What to put on an invoice
The fields that let a customer pay you and let your books tell cash from revenue.
Why the document is a bookkeeping tool
An invoice is the source document for a sale. On the cash method it waits until the deposit before it becomes income. On the accrual method it creates revenue and accounts receivable when you earn it. Either way, a missing invoice number or a vague description is how two payments get applied to the same job. The cash versus accrual page is the timing. This page is the piece of paper.
Fields worth printing every time
- Who is selling. Legal or trade name, address, and an email a customer can reply to. A logo is optional. An identity is not.
- Who is paying. Customer name and the address or email you will actually collect against.
- Invoice date and a unique number. Numbers increase. Reusing “1042” for a second customer makes accounts receivable unsearchable.
- What you sold. Description, quantity, and price. A single line that says “services” cannot be matched to a contract later.
- Subtotal, tax, and total, on separate lines. Sales tax is not part of the service price. The sales tax calculator can add or extract a rate you already know. The bookkeeping page shows why the tax line is a liability.
- Payment terms. “Due on receipt” or “Net 15” tells you when the receivable is late. Write the calendar date as well as the phrase.
- Late-fee terms, if you charge one. The percent or flat amount, and when it starts. The late fee calculator only does the arithmetic you describe. It does not know your state’s limit.
- How to pay. Bank details, a payment link, or a mailing address. A total with no path to pay is a reminder, not an invoice.
A numeric sketch
Two hours of design at $90 is $180. A local sales-tax rate the customer’s jurisdiction actually charges, which you type, of 8.25% is $14.85. The invoice total is $194.85. Your books, on accrual, record $180 of revenue, $14.85 of sales tax payable, and $194.85 of accounts receivable. When the customer pays, cash increases and the receivable clears. The tax payable stays until you remit it. If you are on cash, none of the income hits until that payment, but you still want the invoice so you know who owes you.
What not to bury in the PDF
Do not add your cost of labor as a line the customer is not paying. Cost belongs in cost of goods sold or in wages, not on their bill. Do not list a personal draw. Do not use the invoice as a receipt for money you already received unless you label it paid and record the deposit on the same day. A paid invoice and an unpaid invoice are different events in a bank reconciliation.