Service Invoice Template

Every business needs to invoice customers, and, particularly with startup businesses, the invoice does not have to be complicated or pretty. This is a free basic invoice template for small businesses that only need simple invoices to bill their customers and/or clients.

In Canada, this means that this service invoice template is for small businesses that do not have to charge federal taxes in Canada. This includes Small Suppliers, who, by definition, don't have to charge GST (Goods and Services Tax) or HST (Harmonized Sales Tax) and do not do business in a province where they would have to charge PST (Provincial Sales Tax). Remember, there is no Small Supplier exemption for PST.

If you need to charge GST/HST and/or PST, see the links to other invoice templates below. You may well need to do one or both at some point if your revenue increases and you lose your Small Supplier status.

Feel free to use this free invoice template as a model for your own simple invoices. If you like, you can copy it into MS Word or some other word processor and substitute your relevant data, using your own customized business letterhead, and format the invoice template as you desire.

Invoice Template for Small Suppliers Who Don't Need to Charge Tax

Sample Invoice
From: Seastream Skin Care Suite 7, 140 Atlantis Drive Orillia, Ontario L3V 0A8 1-234-567-8910	Invoice No. 01234	Invoice Date: 4/1/2020
To: Ms. Alana Pendergast 7890 Fallinghawk Way Mississauga, Ontario, L4Z 2H7
Services Performed	Quantity	Subtotal
Detoxifying Dermabrasion @ $50.00 per hour	1.5 hours	$75.00
Sea Glace Facial Misting	1	$39.00
	TOTAL	$114.00
Payment Terms: To be paid within 30 days of Invoice Date

The first address on this free invoice template is your business address; the address below it is the address of the customer who has purchased the services.

If your small business is also selling products, it's a simple matter to add another section to this service invoice headed Invoice for Products and then list those purchases.

Note that this invoice template does not include a Business Number (sometimes called the GST Registration Number) because I've assumed that a small business that was not a GST/HST registrant wouldn't have a business number. If your small business does have a business number, you would put it on your invoice, of course.

The Importance of Specifying Payment Terms

Also note the statement at the bottom of the invoice, saying that the invoice amount is due within 30 days. You'll often see invoices that say "Payable Upon Receipt" but that's just asking for trouble because you don't necessarily know when your customer or client is seeing the invoice, particularly if you’ve sent it out by regular mail.

Using a specific terms statement like the one on this invoice gives your ​customer a due date, and helps you to avoid collection problems. Regularly reviewing your accounts receivables and following through on unpaid invoices is an important part of maintaining cash flow in your business.

Accounting Software Makes Invoicing Easier

Invoices are even easier to do if you use accounting software. When your business is in the startup phase keeping track of invoices is a simple chore but as your business grows you will find that your bookkeeping requirements become more complex and time-consuming. Accounting software designed for small businesses can not only be used as Point of Sale (POS) systems and print out invoices on the spot but make it easier to calculate and keep track of taxes, such as the GST/HST. There are a number of inexpensive, easy to learn, cloud-based accounting packages available for small businesses.