Invoice Models

Synopsis

As a designer, freelancer, consultant, corporate buyer, or small business, you need your invoices to speak for your professionalism as well as get you paid. Below, we explain how you can personalize your invoices with PowerPoint better than Excel or Word, and how to use a fully customizable Invoice Models we created to get started. If you want to go straight to the resource, scroll below now.

46 questions and answers

What are some best practices for invoice creation?

View answer

Some best practices for invoice creation include: ensuring all necessary information is included such as your business name, contact details, and the client's information; itemizing the services or products provided with their respective costs; including payment terms and due date; and maintaining a professional and clear layout. It's also beneficial to personalize your invoices to reflect your brand, and using tools like PowerPoint can help with this.

What are some ways to make an invoice more appealing to clients?

View answer

To make an invoice more appealing to clients, you can personalize it to reflect your professionalism. This can be done by using a customizable template, adding your company logo, using a professional and clear layout, including all necessary details like invoice number, date, payment terms, and a breakdown of services or products provided. You can also use a tool like PowerPoint for customization, which may offer more flexibility and design options than Excel or Word.

How can an invoice reflect the identity of a business or individual?

View answer

An invoice can reflect the identity of a business or individual by being personalized and professional. It can include the business logo, color scheme, and contact information. The layout and design of the invoice can also reflect the business's professionalism and attention to detail. It's also important to include all necessary information in a clear and concise manner to make it easy for the client to understand and make payment.

View all 46 questions

Ask follow up

How to:

Create an invoice with PowerPoint

So how can good invoice design increase your profits? When you approach your invoices like calling cards for your business, good design can speak for your professionalism and help to get you repeat work. Secondly, if you design your invoice in a user-friendly way, your clients can easily get the information they need to pay you on time.

45 questions and answers

What are some examples of invoice designs that have successfully increased profits?

View answer

The content does not provide specific examples of invoice designs that have successfully increased profits. However, it suggests that good invoice design can increase profits by demonstrating professionalism and facilitating timely payments from clients.

How can invoice design be optimized for faster payments?

View answer

Invoice design can be optimized for faster payments by making it user-friendly and easy to understand. This includes clearly stating the payment terms, due date, and the amount due. It's also beneficial to include multiple payment options and a detailed breakdown of services provided. A professional and well-organized invoice can encourage clients to pay on time.

What are the best practices for designing invoices for corporate vendors?

View answer

Some of the best practices for designing invoices for corporate vendors include making sure the invoice is clear and concise, includes all necessary information such as the company's name, address, and contact information, the date, invoice number, description of goods or services provided, the amount due, and payment terms. It's also important to make the invoice look professional and easy to read to encourage prompt payment.

View all 45 questions

Ask follow up

On the first point: You want your invoices to look good, but you don't want to make them designful to the point where they're too playful, as it could cheapen your service and make it look unprofessional. For instance, you don't want your client to think you spend too much time on your invoice design because you don't have enough paying clients! By contrast, having good-looking invoice signals that your business is legitimate and that you get consistent work, even if is actually your first time.

45 questions and answers

How can a business use invoice design to show they get consistent work?

View answer

A business can use invoice design to show they get consistent work by creating a professional and clean design. This signals to the client that the business is legitimate and consistently gets work. However, it's important not to overdo the design to the point where it looks too playful or gives the impression that the business has too much free time, which could potentially make it look unprofessional.

What are some strategies to make an invoice look good for a first-time client?

View answer

Some strategies to make an invoice look good for a first-time client include keeping it professional and not overly playful. The design should be clean and simple, not overly complex or busy. It should clearly state the services provided and the cost for each. It's also important to include your business information and contact details. Remember, the invoice is a reflection of your business, so it should be professional and represent your brand well.

How can a business ensure their invoice design doesn't cheapen their service?

View answer

A business can ensure their invoice design doesn't cheapen their service by maintaining a balance between aesthetics and professionalism. The invoice should look good, but not overly playful or designful as it could make the service look unprofessional. It's important not to give the impression that too much time is spent on invoice design at the expense of serving clients. A well-designed invoice can signal that the business is legitimate and consistently gets work.

View all 45 questions

Ask follow up

So how do you make a professional invoice? If you've never made an invoice before, there are a few key elements you need to include: the product or services provided to the client, the contact information for both you and your client, the amount owed for the work, and the due date. It's also good to draw the payer's attention to the total amount so they can pay you with as little reading as possible. You'll also see this invoice has the payment method easily accessible too so the payer knows exactly how to pay the invoice.

