How to Make a Free Invoice: What to Include, Step by Step

An invoice is a bill. It tells your client what you did, how much they owe, and when to pay. A clear invoice gets paid faster, because the client has fewer questions. It is also your record of the money you earned.

This guide covers what to put on an invoice, how to make one with a free tool, and a few habits that help you get paid on time. We made the FreeToolPoint Invoice Generator, so we are not neutral. We use it as the example here, and we say plainly what it cannot do.

Invoice, Quote or Receipt?

These three papers are easy to mix up:

• Quote (or estimate): sent before the work. It says what the work will cost. The client has not agreed to pay yet.
• Invoice: sent when the work is done, or at a milestone. It asks for payment by a due date.
• Receipt: sent after the client pays. It confirms the money arrived.

Our tool always prints the word INVOICE at the top. So use it for invoices only, not for quotes or receipts.

What Should an Invoice Include?

Most invoices need these items. The right-hand column shows whether our tool has a field for each one.

For a simple bill to a regular client, the fields in our tool are often enough. If your client or your local tax rules need your address or tax number on the invoice, use a spreadsheet template or invoicing software that has those fields.

How to Make an Invoice with FreeToolPoint

The Invoice Generator runs in your browser. It uses the open-source jsPDF library to build the PDF on your device. What you type is not sent to any server.

1. Your details. Type your business name and your email. If you leave the name empty, the PDF says "Your Company".
2. Client details. Type the client's name and email. They appear under "Bill To:" in the PDF.
3. Invoice details. The invoice number is already there, for example INV-202609-4821. It is the year and month plus four random digits. Invoice Date starts at today and Due Date starts 30 days later. Change the dates to match what you agreed. Pick USD, EUR, GBP, INR or NPR.
4. Line items. Add one row per product or service, with a short description, a quantity and a unit price. Click "+ Add Item" for more rows.
5. Tax rate. Type the percentage as a plain number, such as 13 for 13%. Leave it at 0 if you do not charge tax.
6. Generate PDF. The PDF downloads at once. Its file name is the invoice number, such as INV-202609-4821.pdf.
7. Open the PDF and check it. Then email it to your client, with your payment details in the email.

Worked example in Nepali rupees

A freelance translator in Kathmandu bills a client in NPR and charges 13% tax:

1. Subtotal: 18000.00 + 3200.00 = 21200.00
2. Tax: 21200.00 × 13 ÷ 100 = 2756.00
3. Total: 21200.00 + 2756.00 = 23956.00

On screen, the total shows as रू 23956.00. In the PDF it shows as NPR 23956.00. The PDF font cannot draw the ₹ or रू symbols, so INR and NPR amounts use the currency code. Amounts have no thousands separators. The first description above is about 40 characters. That is close to the limit, because descriptions do not wrap in the PDF.

What Our Tool Cannot Do

It is better to know this before you start:

• It saves nothing. There is no client list, no history and no draft. If you reload or close the page, the form is empty and a new invoice number appears. Download the PDF before you leave.
• You cannot choose the invoice number. It uses random digits, so it will not give you INV-001, INV-002 and so on. Keep your own list and check for repeats.
• No address, tax number, payment details, notes or logo. Put payment details in your email.
• No discount field. Add a line such as "Discount" with a negative price, for example -90.00. Type the minus sign yourself. Tax is then charged on the lower subtotal.
• One tax rate for the whole invoice. You cannot tax some lines and not others.
• Only the basic Latin alphabet prints reliably. The PDF font is a standard one. Names or descriptions in Devanagari or other scripts may not print correctly. Always open the PDF and check.
• A small credit line. The PDF usually has a small grey line at the bottom that says "Generated with FreeToolPoint.com".
• No sending, payment tracking or reminders. You send the PDF yourself and keep track of payments yourself.

Which Kind of Tool Fits You?

• A simple browser tool, like ours: good for a few simple invoices when you do not want an account. You keep your own records.
• A spreadsheet or word processor template: good when you need your address, tax number or bank details on every invoice, or your own numbering. Save each invoice as a new file. Check that the formulas still add up.
• Invoicing or accounting software: better when you have many clients, recurring bills, or need payment tracking, reminders and tax reports. It needs an account, and your data is stored with the company. Some have free plans. Check what each one includes.

Our comparison of five free invoice tools looks at these choices in more detail.

Habits That Help You Get Paid on Time

• Agree the terms before you start. Settle the price, the due date and how you will be paid before the work begins.
• Use clear payment terms. "Net 15" means pay within 15 days of the invoice date. "Net 30" means within 30 days. "Due on receipt" means pay now. Our tool shows only the due date, so set it to match.
• Send the invoice soon. Send it when the work is delivered or the milestone is done.
• Make paying easy. Give clear payment details in the email. List each method you accept.
• Keep one simple list. Write down the number, client, amount, due date and paid date of each invoice. With our tool, this list is your only record.
• Follow up politely. Send a friendly reminder a day or two after the due date, with the same PDF attached. If there is still no reply after about a week, ask if anything is blocking payment. A phone call often works better than a third email.
• Keep copies. Save every PDF in one folder per year. They are then easy to find at tax time.

Mistakes to Check Before You Send

1. Missing details. A missing client name, wrong email or missing reference can delay payment while the client asks questions.
2. Wrong numbers. A tool does the maths, but it cannot catch a wrong quantity or price. Read each line once.
3. Tax typed as a decimal. In our tool, 0.13 means 0.13%, not 13%.
4. Wrong currency. Changing the currency only changes the symbol. It does not convert the amounts.
5. A cent of rounding. Our tool rounds to two decimals only when it shows a number. Now and then, subtotal plus tax on the page looks one cent different from the total. Check the three numbers so you can explain it if asked.
6. A repeated invoice number. Check the new number against your list.
7. Wrong due date. The default is 30 days. Change it if you agreed something else.

Conclusion

A good invoice is clear and complete. It has a unique number, the dates, both parties, each charge, the tax and the total, and it tells the client how to pay. Send it soon and follow up politely.

FreeToolPoint's invoice generator is a quick way to make a simple invoice in your browser, with nothing uploaded and nothing stored. It has a small set of fields, so check that they cover what you need. When they do not, a template or invoicing software is the better choice.

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Invoice and tax rules differ by country, so check your local rules or ask an accountant.