What to Include on an Invoice: The Complete Checklist

An incomplete invoice is one of the most common — and most avoidable — reasons payments get delayed. A client's accounts payable team often can't process payment until every required field is filled in, which means a missing tax number or unclear due date can cost you weeks.

Here's the complete checklist.

Required on every invoice

• The word "Invoice" — clearly labeled, so it's not confused with a quote or receipt
• Unique invoice number — sequential, never reused
• Issue date — when the invoice was created
• Due date — or clear payment terms like "Net 30"
• Your business name and address
• Client's name and billing address
• Itemized list of products/services with quantity, rate, and line total
• Subtotal, tax, and total amount due
• Payment instructions — bank details, payment link, or accepted methods

Required depending on your country or industry

• Tax/VAT/GST registration number — required in many jurisdictions once you're registered for tax
• Tax breakdown — separate line items if multiple tax rates apply
• Currency — explicitly stated if you bill international clients
• Purchase order (PO) number — many companies won't pay an invoice without matching it to a PO

Optional, but it speeds up payment

• Your logo — makes the invoice instantly recognizable in a crowded inbox
• A short thank-you note or terms paragraph
• Late payment terms — e.g. "2% monthly interest on overdue balances"
• A signature or e-signature field — useful for approvals on larger invoices

The easiest way to never miss a field

Rather than rebuilding this checklist from memory every time, a free invoice generator bakes these fields into the template itself — so you can't accidentally ship an invoice missing your tax number or due date. Pick any of the invoice templates in Invoice Jaguar and every required field is already there, pre-positioned and ready to fill in.