The best QuickBooks invoice templates will include all the pertinent details you need to provide your customer so you can get paid. This includes a detailed description and cost of products/services, payment due date and your contact details should they have questions. QuickBooks Online invoice templates help you save time and bill customers faster.
Free QuickBooks Online Invoice Templates
We have created ten professional QuickBooks Online invoice templates to meet the needs of freelancers who bill by the hour or use a flat rate, nonprofit organizations that invoice donors, law firms to bill their clients, and invoices for product sales that require sales tax to be calculated.
Here are 10 free, customizable QuickBooks Online invoice templates:
1. Freelancers with Hourly Rates: Download in PDF or Excel
2. Freelancers with Fixed Rates: Download in PDF or Excel
3. Law Firms: Download in PDF or Excel
4. Nonprofit Organizations: Download in PDF or Excel
5. Down Payment Required: Download in PDF or Excel
6. Property Managers: Download in PDF or Excel
7. Installment Billing Offered: Download in PDF or Excel
8. Sales Tax Required: Download in PDF or Excel
9. Sales Tax Not Required: Download in PDF or Excel
10. Discounts Offered: Download in PDF or Excel
Using a QuickBooks invoice template will save you time, which will allow you to bill your clients quickly so that you can get paid faster. In order to use these templates in QuickBooks, you need a QuickBooks Online account. If you don’t have one, you can save up to 50% off a paid subscription.
How to Pick the Right QuickBooks Invoice Template
The type of invoice template you need will vary depending on whether you sell products or services, the industry your business falls into, and if you need to include discounts, sales tax, or provide other pertinent details to your customer.
Listed below are ten QuickBooks Invoice templates you can download for free:
1. Freelancer Hourly Rate QuickBooks Invoice Template
The hourly rate QuickBooks template is ideal for a freelancer or consultant who bills their clients by the hour. It includes columns for the description of the services, hours, and hourly rate. Once you populate these three fields, the extended amount for each service, along with the total amount due, will automatically calculate for you. Download this template in a PDF or Excel format and make any changes needed.
2. Freelancer Fixed Rate QuickBooks Invoice Template
The fixed rate QuickBooks invoice template is ideal for a freelancer or consultant who bills their clients a flat rate as opposed to an hourly rate. Like the hourly rate template, it includes a column for the description of services and a flat fee. Download this template in a PDF or Excel format and make any changes needed.
3. Law Firm/Attorney QuickBooks Invoice Template
The law firm/attorney QuickBooks template is ideal for law firms needing to bill clients for hours worked and/or other expenses incurred on a client’s behalf (e.g., mileage to/from the client’s office, court filing fees, parking fees). This template is similar to the freelancer hourly template but includes an expense reimbursement section and a field to notate the client’s case number. Download this template in a PDF or Excel format and make any changes needed.
4. Nonprofit Organization QuickBooks Invoice Template
The nonprofit organization QuickBooks template is ideal for nonprofit organizations that need to invoice their donors for outstanding donor commitments. This template includes a column to provide a detailed description, quantity, and rate. Once these fields have been populated, the extended amount will automatically calculate. We have included a field to reference a Donor ID, if applicable. Download this template in a PDF or Excel format and make any changes needed.
5. Down Payment Jobs QuickBooks Invoice Template
If you generally require clients to provide you with a deposit before you begin working on a project, the down payment jobs QuickBooks invoice template is going to be ideal for you. This template is identical to the nonprofit organization template but includes a field just below Subtotal to deduct any deposit amounts you have received from your customer. You can download this template in a PDF or Excel format and make any changes needed.
6. Property Management QuickBooks Invoice Template
If you are a landlord who needs to bill residential or commercial tenants for monthly rent, the property management QuickBooks invoice template is ideal for you. It includes columns for description of services and rate. When you populate these two fields, the extended amount and total invoice amounts are automatically calculated. We’ve also included a field for the building name/number and the tenant’s unit number. Download this template in a PDF or Excel format and make any changes needed.
7. Installment Billing QuickBooks Invoice Template
The installment billing QuickBooks invoice template is ideal for larger projects that require installment payments. As you receive payments, indicate them right below the total amount of the project along with the check details. You can download this template in a PDF or Excel format and make any changes needed.
8. Products Subject to Sales Tax QuickBooks Invoice Template
If you sell products, you need to charge your customers sales tax. The products subject to sales tax QuickBooks invoice template is ideal for you. Unlike the templates discussed so far, this template includes a column for your product code along with a description and unit cost. To calculate sales tax, type the tax rate in the sales tax rate field and the sales tax will automatically calculate. Download this template in a PDF or Excel format and make any changes needed.
9. Products With No Sales Tax QuickBooks Invoice Template
The products not subject to sales tax template is identical to the products subject to sales tax QuickBooks invoice template, with one exception—no sales tax calculation. Therefore, if you sell products that are not subject to sales tax, this template is ideal for you. You can download this template in a PDF or Excel format and make any changes needed.
