How to create your first invoice for a client

What you need

• A Business Hub account with an available invoice allowance. The free plan has a monthly limit; compare current limits on the pricing page.
• Your business details, the client billing details and the agreed work or products.
• The agreed price, currency, due date and payment instructions, plus any applicable tax or discount.

Step-by-step

1. Save your business profileOpen Settings → Business Profile and enter your business name, address, logo and payment instructions. Set your invoice prefix and starting number. Add a tax number only where it applies to your business.
2. Open a manual invoiceChoose Create Invoice → Manual Invoice. Select or enter the customer and check their billing name, email and address. You can reuse saved customer records for future invoices.
3. Describe the work clearlyAdd a line for each product or service, with quantity and unit price. For a website project, use a description such as Landing page design — agreed project scope instead of a vague label such as Work.
4. Set dates, currency and totalsUse the agreed currency, issue date and payment due date. Review subtotal, discounts, tax, shipping and final total. Add a project or purchase order reference where the client needs one.
5. Review and share the PDFSave the invoice and preview or download the PDF. Check the customer, total, due date and bank details before sending it. Email delivery requires a configured sending mailbox; WhatsApp delivery depends on the plan and connection.
6. Track the paymentWhen money arrives, record the payment against the invoice and check the remaining balance. Review a submitted transfer before confirming it; downloading or emailing an invoice does not mean it has been paid.

A simple service invoice example

Suppose you agreed to charge USD 200 for one landing page design and USD 50 for each of two additional banners. With no tax, discount or shipping in this example, the invoice contains the following amounts:

• Landing page design: quantity 1 × USD 200 = USD 200.
• Additional banner design: quantity 2 × USD 50 = USD 100.
• Subtotal and total due: USD 300.
• After recording an actual payment of USD 100, the remaining balance is USD 200.

What to check before you send

Read the invoice as your customer would. Can they identify the project, match it to the agreed price and find the payment instructions without asking you a question?

• The business and client names are correct, and the email address belongs to the intended recipient.
• The invoice number is unique within your account and the project or purchase order reference is included where needed.
• The descriptions match the agreed scope and quantities; the currency and total match your agreement.
• The due date and payment instructions are clear. Tax treatment should match your business requirements; this worked example does not prescribe a tax rate.
• Any deposit already received is recorded as a payment, so the customer can see the correct outstanding balance.

Choose the right workflow next time

Use a manual invoice for a one-off job or sale when you already have the details. If you need the client to agree to scope and terms first, start with Client Intake & Approval and create the invoice from that approved record.

For repeat monthly work, use a recurring invoice schedule on a plan that includes it. For an existing WooCommerce order or API record, use a connected data source instead of copying every field again.

You can include manual bank or wallet instructions without connecting Stripe. Card checkout requires an eligible, configured Stripe account; a payment page alone does not automatically collect or verify a bank transfer.

Tips

• Keep an unfinished invoice as a draft while confirming the price or client details.
• Use saved customers and catalog items to reduce typing on your next invoice.
• Keep a copy of the issued PDF and review the invoice history before issuing a replacement.

Learn more about the online invoice generator →

See all guides →

Further reading

• Record payments and track outstanding balances
• Collect client approval before invoicing
• Schedule invoices for a monthly retainer
• Check current invoice allowances and plan features