
Invoice templates (Word)
Six editable .docx invoice layouts to download.
Free tool
Android app
Invoices, receipts, quotations and waybills on your phone.