Google Docs Invoice Template

Download the Google Docs invoice template

Most "Google Docs invoice template" pages show a gallery and then ask for your email, or send you to a paid app. This one is a plain file you can download straight away. It has:

• Your business block with address, phone, email and a tax or business number line.
• Bill to, invoice number, invoice date, due date, job address and payment terms.
• A line table with description, quantity, rate and amount, with room for five lines.
• Subtotal, tax, amount paid and balance due.
• A notes box for how to pay.

Every field to change is in [square brackets], so you can find them with Edit, Find and replace (Ctrl+H, or ⌘+Shift+H on a Mac) and search for [.

How to open an invoice template in Google Docs

1. Download the template. Press Download the .docx on this page. The file is google-docs-invoice-template.docx.
2. Open it in Google Docs. In Google Docs choose File, Open, Upload and pick the file. Or upload it to Google Drive and choose Open with, Google Docs.
3. Save your master copy. Choose File, Save as Google Docs, then rename it Invoice template (master). Fill in your business name, address and how you take payment once.
4. Make a copy for each invoice. Choose File, Make a copy, and name it with the invoice number and customer, such as 1002 Smith.
5. Fill in the job. Replace every [bracketed] field: customer, dates, lines, quantity and rate. Work out each amount and the balance due yourself.
6. Send it as a PDF. Choose File, Download, PDF document and attach it to an email, or use File, Email, Email this file.

When Docs opens a .docx it can keep it as a Word file (you will see a .DOCX tag next to the name). That is fine for editing. Saving it as a Google Doc gives you version history and the Email this file option, and it keeps the original .docx untouched in your Drive.

How to fill out the invoice in Google Docs

• Fill your details once. Do it in the master copy so every new invoice already has them.
• Number every invoice. 1001, then 1002, and so on. Put the number in the file name too, so a Drive search finds it.
• One line per kind of charge. Labour, materials and any trip fee on separate lines make the total easy for the customer to check.
• Add a row: right-click inside the line table and choose Insert row below. Delete empty rows before you send.
• Add your logo: Insert, Image, Upload from computer, then set it to In line so it does not move the text.

Keep all your invoices in one Drive folder, named by number. Your accountant can then go through them in order.

Working out the totals

Google Docs does not calculate inside tables, so check the numbers before you send. The sums are:

• Amount = quantity × rate, for each line.
• Subtotal = all the amounts added together.
• Tax = subtotal × tax rate ÷ 100, rounded to the cent.
• Balance due = subtotal + tax − amount paid (any deposit).

Worked example. 2 hours of labour at $95 = $190.00. Materials 1 × $60 = $60.00. Subtotal $250.00. At a 7% tax rate, tax is $250 × 7 ÷ 100 = $17.50. With a $50 deposit already paid, the balance due is $250.00 + $17.50 − $50.00 = $217.50.

Which tax rate applies depends on where you work and what you sell. Ask your accountant or tax office if you are unsure. If you would rather not do the sums, the free invoice generator adds them up as you type and saves a PDF.

How to send a Google Docs invoice as a PDF

Send a PDF, not a link to the doc. A PDF looks the same on every phone, and the customer cannot change the amounts.

1. Choose File, Download, PDF document.
2. Attach it to an email with the invoice number in the subject line.
3. Or choose File, Email, Email this file, and pick PDF as the format.

Write down that you sent it and the due date. A Google Docs invoice does not remind anyone, so following up is up to you.

When a Google Docs invoice stops being enough

Docs is fine for a few invoices a month. It starts costing time when:

• You retype the same customers and prices every week.
• You add up totals by hand and worry about a mistake.
• You cannot tell at a glance who has paid and who is late.
• Customers ask to pay by card.

BrickByClick Free sends invoices by email with a pay link and takes card and bank payments through your own Stripe account, for $0 a month (Stripe’s processing + 0.5% per card payment, max $25). Starter, $99 a month, adds estimates, jobs, scheduling and automatic payment reminders.

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