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Invoicing
Why This Matters
Professional invoices aren't just for looking official — they're legally required in many jurisdictions for every commercial transaction. They also make your accounting and tax filing dramatically easier.
Good invoicing software auto-generates invoices from orders, tracks payment status, sends payment reminders, and organizes everything for tax season.
If you're selling B2B or wholesale alongside D2C, proper invoicing becomes even more important — businesses need invoices for their own accounting.
What You'll Do
Set up invoicing that automatically generates professional invoices for every order.
How To Do It
What Must Be on a Legal Invoice (and How It Varies by Country)
This takes about 30 minutes. Invoicing feels boring until you get audited or a customer disputes a charge — then you'll be glad you set it up right.
1. Know the universal invoice requirements (5 min)
- Your business name and address
- Customer's name and address
- A unique invoice number (sequential: INV-001, INV-002, etc.)
- Invoice date and due date
- Itemized list of products/services with quantities and prices
- Subtotal, tax amount, and total due
- Payment terms (e.g., "Due on receipt" or "Net 30")
- Accepted payment methods
Regardless of country, every commercial invoice should include:
2. Check your country-specific requirements (10 min)
- US: No strict federal invoice format, but include your EIN/Tax ID if registered. Sales tax must be itemized separately.
- EU: Must include your VAT number AND the customer's VAT number for B2B sales. Must clearly state the VAT rate and amount. For intra-EU sales, specific reverse charge rules apply.
- UK: VAT-registered businesses must issue VAT invoices with your VAT number, the tax point date, and VAT breakdown by rate.
- Canada: Must include your GST/HST number if registered. Bilingual requirements may apply in some provinces.
- Australia: Must include your ABN. GST must be shown separately.
Key differences by region:
When in doubt, include MORE information rather than less. No one ever got in trouble for an invoice that was too detailed.
3. Set up automated invoicing (10 min)
Use Zoho Invoice (free) or Wave (free) to set up automatic invoice generation. Connect it to your e-commerce platform so every order automatically generates an invoice. Customize the template with your logo and brand colors so invoices match your brand.
4. Configure your invoice numbering and terms (5 min)
Set a starting invoice number (many businesses start at 1001 to look more established). Set your default payment terms — for D2C e-commerce, "Paid" is typical since customers pay at checkout. For wholesale/B2B, "Net 30" is standard. Enable automatic payment reminders for B2B invoices at 7 days, 14 days, and 30 days overdue.
By the end of this step, you should have:
- Automated invoicing set up and connected to your e-commerce platform
- Invoice template customized with your logo, brand colors, and all legally required fields
- Payment terms and automatic reminder sequences configured for B2B orders
Recommended Tools
Zoho Invoice
Free invoicing software with beautiful templates, automation, and multi-currency support.
Try Zoho InvoiceFreshBooks
Invoicing + accounting in one. Automatic payment reminders, expense tracking, and time tracking.
From $17/mo
Try FreshBooksWave
Completely free invoicing and accounting. Perfect for small businesses and solo founders.
Try WavePro Tips
- 1Set up automatic payment reminders — politely nudging overdue invoices recovers more revenue than you'd think.
- 2Include your payment terms clearly: Net 30, Net 15, or due on receipt.
- 3Keep digital copies of every invoice. You'll need them for taxes, disputes, and bookkeeping.