10. Discount Calculation QuickBooks Invoice Template
If you would like to give your customers a discount, the discount calculation QuickBooks invoice template is ideal for you. This template includes columns for description, quantity, and unit cost. Right below the subtotal field is the discount field. You can type in the discount you would like to apply (e.g., 10, no need to enter the % sign) and it will automatically calculate. Download this template in a PDF or Excel format and make any changes needed.
For small businesses that have relatively simple bookkeeping needs but want a smart invoicing solution, we recommend reviewing the best invoicing software guide. For freelancers, we recommend FreshBooks. FreshBooks is a lot simpler to setup than QuickBooks and you can try it out for free for 30 days.
What QuickBooks Invoice Templates Should Include
The sales invoice is a document that provides your customer with all of the important details of the products and services that they have purchased from you. To ensure that payment is not delayed, you want to make sure that your contact information and your customer’s contact information is accurate. You should also include an invoice number, the invoice date, and the following information:
- What products/services you are billing them for
- How much each product/service costs
- The date payment is due
- Acceptable payment methods
- Contact details for questions
Listed below are the ten key fields that should be included on all QuickBooks invoice templates:
1. Your Company Name & Contact Information
Your QuickBooks Online invoice templates should include all of the pertinent information your customer will need in order to reach you.
This includes, but is not limited to, the following:
- Company name
- Mailing address (where you would like payments to be sent)
- Physical address (note: include only if customers will need to pick up products and it is not the same as your mailing address above)
- Telephone number
- Email address
- Website
2. Customer/Client’s Name & Contact Information
Your invoices should include all of your customer’s contact information, such as:
- Company name
- Mailing address
- Telephone number
- Email address
- Website
3. Invoice Number
All invoices should be assigned a unique invoice number. If you use an accounting software like QuickBooks, this number will automatically be generated for you each time you create an invoice. However, if you don’t use an accounting software, you will need to manually assign an invoice number to each invoice that you generate for customers.
Customers can refer to this number when they contact you with questions, and they can provide it on their checks when making a payment so that you can ensure payments are applied correctly.
4. Invoice Date
In general, the invoice date is the date that you create and send the invoice to your customer. Ideally, you should email invoices to your customers to avoid a delay between the time you generate the invoice and the time you send it to your customer. If you use QuickBooks, you can email invoices from the software.
5. Payment Terms
Payment terms is the length of time you give your customers to pay you. Standard payment terms are net 30 days, which means that the invoice is due within 30 days of the invoice date. To help you choose which payment terms are right for you, check out the best invoice payment terms for your small business.
6. Customer ID/Account Number
Many small businesses assign a unique account number to each of their clients. If you do assign an ID number to customers, be sure to include this information on all invoices that you generate.
7. Description of Products/Services
A description of the products/services purchased by your customers should be included on every invoice that you generate. This will help to minimize the questions that customers may have and help you to get paid faster. If the invoice is vague or unclear as to what you are charging your customer, payment could be delayed, which will have a negative impact on your cash flow.
8. Cost of Products/Services
I think it goes without saying that you must include the cost of your services so that your customer knows how much they owe. Most importantly, make sure that the cost on your invoice is what you quoted your customer to avoid any payment delays.
9. Amount Due
The amount due is the total amount that your customer owes for the products and services listed on your invoice. Again, it’s important to make sure that this total is correct to avoid any delays in payment. If you are using an accounting software like QuickBooks, the total amount due is automatically calculated for you!
10. Acceptable Payment Methods
All invoices that you generate should include instructions on how your customers can remit payment. If you use an accounting software like QuickBooks, you can sign up for Intuit Payments so that every invoice you send via email will include a payment button that allows customers to make payments online using their debit/credit card or bank account information.
If you don’t use accounting software, be sure to include instructions on where checks should be mailed or instructions on how to pay by debit/credit card.
6 Steps to Import an Invoice Template into QuickBooks
QuickBooks Online includes a standard template that you can modify to meet your individual needs. However, you also have the option to import a custom invoice template into QuickBooks. If you already have a template that you would like to use, follow the steps below to import your existing custom invoice template into QuickBooks.
