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What to Put on an Invoice

Nine things belong on every invoice. Three of them are the reason most invoices get paid late. Here's the list, and why each one matters when the person paying you works in an office and you don't.

The checklist

1. The word "Invoice"Sounds obvious. It isn't. A document that says "Quote" or nothing at all can sit in someone's inbox for weeks because nobody realised it was a bill.
2. A unique invoice numberSequential, never reused. This is how your client's accounts department files it and how you find it again in eleven months when someone asks.
3. The date you issued itPayment terms count from this date, so it's the anchor for everything that follows.
4. Your business name and contact detailsWhatever name you trade under, plus a phone number or email that reaches you. If they can't ask a question, they don't pay — they wait.
5. Your client's name and addressThe business being billed, not just the person who hired you. Getting this wrong is the most common reason an invoice bounces back.
6. A description of the workWhat you did, in enough detail that someone who wasn't there can approve it. See below — this is the one that costs people money.
7. The amountsLine by line, then a subtotal, then tax, then the total due. Show your working. A single lump sum invites questions, and questions delay payment.
8. Tax detailsAny sales tax, VAT, GST or PST you're charging, shown separately, with your registration number if you have one.
9. When and how to payA due date — an actual date, not "net 30" — and how you want the money. Bank details, e-transfer, whatever you take.

The three that actually cause late payments

A vague description

"Labour — $850" gives the person approving it nothing to approve. They don't know what you did, so they park it until they can ask someone who does. That's two weeks gone.

Write it the way you'd explain it standing in the driveway: "Replaced 12m of failed drain tile along the north foundation wall, backfilled and graded. 8.5 hrs @ $100." Now anyone can approve it without a phone call.

A due date that isn't a date

"Net 30" means nothing to a homeowner and gets interpreted generously by everyone else. Write the actual date. Payment due: 14 October 2026. It removes the argument before it starts.

No payment instructions

People genuinely intend to pay you and then don't know how. If your invoice doesn't say where the money goes, you've added a step that requires them to contact you first — and that step is where invoices go to die.

What you don't need

You don't need a logo. You don't need letterhead. You don't need accounting software with a monthly fee to produce a document that has nine fields on it. A clear invoice sent the day you finish the job beats a beautiful one sent three weeks later, every time.