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Invoicing
Why This Matters
Skip invoicing and you'll spend 8 hours at tax time reconstructing transactions from bank statements, Stripe exports, and PayPal downloads. Worse, in the EU, UK, and many other regions, selling without generating proper invoices is literally illegal — fines start around 1,000 EUR for missing VAT invoices.
Automated invoicing turns every order into a clean financial record with zero effort. Your invoicing tool connects to your store, generates numbered invoices automatically, tracks who has paid, and nags overdue B2B customers so you don't have to. When your accountant asks for Q3 revenue by product category, you export one report instead of digging through emails.
Invoicing isn't admin busywork — it's the connective tissue between your sales and your books. Set it up now while you have 10 orders, not later when you have 1,000 and no paper trail.
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.
Deliverables
- 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 FreshBooksPro Tips
- 1Set automatic payment reminders at 7, 14, and 30 days overdue in Zoho Invoice or Wave. Businesses with automated reminders collect 25% faster than those sending manual follow-ups. Keep the tone friendly — 'Just a reminder that invoice #1042 for $340 is due' works better than formal demand letters.
- 2Start your invoice numbering at 1001 instead of 001. It subtly signals you're an established business, and some B2B buyers hesitate to work with a vendor whose first invoice is literally invoice #1.
- 3For EU and UK sales, your invoices legally need your VAT number, the customer's VAT number (for B2B), the VAT rate, and a VAT amount line. Missing any of these can trigger fines during an audit. Termly and Zoho Invoice handle this formatting automatically if you enable the VAT fields.