Here are the six steps you need to follow to import your custom invoice template into QuickBooks:
1. Enable Import Style Feature
From the QuickBooks Home Page, click on the Gear icon and select QuickBooks Labs:
Navigate to QuickBooks Labs in QuickBooks Online
Click on the Radio Button to turn the Import Style Feature on:
Turn on the Import Style Feature in QuickBooks Online
2. Create Template in Microsoft Word
If your template is not currently in Microsoft Word, you will need to put it in Word format in order to upload it to QuickBooks Online. If you currently use Google Sheets, you can go to File and select Download as Microsoft Word to convert it to Word:
How to download a Google Document to a Microsoft Word document
3. Apply an Angle Bracket to Data You Want QuickBooks to Map
Note: Do not mark the data that does not change (e.g., company name, address, and contact information). Be sure to use Microsoft Word tables in QuickBooks Invoice Templates:
How to apply an angle bracket to invoice template for QuickBooks to map
Tip #1: Be sure to use one of the following Microsoft Word font styles supported by QuickBooks Online:
- Arial Unicode MS
- Courier, Courier Bold, Courier Oblique, Courier Bold-Oblique
- Helvetica, Helvetica Bold, Helvetica Bold-Oblique
- Times Roman, Times Bold, Times Italic, Times Bold-Italic
- Symbol
- Zapf Dingbats
Tip #2: Use Microsoft Word tables to contain the contents and create the table layouts with simple rows and columns to provide the best results.
Tip #3: Merged/split cells and tables placed inside of tables can cause unexpected problems.
Example of how to create tables in invoice template using Microsoft Word
Tip #4: To avoid issues, do not use the following elements:
- Audio
- ClipArt, WordArt
- Animated GIFS
- Embedded files
- Adding or updating hidden links or merging fields
- Files over 2 MB
- Non .docx file types or older Microsoft Word documents renamed as .docx files
4. Import Custom Template
First, click on the Gear icon and select Custom Form Style, as indicated in the screenshot below:
Navigate to custom form styles in QuickBooks Online
Second, select Import Style from the New Style drop-down, as indicated in the screenshot below:
Select Import Style in QuickBooks Online
Third, click on the Browse button and select the invoice template that you would like to import.
Import your invoice template into QuickBooks Online
Once you submit your template, QuickBooks will analyze and scan the document for marked fields prior to mapping. Once the upload is complete, QuickBooks will make an initial pass at mapping fields using an algorithm that will try to predict the most applicable data based on marked areas in your template. Once the template has been successfully uploaded, you should see the following message display:
Message indicating your invoice template was successfully uploaded to QuickBooks Online
5. Map Marked Areas in Your Template to QuickBooks Online Data Field
Example of how to map your invoice template to data fields in QuickBooks Online
In this step, you will need to review each field to make sure that the mapped fields from your template correspond to the correct fields in QuickBooks Online. Each text that you marked in brackets has a number next to it that corresponds to the number on your invoice preview.
As you can see in the above image, some of the fields are not mapped correctly.
6. Correct Mapping As Needed
To change the mapping, click on the drop-down and review the fields that need to be mapped, as indicated in the screenshot below:
How to correct data mapping in QuickBooks Online
Once everything is linked correctly, select the Next button to see a preview of the invoice template. Once you are satisfied with the invoice, save it and type in a name for your new style (e.g., Paul’s Plumbing Custom Invoice).
QuickBooks Templates Frequently Asked Questions
Listed below are answers to the most frequently asked questions about QuickBooks templates.
Below are the most frequently asked questions about QuickBooks templates:
How Do I Create a Template in QuickBooks?
There are a couple of ways to create a template in QuickBooks Online. You could import an invoice template, as discussed in this article, or you can create a custom invoice template directly within QuickBooks Online. Check out our video tutorial on How to Customize Invoices using QuickBooks Online for step-by-step instructions.
How Do I Create an Estimate Template in QuickBooks?
QuickBooks Online allows you to create a custom estimate template directly within the software. This feature allows you to design your template by adding your company logo, select a design, and add color. You can find step-by-step instructions in our How to Customize Sales Forms video tutorial.
How Do I Edit My Invoice Template in QuickBooks?
You can edit your QuickBooks Online invoice templates. To do so, click on the Gear icon and select Custom Form Styles listed below the Your Company Menu. Once you’re on that screen, click on the template that you would like to edit and make your changes.
Edit invoice templates in QuickBooks Online
Can You Customize Invoices in QuickBooks?
QuickBooks includes a standard invoice template so you don’t have to start from scratch. You can edit the standard template to meet your business needs. This includes adding your company logo, contact details, and the description, quantity, and other information. Check out our How to Customize Sales Forms video tutorial for instructions.
Bottom Line
As discussed throughout this article, you have several options when it comes to selecting the right QuickBooks invoice templates for your business. In addition, if you want to save time, you could start with the standard template that’s included in QuickBooks Online and customize it by adding your logo, description, quantity, cost, or customer ID.
If you’re looking for just an invoicing program without all of the bells and whistles, you may want to consider FreshBooks. To see how FreshBooks matches up to QuickBooks, check out our FreshBooks versus QuickBooks guide. To speed quickly through how to create custom invoices in QuickBooks and manage all of your business finances, be sure to check out our free QuickBooks Course. It includes video tutorials on how to set up your business and manage invoices, bills, and expenses.
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