Every invoice should include ten things: the word “Invoice”, a unique invoice number, the date it was issued, your business name and contact details, the client’s name and address, a description of each item with its quantity and price, the subtotal, any tax and discount, the total amount due, and the due date with how to pay.
That is enough for most invoices between businesses in the US. Depending on where you work and who your client is, you may also need a tax registration number, the client’s purchase order number, or particular tax details. This guide lists both, explains why each item is there, and shows them on a real invoice.
The ten essentials
| What | Why it is there |
|---|---|
| The word “Invoice” | So it is filed as a request for payment, not a quote or a receipt |
| Invoice number | A unique reference for your records, theirs, and the payment |
| Issue date | Starts the clock on the payment terms; places it in the right tax period |
| Your details | Name, address and contact, so the client knows who to pay and ask |
| Client’s details | The person or company responsible for paying, and their billing address |
| Line items | What you are charging for, each with quantity, unit price and amount |
| Subtotal | The sum of the line items before tax and discounts |
| Tax and discount | Shown separately, so the client can see how the total was reached |
| Total due | The single amount you are asking for |
| Due date and payment details | When to pay, and exactly how |
Hartley & Sons Printing
1830 SE Hawthorne Boulevard · Portland, OR 97214
orders@hartleyprinting.com · (503) 555-0123 · hartleyprinting.com
- Invoice no.
- INV-0042
- Issue date
- Oct 1, 2026
- Due date
- Oct 31, 2026
- Terms
- Net 30
- Amount due
- $1,046.00
Billed to
Bluebird Café
3412 SE Division Street Portland, OR 97202
owner@bluebirdcafe.com
Project
Autumn menus and stationery
| Description | Qty | Unit price | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Menus, 11 × 17 in, heavy uncoated, double-sided | 150 | $4.20 | $630.00 |
| Business cards, letterpress, two names | 500 | $0.62 | $310.00 |
| Table tent cards | 60 | $1.85 | $111.00 |
| Local delivery | 1 | $25.00 | $25.00 |
- Subtotal
- $1,076.00
- Discount
- −$30.00
- Total USD
- $1,046.00
Payment
Pay by card at hartleyprinting.com/pay or by check to Hartley & Sons Printing
Notes
Thank you for your order. Repeat orders keep the same pricing for twelve months.
A print shop’s invoice to a café. Every essential is on it: the number, dates, terms and amount due sit together in the ruled strip. Small Business template
Your details
Use the name you trade under, as it appears on your bank account if you can, so the payment and the invoice match. Add an email address, and a phone number and postal address if your clients expect them. A logo is optional.
If you are registered for a sales tax, VAT or GST, include your registration number. Some trades print a license number too: contractors, electricians and plumbers in many states, for example.
The client’s details
Name the person or company that will pay, not necessarily the person who hired you. For a business client, use the legal name and billing address their accounts team gave you. Add a department or contact name if invoices go to a shared inbox.
The invoice number
Each invoice needs a number that has never been used before, and numbers should follow a sequence. The number lets both of you refer to the invoice in emails and payments, and it is how auditors and tax authorities check that nothing is missing. How to number invoices covers formats.
Dates and payment terms
The issue date is the date of the invoice. If the work was done at a different time, for example a month of service, say so in the descriptions (“Weekly lawn care — October”). Then write the payment terms (Net 30, Due on receipt) and the due date they produce.
Line items
Each line needs a description, a quantity, a unit price and the line total. The description should be specific enough for someone who wasn’t involved to recognize the work: “Website design and build, six pages” rather than “Website”. How to write an invoice has examples.
Totals
Show the subtotal, then any discount, then tax, then any separate charge such as shipping, then the total. If the client paid a deposit, show it as a deduction and finish with the balance due. Showing each step lets the client check your arithmetic, and lets their accountant record the tax correctly.
How to pay
Give every detail the client needs to pay you without asking: the account name, bank and account numbers for a transfer; a link for card payments; the name to put on a check. Ask them to quote the invoice number as the reference.
Extras some invoices need
- Purchase order number. If the client issued one, it must usually appear on the invoice before they can pay it.
- Project or job reference. Helps clients with several projects, or several properties, match the invoice.
- Your tax ID. Required for invoices that charge VAT or GST; clients in the US may ask for a W-9 form instead.
- Tax breakdown. Where several tax rates apply, some jurisdictions expect the tax for each rate shown separately.
- Deposit received. For work paid in stages, so the balance due is clear.
- Late payment terms. Only if agreed in advance, usually in your contract.
- Notes. A warranty, a thank-you, or when files will be released.
Tax invoices and the law
In the US there is no single national format for an ordinary business invoice; what matters is that it is clear, accurate and, where you collect sales tax, that the tax is shown correctly under your state’s rules.
Elsewhere, invoices that charge VAT or GST have formal requirements. In the UK, HMRC lists what a VAT invoice must show, including a unique sequential number, your VAT registration number, the tax point and the VAT for each rate. In the EU, the VAT Directive sets similar rules, applied by each member state. In Australia, GST-registered businesses issue tax invoices showing their ABN. If you are registered for one of these taxes, check your tax authority’s current list; this guide is not tax advice.
What to leave off
- Anything you didn’t agree. New conditions on an invoice don’t bind the client; they just start an argument.
- Internal codes and jargon. Ticket numbers and your own job codes mean nothing to the person paying.
- Bank details you don’t want shared. An invoice is forwarded and filed; include only what is needed to pay you.
- Decoration. Colored backgrounds and busy designs print badly and make the important numbers harder to find.