1. The Invoice template in Numbers
It's already on your Mac and it's free. File → New → Business → Invoice. Type your details into the header, replace the logo, add your line items, and the table adds them up. Export as PDF to send it, and save the file as a template so the next one starts from your version.
Good for your first invoices, or one client you bill occasionally. It runs out when:
- you have to change the invoice number by hand and remember what the last one was;
- you need GST worked out two different ways for business and household customers;
- you want to know who has paid, without opening every file;
- it's March and you're hunting through "Invoice copy 3.numbers" for something from October.
The template also doesn't know what the tax office requires on a tax invoice. That's your job; the checklist is short.
2. A Pages template
Pages templates are the nicest-looking of the free options, and you can lay one out exactly as you like. The catch is that Pages does no arithmetic: totals are typed, so every invoice with more than one line needs checking. Fine for a one-off with a single line item. Same numbering and tracking problems as Numbers.
3. An online invoice generator
Type into a web form, download a PDF. The fastest way to a first invoice, and the most expensive in the long run: an account and your email address, your client list on someone else's server, a watermark or a limit on the free tier, and a subscription pitch every time you come back. Reasonable for a single invoice you'll never repeat. Not a system.
4. A native invoicing app
When invoicing is a regular part of your week, the right tool remembers things for you: your business details, the next invoice number, your clients, your tax settings. It makes the PDF from a real template, tracks draft, sent, paid and overdue, and exports the lot for your accountant at tax time. On the Mac there are several apps sold for a one-off price rather than a subscription. Billfold is ours, and the box below says what it does; the comparison is meant to be honest either way.
Which one, honestly
| Numbers template | Pages template | Online generator | Native app | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | Free | Free tier, then upsells | Free tier or one-off price |
| Adds up the totals | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Works out GST | By hand | By hand | Usually | Yes, both layouts |
| Invoice numbering | By hand | By hand | Per account | Automatic |
| Who has paid | Your memory | Your memory | Their dashboard | Built in |
| Where your data lives | Your Mac | Your Mac | Their server | Your Mac |
| Right for | First invoices | A one-off | A one-off | Regular invoicing |
What every invoice needs, whichever you use
- Your name or business name, and your tax ID (in Australia, your ABN).
- The right heading: Invoice, or Tax Invoice if you're registered for GST.
- The date and a unique invoice number.
- The customer's name.
- What you supplied, with quantity and price.
- The tax, shown the way your country requires, and the total.
- How to pay and when it's due.
Sending it
Export to PDF and attach it to a short email: what it's for, the amount, the due date, and how to pay. Keep your copy where you'll find it, and note the date it was paid. If you're doing that in a spreadsheet within a month, you've outgrown the template, and that's fine; most people do.