Invoice templates
Invoicing is an essential part of any business operation, but it doesn’t have to be tedious or time-consuming. Create professional invoices quickly and get paid in record time with free invoice templates from PandaDoc.
What is an invoice and what is it used for?
A business invoice is a request for payment from a business to its customer. The invoice provides customers with the information necessary to pay the issuer and includes a list of goods and services received from the issuing organization.
Typically, a simple invoice will include the following:
Issuer’s contact information, including the business name, address
Invoice number and account number for easy reference
Line items detailing the goods and services received
A subtotal (before sales tax) and a final amount owed by the customer
Terms of payment, including due date and late fees
Acceptable payment methods (credit card, PayPal, etc.)
The purpose of an invoice is to consolidate all of this essential information into a single, summarized document so that customers can easily review the work or goods received and remit payment.
Invoices also help businesses keep track of what they’ve paid for and what they still owe, making them essential from a bookkeeping perspective.
Creating a professional invoice
Invoicing has come a long way in the last few years. While it’s possible to build your own invoices in Microsoft Word and Excel (or in the G-Suite), it’s typically faster to use invoicing software to create professional invoices.
For small businesses, freelancers, and organizations with a limited finance department, using specialized software as an invoice generator is faster and easier to handle. This is especially true when designing a custom invoice.
On top of that, many invoicing software options generate online invoices and downloadable PDFs so that it’s easy for customers to view the documentation and download a copy for themselves.
While it’s possible to do this in Google Docs or Google Sheets, specialized software typically goes a step further by helping you capture customer account information and by issuing payment reminders to customers with an outstanding balance.
Free invoice templates for your business
If you’re looking for free invoice templates, PandaDoc can help. Our template library contains plenty of sample invoices to help you grow your business.
All of the templates in our gallery are available as PDF downloads. PandaDoc users can import our templates into the PandaDoc document editor for total customization.
Frequently asked questions
Which invoice do I need?
The type of invoice you need depends on your business model and how you plan to get paid. Many businesses issue invoices after goods or services have been exchanged. In that case, a simple or commercial invoice will do.
If your business model dictates that you need to be paid upfront, a proforma invoice with an initial fee agreement may be sufficient. Typically, however, proforma invoices are used to estimate costs and don’t request full payment before the deliverables have been received.
Is an invoice a contract?
No. An invoice is a single-sided document issued from your business to your customer. While it may be used as proof that your customer was notified of an outstanding payment for delivered work, it’s not a legally binding contract by itself.
How will someone pay my invoice?
Depending on the payment methods you can accept, your customers could pay with:
Cash
Check (cheque)
Credit card
PayPal
Wire transfer
Typically, an invoice dictates which forms of payment your business can accept. Online payments are common, but you’ll need a payment gateway to do that.
With PandaDoc, your customers can pay your invoice directly through your preselected payment gateway. Because this is connected directly to your document, you don’t have to waste time guiding customers to a payment portal. They can review the invoice and pay it all from one place.
Do invoices need to be signed?
No. By themselves, invoices are not legal documents. A signature would have no lasting effect on the integrity of the invoice. Because invoices are typically issued after the goods or services have been delivered, signing an invoice wouldn’t serve the same purpose as a contract.
For best results, create a proposal or contract and negotiate terms with your customers before you begin working.
How do I create an invoice template?
While it’s possible to use Google Docs or Google Sheets or any Microsoft product to create your invoice template, PandaDoc can resolve painful invoice problems and help you start creating professional invoices in minutes.
Our onboard CRM helps you capture customer information, and our templates help you jumpstart your invoice creation process. Once you’ve created your first invoice, you can save that in your own template library for reuse.
And don’t forget: We offer thousands of integration options so that we can connect to your existing CRM or accounting workflow.
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