How to Make Your Own Invoice Template (and Design It Well)

What an Invoice Template Needs

Whatever program you use, an invoice template is a set of zones in a fixed order. This checklist is the layout; for what to write in each field, see the field-by-field table in our how-to guide.

1. 1
   Logo and titleYour logo (if you have one) and the word INVOICE, so nobody mistakes it for a quote or receipt.
2. 2
   Seller blockYour legal name (and trade name if you use one), address and contact details.
3. 3
   Customer blockThe customer's legal name, billing address and billing contact.
4. 4
   Invoice number and datesA unique invoice number, the issue date and the due date, grouped together near the top.
5. 5
   Line-item tableDescription, quantity (or hours), unit price (or rate) and line amount.
6. 6
   Subtotal, tax, totalRight-aligned under the amount column, with the total due the most prominent figure on the page.
7. 7
   Payment terms and how to payYour term with the exact due date, plus the bank or payment details the customer needs.
8. 8
   Footer noteA thank-you line, a reference or a contact for questions.

What the rules say (by jurisdiction)

• United Kingdom: GOV.UK's Invoices: what they must include says: "Your invoice must include:" "a unique identification number"; "your company name, address and contact information"; "the company name and address of the customer you're invoicing"; "a clear description of what you're charging for"; "the date the goods or service were provided (supply date)"; "the date of the invoice"; "the amount(s) being charged"; "VAT amount if applicable"; "the total amount owed".
• European Union (VAT invoices): Article 226 of the VAT Directive (2006/112/EC) lists the details required "for VAT purposes on invoices", including "(1) the date of issue", "(2) a sequential number, based on one or more series, which uniquely identifies the invoice", "(3) the VAT identification number" of the seller, "(5) the full name and address of the taxable person and of the customer", "(6) the quantity and nature of the goods supplied or the extent and nature of the services rendered", "(9) the VAT rate applied" and "(10) the VAT amount payable". Our VAT & GST invoicing guide has more on VAT invoices.
• United States: we quote no US rule here. The zones above are common practice, not a legal list; if a customer sends you a purchase order or supplier instructions, add the fields they ask for.

Fastest Start: Make Our Blank Template Yours

Our blank invoice templates already have every zone in place. They are free to download, with no signup and no email:

To turn the Word or Excel file into your own template:

1. Add your logo beside the INVOICE title and fill in the From (seller) block with your business details.
2. Write your default payment terms and payment details in the Payment terms area (in the Excel file, use the empty rows below the totals).
3. Leave the customer, invoice number, dates and line items empty.
4. Save it as a Word Template (.dotx) or Excel Template (.xltx) with the steps below.

Our blank invoice template page has all the downloads in one place, and the invoice templates hub has versions for specific trades and document types.

How to Make an Invoice Template in Microsoft Word (.dotx)

Start with a layout. Open our blank Word invoice, or pick one of Microsoft's: Microsoft says its free, pre-built templates are "immediately available when you click File > New"; when you select one, "Click the Create button to download it." Search for "invoice" in the template search box. Replace the sample text with your own details and delete anything you will not use.

Then save it as a template. These steps follow Microsoft Support's Create a template page for Word and Excel on Windows:

1. Open your finished layout. Open the invoice layout you want to reuse: our blank Word or Excel file, a Microsoft invoice template, or a file you built yourself, with your logo, business details and default terms already filled in.
2. Choose Save As. Select File > Save As, then double-click This PC.
3. Name the template. Type a name for your template in the File name box.
4. Pick the template file type. In the Save as type list, select Word Template (.dotx) in Word or Excel Template (.xltx) in Excel. If the file contains macros, pick the macro-enabled template type instead.
5. Save it. Office automatically goes to the Custom Office Templates folder. Select Save.
6. Start each new invoice from it. Select File > New > Personal (the button may say Custom instead) and select your template. This starts a new file based on your template.

On a Mac: on the File menu, select Save as Template, type a name, and next to File Format select Microsoft Word template (.dotx). To use it, select File > New from Template and choose your template (same source).

Switching to US Letter: our blank Word file is A4. Microsoft describes the Paper tab of Word's Page Setup dialog as "where you choose the paper size for your printed document"; pick Letter from the Paper size drop-down before you save the template.

How to Make an Excel Invoice Template That Calculates Totals

An Excel template earns its keep when the totals work themselves out. Here is exactly how our blank Excel invoice is built, so you can use it as it is or rebuild the same logic in your own layout.

Where things go

• A4 to A7: FROM (SELLER) label, then three rows for your details.
• D4 to E6: Invoice no., Date issued and Due date, with the values typed in column E.
• A9 to A12: BILL TO (CUSTOMER) and three rows for the customer.
• Row 14: column headings Description, Qty, Unit price, Amount; rows 15 to 24 are ten line-item rows.
• Rows 25 to 27: Subtotal, Tax and TOTAL DUE.

