How to Create an Invoice in Excel: Complete Guide with Templates

Everything is good for Google Spreadsheets, Google Docs, and Microsoft Word. But when it comes to the Microsoft Excel program, things are different.

Microsoft Excel is a widely used spreadsheet program among 30 Million users. If you are a small business owner or individual looking for a cost-effective and hassle-free approach to invoicing, Excel is for you.

In this handy guide, we provide step-by-step instructions on making Excel invoices from scratch, adding invoice components, calculating line items and totals automatically with formulas, saving invoices as PDFs, and more.

Quick Start Guide

Before getting started with creating an invoice, let’s have a quick overview of the same:

Key benefits of excel invoicing

There is no denying the fact that Excel is a very flexible and accessible tool. It also comes in handy for creating professional invoices. Excel further boats some practical benefits as follows:

• Offers easy-to-use templates, customizable layouts, and built-in formulas for easy calculation.
• Makes it easy for freelancers and businesses to keep track of invoices and record keeping.
• Provides easy integration with popular platforms, CRMs, and other tools to import data or financial records.

Before you begin: Essential requirements

Before starting, ensure you have Microsoft Excel installed or access to a similar spreadsheet tool like Google Sheets. Gather all necessary information, including your business details, client information, service descriptions, rates, and payment terms, to streamline the invoice creation process. Finally, download a pre-made Excel template for added convenience, which we’ve provided in the blog further below.

Step-by-Step Methods

Method 1: Using excel templates (Windows)

To create an Invoice in Excel that looks professional and is easy to understand, having a pre-designed template to work from is an effortless and effective activity. Simply open Microsoft Excel, choose your preferred template, start customizing it to match your brand, and your Excel invoice is generated.

Let’s walk through a step-by-step detailed guide on using an Excel invoice template to quickly generate polished invoices.

Step 1: Open the Microsoft excel program

To create a free Excel invoice template for the purchase orders, you will have to open the Excel program on your PC.

Step 2: Search for the appropriate templates

When you launch the Excel program on your computer, search for Excel invoice templates at the top of the window. To narrow your options, type “invoice” to get Excel invoice templates. Your PC has to be connected to the internet before you research.

Step 3: Select your preferred template

After browsing through several Excel invoice templates, you should have one that’s useful for you. There’s a range of templates for invoices in the Microsoft Excel program.

You’ll find blank invoice templates for shipping, service, selling details, and other business types.

From the different Excel invoice templates, choose one that’s good for your business as your invoicing solution, and download the template. Once you downloaded the template you need to open it.

Step 4: Open the template

After you have made a choice, preview the free Excel invoice template and click on Create to open the blank invoice template or download invoices. The template will open in a new window.

Step 5: Personalize the invoice

When you’re done with the selection of the simple invoice template, you can then open a fresh spreadsheet with the template and start personalizing it.

The simple invoice template must have the necessary invoice details to show the client what they are supposed to see to make a payment on time.

Thus, the billing statements must contain:

• Your business name and logo
• Your business contact details, which include name, address, email, and phone number
• Your client’s contact information
• Invoice number according to the invoice form
• Date invoices were created
• A detailed description of the services or products supplied to the client with the hourly rate or flat rate (as agreed upon) and hours worked if applicable
• The subtotal of costs and services
• Total amount to be paid by the client for the invoices, including discounts and tax charges if applicable (such as GST, VAT, and Sales Tax)
• Your payment terms and policies, including the terms of payment you accept

Step 6: Save the invoice

When you fill the free invoice template or invoice form with the necessary and require billing details of the projects, save a draft of the free invoice template as a spreadsheet on your PC. 

It is preferable to save it as an Xls document, so it can be edited at other times if there’s a need.

Also, save as a PDF document when you want to send the invoices to the customers so that they cannot be edited by another person.

Step 7: Send the invoice

Send invoices to your customers via electronic mail or print the invoices hard copies and send free invoices through the post. Do not forget to add friendly notes that will make the client impressed.

Method 2: Using excel templates (Mac)

Learn how to To create invoices using a free-to-use and pre-designed Excel invoice template on a Mac computer, can do wonders. You can effortlessly ditch the unnecessary paperwork and can elevate your billing game!

Now, go through this comprehensive guide on how to create an invoice with an Excel Template (Mac):

Step 1: Open the Microsoft excel program

On your computer, launch the Microsoft Excel program and search for free invoice templates by clicking File from the menu bar. After that,  click on New from Template. You’ll be taken to a page with different related templates.

Step 2: Search for an ideal invoice template

To narrow down your search, you’ll find a search bar on the upper part of the computer. Click on it and type the keyword “invoice”, then press enter to search.

For example, if you are looking for a sales invoicing or service invoicing then make sure you choose the most related one for your business.

Step 3: Choose your preferred invoice template

In the section where you’ll find the templates,  you’ll be provided with different types of templates. Ensure that you find the best template suitable for the kind of task you’re carrying out. Your final choice should be one that will reflect all your billing information and job details.

