Are you faced with finding the perfect invoice template to use for your business?
We have carefully analyzed, chosen, and created the largest selection of free online sources for both printable and online invoice templates. You can use these to make your work easier and even stand out from the competition.
Please know that there’s a difference between an invoice template and an invoice generator – although both are editable and printable, an invoice builder looks like a template but can generate the same invoice based on various templates.
But first, what’s the purpose of an invoice?
A typical invoice is a commercial instrument used to identify a relationship between a seller and a buyer. Its function, though, goes beyond this straightforward definition. In fact, a well-designed and detailed one can represent your brand and what your company stands for. Read our invoicing guide to know the basics and how to generate invoices in a few steps.
The days when you had to do all the paperwork to issue invoices are gone. Today you can look for an invoice template on the Internet and get it done in minutes. The advantage of using online sources to download them is that you can filter the searches according to your own needs. Likewise, you can even personalize the templates to fit your client’s requirements.
Without further ado, here’s a complete list of free invoice templates resources:
- Paymo— easy WYSIWYG invoice templates
- PrintableInvoiceTemplates.net — hundreds of simple printable invoice templates
- Invoicetemplates.com — PDF, Word, or Excel invoice formats
- Brother’s Creative Center — complete marketing and business resources
- Invoice Template Hub — a perfect resource for beginners
- Template Trove — find templates for CorelDRAW and InDesign
- Vertex42 — discover a diversity of financial templates
- Pinterest— beautiful visual resources from all websites
- Dribbble and Behance— designer communities for creative invoices
1. Paymo
Billing your clients is made easy with Paymo’s WYSIWYG (“what you see is what you get”) invoicing feature, available in the Free plan for freelancers and teams of up to ten users. In a sense, this is rather more of an invoice generator than an invoice template, if I’m honest.
The process is intuitive and simple — fill in all the necessary fields in just a few clicks, hit ‘Save Invoice,’ then send it to your clients via email, permalink, or share it in the app. You can clone invoices to save even more time or send recurring invoices to your clients automatically. Since Paymo’s invoicing feature is linked to time tracking and task management, you can select all the data from your time or task entries using simple dropdowns, like this:
Why not customize your invoices to set yourself apart from your competition? Create your own invoice template styles with HTML/CSS. Plus, add your business logo, and even a thank-note to leave a lasting impression.
2. PrintableInvoiceTemplates.net
If you’re looking for simple printable invoice templates, this website offers hundreds of them. Simple but comprehensive resource websites can end your entire accounting department’s rush for documents and speed up your payment processes.
You can also use other finance-related templates such as inventory forms, expense reports, billing documents, credit memos, etc. The only downside is that you can’t change their format unless you pay $7.00 for the customizable versions. You might as well want to look at other template sources if you’re searching for a much more modern template.
3. Invoicetemplates.com
Invoicetemplates is another great source for endless invoice template samples that you can download for free in PDF, Word, or Excel format. All templates are tailored to specific industries and financial needs, and you can also customize them to your liking. Some of the given options are a freelance writer invoice template, construction invoice template, hourly invoice template, professional services invoice template, and a timesheet invoice template, among others.
4. Brother’s Creative Center
Who would have thought that Brother would offer more than printers? Take a look at their selection of unique invoice templates with colorful backgrounds and graphics. Choose from a series of industries or go for the general invoice templates.
The plus is that the Creative Center also suggests other marketing and business materials that match the theme of your chosen invoice so that you don’t have to search for these in other places. In short, you’ll find all the needed materials, be they financial or not, in one single place.
5. Invoice Template Hub
This website provides a series of simple yet easy-to-use free of charge invoice templates organized according to purpose. Their target audience is represented by business people who might not have the needed time to create their own template. To print these invoices, you should be using Microsoft Office 2007 or a newer version so that their format will display correctly. Additionally, you’ll find templates for credit memos and work orders. This resource is perfect for beginners who might not know where to look for an invoice template.
6. Template Trove
Template Trove lets you download free templates for CorelDRAW and InDesign as well. Despite them providing very simple templates, you’ll be able to edit them according to your exact preferences by starting from the basic structure that includes fields such as company information, date, customer ID, invoice number, service or product details, terms, and fees, etc.
This, though, is not the resource for you if you’d like complex designs or a template creation tool on the website to support your design tasks. Editing these templates involves already having another software to complete the personalization process.