The formulas, cell by cell

Quick check: type 3 in B15 and 120 in C15, and D15 shows 360. With 10 in B26, D26 shows 36 and D27 shows 396. (The 10 is only a number to test the formula, not a tax rate for your invoice; leave B26 at 0 if you do not charge tax.)

The tax line applies one rate to the whole subtotal. Billing by the hour? Our freelance Excel template uses the same formulas with Hours and Rate as the column headings.

Save it as an Excel template (.xltx)

Use the same Save As steps and pick the Excel Template type; on a Mac, Microsoft names the choice "Excel Template (.xltx)" under File Format. To print on US Letter, open the Page Setup dialog (Page Layout tab, then the dialog box launcher in the Page Setup group) and choose Letter in the Paper size box.

Prefer Google Sheets? The same formulas work there: IF, OR, SUM and ROUND are all in Google's Sheets function list.

How to Make an Invoice Template in Google Docs or Google Sheets

A simple workflow in Google Docs and Sheets is to keep one master file and copy it for each invoice. The menu steps below are from Google Docs Editors Help, Create, view, or download a file:

1. Build the master once. In Docs, use a table for the line items; in Sheets, lay out the cells as in our Excel walkthrough so the totals calculate. Fill in your business details and payment terms and name it something like "Invoice template (master)".
2. Copy it for each invoice. Open the master, then in the menu click File > Make a copy, type a name (for example the invoice number) and choose where to save it, then click Ok.
3. Fill in the copy with the customer, invoice number, dates and line items. When you are online, Google saves your changes as you type.
4. Download it. At the top, click File > Download and choose a file type, such as PDF to send or a Word or Excel file to keep an editable copy.

For the PDF step and the other ways to export, see our guide on how to make a PDF invoice.

How to Make an Editable Invoice

"Editable" means a file you can type into again: a Word document, an Excel workbook, or a Google Doc or Sheet. Keep that file as your working copy, and send the customer a PDF made from it.

• Editable: our Word and Excel blank templates, and any template you make with the steps above.
• Not a fillable form: our blank PDF is a flat, print-ready page. You can print it and fill it in by hand, but it has no form fields to type into.
• A PDF people can type into is a fillable PDF form, made with a PDF form tool; our PDF invoice guide covers the options.

How to Design an Invoice (Layout and Format)

A well-designed invoice is one the customer can read, approve and pay without asking you anything. Four decisions do most of the work.

A contrast benchmark: no invoice rule sets text contrast, but the W3C's accessibility guideline for web content, WCAG 2.2 Success Criterion 1.4.3, is a useful yardstick: "The visual presentation of text and images of text has a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1", and "Large-scale text and images of large-scale text have a contrast ratio of at least 3:1". Light grey text on white, or white text on a pale accent colour, is where invoices most often fall short.

Leave room for real invoices: our blank PDF has 6 line-item rows, the Word file 7 and the Excel file 10. If you regularly bill more lines, add rows before you save the template (and, in Excel, extend the SUM range to match).

Invoice Design Examples

For layout ideas, these are the 11 designs used by our free online generators. Each design belongs to its own generator page (the list below links one page per design), and each downloads as a PDF. What sets each one apart:

Every design prints a one-line credit at the bottom by default; in English it reads "Created free with myinvoicetemplate.com — free invoice generator, no signup". The Footer Credit checkbox in the settings turns it off, free.

Using Your Template for Each Invoice

1. Start a new copy. In Word or Excel, File > New > Personal (or Custom); in Google Docs or Sheets, File > Make a copy. Never type over the template itself.
2. Give it the next invoice number. See the invoice numbering guide or use the invoice number generator.
3. Fill in the customer, dates and line items, and check the due date is written as a date.
4. Export it to PDF and send it. Our PDF invoice guide has the export steps for Word, Excel, Google Docs, Mac and Windows.
5. Keep a copy of both the editable file and the PDF you sent.

Skip the Build: Make One Finished Invoice Online

If you only need an invoice today, you do not need a template. Fill in the free invoice generator: add your logo, pick an accent colour and paper size, check the preview, and download a PDF.

The generator is free and unmetered for normal use; an anti-abuse cap of 20 PDFs per device per day (200 per IP) applies, well above ordinary use, and the blank template downloads on this page are not metered. A one-line "Created free with myinvoicetemplate.com" credit is switched on by default and one free checkbox in the settings turns it off. Your draft is stored in your own browser on this device, so download and keep the PDF you need.

Want a reusable Word or Excel file with your own business details already in it? Our invoice template creator builds one for you.

Frequently Asked Questions