Step 4: Download the invoice template

After searching all templates for the best one suitable for your business, preview it, and open it on a fresh spreadsheet

Step 5: Personalize the invoice

On all the fields in the templates, add the following information:

• Your business logo
• Your business contact information, including the business name, address, email, and phone number
• Your client’s contact details
• The invoice date
• An invoice number
• A clear description of the works you have done with the hourly or flat rate if applicable or the number of goods supplied one after the other
• Subtotal of the services
• Your payment terms and policies, with the payment methods you accept. Include a late fee or interest on overdue invoices, if applicable and agreed upon by the client
• The total amount with tax or discount if applicable

Step 6: Save the invoice

After filling out the necessary details you need to save the professional invoice, go through the added information again to be sure that they are correct. After that, save the File in your Microsoft Excel program as an xlxs and PDF file. The PDF file can be sent to a client through electronic mail.

Step 7: Send the invoice

The invoice design associated with Microsoft Excel can be sent to your client through mail or email.

Method 3: Creating from excel spreadsheet

To create an invoice from an Excel spreadsheet, consider the steps given here:

• Open a new Microsoft Excel workbook.
• Remove gridlines. 
• Create an invoice header.
• Add invoice details such as invoice date and due date, invoice number, etc.
• Enter your and your client’s business and contact details. 
• Next is to specify the line items with clear descriptions of the goods and services provided.
• Use the SUM function to calculate the amount total of goods or services provided.
• Include additional payment terms or notes.
• Save and send your invoice to the client.

Here is a free tutorial on how to create a professional invoice in Excel. Give it a good watch

Method 4: Creating from scratch

To create an Invoice in Excel from scratch that is professional, clear, and easy to use one requires a methodical approach.

Let’s go through a 7 simple step process to build a polished invoice using Excel’s basic tool functionalities:

Step 1: Launch a new excel spreadsheet

The first step in this process is to open a fresh Excel program on your PC by clicking a blank workbook.

Step 2: Create an invoice header

Small businesses should make sure that their invoice should be easily identified when a client sees it to pay the money. An appropriate header consists of:

• Your business logo
• Your business contact details
• A unique invoice number
• The invoice date

Step 3: Include the client’s information

The details of the client you’re sending the invoice to have to be on the invoice. Small businesses should ensure that you have the company name, logo, and address of the contact person or the organization you’re invoicing, email, and phone number.

Step 4: State the due date for payment

Every invoice template for Excel you send should carry a due date so your cash flow won’t be affected. For clarity’s sake, fully write out the date. For example, “Payment is due August 20, 2018”. Sometimes, writing in short forms may be confusing and can delay payment.

Step 5: Describe the services provided in detail

For clarity’s sake, carefully describe the services and the price list roughly offered to the client in a service invoice template. If possible, divide the task into rows and columns and include your hourly rate alongside the number of hours you’ve worked. You should have a subtotal for the services listed.

Step 6: Add the subtotal

An advantage of preparing invoices with the Excel program is that the program’s features itself can help you with mathematical tasks. With the SUM function of the Excel program, you can add up every due in the billing cycle.

For instance, if you’re adding up column Dates from cell 6 to 8, all you need do is to enter this formula in cell C9: =SUM(C4: C8).

Step 7: State your payment terms

Payment methods, late fee policy, and other payment details a customer should know must be included at the bottom of the invoice that is the right way to create a free invoice template for Excel.

Microsoft and Google both provide templates through Excel, Word, Google Docs, and Google Spreadsheets that can justify your invoicing requirements in the easiest way possible.

It also offers you to save the templates according to your requirements so that you don’t have to waste your time on unnecessary tasks.

No matter what kind of format, features, or system you choose for your invoice template, whatever you choose as your invoice template for Excel or Word should fulfill your business requirements.

Just make sure that whatever you create using Word or Excel looks professional and fulfills your branding image. With Word and Excel, you can have entirely professional invoices that help you maintain your brand image.

Free Templates and Resources

You can now download free Microsoft Excel invoice templates through InvoiceOwl. The software offers a broad range of customizable free invoice templates, which can be downloaded in various formats, including Word, Excel, and PDF. With our free invoice templates, you can access a wide range of industry-specific templates no matter what sector your business operates in.

Having readymade and free-to-downloadable invoice templates handy can make it simpler for you to handle multiple client billings and invoicing. Remember, the quicker you create the invoice and send it to the client, the quicker you will receive your payment.

The Bottom Line

After this entire guide on the significance of creating professional invoices using free Excel invoice templates, it’s clear that Excel provides small businesses an incredibly versatile and customizable invoicing solution.

Whether working from pre-designed templates or building your own spreadsheet invoices from scratch, you can produce branded, professional-looking invoices that instill confidence in clients and get you paid faster. The key is ensuring all critical information is clearly presented – company details, client data, service descriptions, payment terms, etc.

By leveraging Excel’s tools for calculations and formatting, you can ditch manual paperwork and create polished digital invoices tailored to your business needs. So utilize the multitude of free templates available, follow the tips outlined here for personalizing and sending your invoices, and see how a basic program like Excel can become an invaluable invoicing assistant for your company