7. Vertex42
Search for your preferred type of invoice template to find inspiration for your invoices or download the models they supply. Vertex42 provides more than financial templates. You can also discover templates for project management, Gantt Charts, calendars, calculators, timesheets, schedules, resumes, and similar resources to boost your business.
TIP: Templates only go so far. We’ve compiled a list of the best Gantt software for a cloud-based project tracking tool for teams.
The drawback of choosing this website as your main invoice-related template source is that they don’t give you too many options. You’ll often get only one model for each type of invoice. In this sense, it might be a great resource if you’re indecisive or if you don’t know what distinguishes your brand yet.
8. Pinterest
Pinterest is known as a website designed to help you discover content. It’s a common source for any visual resources you may need for your work or personal purposes. The best part is that you don’t necessarily need to spend hours searching the Internet for the perfect invoice template. Pinterest already does that for you.
Keep in mind that most Pinterest posts come from external sources. This means that you’re not really taking the template from Pinterest but another website. As a result, you must always check for that specific website’s usage rights before sending an invoice template to your clients.
Pinterest can also help you if you’re looking for a distinct template type by giving you suggestions. Therefore, you’ll be able to choose from thousands of invoice templates that are downloadable, printable, and simple for freelancers, creatives, Excel users, or many more.
9. Dribbble and Behance
Looking for beautiful or artsy invoice templates? Graphic designer networks are just the place for you. Created as communities for showcasing the work of art professionals, they can provide the most colorful, complex, and inspiring invoice templates. Invoice templates don’t have to be boring. You can use these if you have an innovative and original business or impress your buyers with your uniqueness.
Don’t forget: Make sure to ask for the permission of the template’s creator before using it commercially.
Other places to look around
You must know that other alternatives can add an extra touch of professionalism to your business. While they offer more functionalities and make it easier for you to manage your invoicing, they might require a paid subscription.
Here are the top 3 advanced solutions we’ve found for you:
1. Project management software
Free templates are helpful for occasional usage, but advanced users want a complete end-to-end project management platform to end the struggle of managing multiple projects and clients. For instance, if you’re billing by the hour, you probably need task and time tracking capabilities first. Consider employee time tracking software with a time clock to keep track of all your timesheets organized. Employees who have access to invoices can view and use them whenever they want to.
An invoice in Paymo. From Free to Business, each plan allows you to create invoices right away.
Most of the templates these tools provide are customizable.
Most similar platforms come with full invoicing functionalities. Conveniently, this complete experience will eliminate the need to switch between different apps. This means that you can generate, send, and monitor all of your invoices and estimates from one single place. For the best invoicing tools, read our latest article on the top invoicing software for small businesses.
Note: If you want to learn how to get into project management more seriously, here are some requirements and skills you can hone.
2. Envato Elements
Sometimes, you’ll encounter the best invoice templates on the most unexpected websites. Envato Elements is commonly known for providing professional templates for web and graphics. You would not expect to find a template related to finance and invoicing on their website, yet you can. You’ll find an invoicing template on any website that offers general templates regardless of its main field of interest. You can also get icons and other graphics to pair with your original template if you want to do more. You need to get a monthly or annual subscription to Envato Elements to download them.
Take a look at their licensing terms before you proceed to use them commercially.
3. Etsy
Etsy is an e-commerce website where designers and artisans sell handmade or vintage supplies. Although it’s uncommon to find an invoice template on Etsy, it’s rich in polished templates and business thank-you notes you can download right after your payment is confirmed. If you’re a small business and want to differentiate yourself from the rest of the competition, not finding an invoice template to your liking on Etsy is impossible.
The disadvantage of buying a template from Etsy is that you still don’t get a template uniquely yours. Other people can buy the same template you did and use it for their businesses. Pay attention to the seller’s description to see to what extent the template is editable.
Remember: Buying an invoice template doesn’t mean you own it. As a result, you are not allowed to sell those templates to someone else or claim that you have created them.
A professional branded invoice with no errors can set you apart from your competition. It highlights the value you offer to your clients and establishes trust between you and your buyer.
With all of the sources we’ve shared, we believe you’ll be able to successfully use at least one invoice template in your business relationships. If you feel like a tool or a resource is not working for you, you can always try another one for better results. Test the free invoice template sources given above and tell us how you make them work for you.
First published on December 11, 2017.