44 questions and answers

What are some tips for creating an invoice for a purchaser?

View answer

When creating an invoice for a purchaser, there are several key elements you should include. Firstly, detail the product or services provided to the client. Secondly, include the contact information for both you and your client. Thirdly, specify the amount owed for the work and the due date. It's also beneficial to highlight the total amount to facilitate the payer's reading. Lastly, make the payment method easily accessible so the payer knows exactly how to pay the invoice.

What are some strategies for making an invoice more designful?

View answer

To make an invoice more designful, you can consider the following strategies: 1. Use a clean and professional layout. 2. Highlight important information such as total amount and due date. 3. Include clear and concise descriptions of the products or services provided. 4. Make the payment method easily accessible. 5. Use your brand colors and logo to make the invoice recognizable. 6. Use typography that is easy to read. 7. Include a thank you note or a personal message to add a personal touch.

What are some ways to make the payment method on an invoice more accessible?

View answer

There are several ways to make the payment method on an invoice more accessible. One way is to clearly state the payment method at the top or bottom of the invoice. This could be in the form of a note or a separate section dedicated to payment information. Another way is to use bold or larger font to highlight the payment method. You could also consider using icons or graphics to represent different payment methods. Lastly, providing multiple payment options can also make the payment process more accessible for the payer.

View all 44 questions

Ask follow up

So how do you make invoices that show off your professionalism and help you get more work? Make them in PowerPoint. Making a PowerPoint invoice is superior to making one in a Word doc, as Word is meant for text-based layouts with the occasional picture. PowerPoint, on the other hand, is more contextual, allowing you to drag and drop anything into any position you want. Since invoices are one-pagers, you need design flexibility to rearrange elements to ensure they all fit on one page, which is easier on PowerPoint than in Word or Excel.

Ask follow up

PowerPoint allows you to utilize different colors, bolding, or header sizes to draw the eye to the most important details. This personalization can make the difference between a positive user experience and a confusing one. You don't want your payments delayed due to missed information, but you also don't want the invoice to feel too crowded with too much information.

Ask follow up

For the billable charges, use a PowerPoint table instead of text boxes. This makes alignment easy and convenient for multiple line items. Finally, include the final total as a bigger number than the others. This number can go at the top of the invoice or at the bottom. If it's at the top, the recipient knows right away what to pay. If it's at the bottom, it's more subtle, like a summary, especially if your invoice has a lot of line items.

Ask follow up

Unlike other invoice generators that don't have the flexibility to dictate what goes where, design with PowerPoint allows you to add or subtract additional elements like business expenses, taxes and fees, or customer discounts. If you're interested in taking your design to the next level, you should check out our video explainer on The Design of Everyday ThingsThe Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman.

Ask follow up

Now, if you don't want to create a designfully beautiful, personalized PowerPoint invoice from scratch, you can use our Invoice template collection to save time and hours of work. This template has invoices for everyone, whether you are a contractor, small business, corporate vendor or purchaser, consultant, or freelancer.

Ask follow up

This product-centric invoice lists products, price per unit, and the number of units. It also accounts for tax and any applicable discount. Sum the tax minus the discount for the grand total due. Under terms and conditions, list any specific billing details like date due. (Slide 8)

Hourly rate invoice

The template also includes a "pay now" button that can be copied and pasted across each invoice in the collection so you can direct link to your preferred payment service. Just right-click on the button and update the URL to your payment link. For example, you could add it to this service-centered invoice designed for hourly contractors. It lists out the tasks accomplished, their hourly rate, the number of hours and the total. (Slide 19)

Ask follow up

Consultant invoice

This consultant-focused design offers a similar use case, but if you bill your clients on a flat fee basis, simply remove the hours and rate columns for the total amount. This visualization also allows you to include your signature at the bottom. (Slide 20)

Subscription or SaaS

This consultant-focused design offers a similar use-case, but if you bill your clients on a flat fee basis, simply remove the hours and rate columns for the total amount. This visualization also allows you to include your signature at the bottom. (Slide 25)

Invoice with expenditure

This design adds a section for expenses incurred during a service period, such as travel and transportation, which is especially useful for freelancers and contractors who need additional resources to supplement their core services. If you don't need extra expenses, delete it for a basic invoice design. You may want this design for continuing relationships with repeat clients since the bottom summary tallies the "to date" billing, last invoice date and amount, or any outstanding amounts. (Slide 35)

Ask follow up

Get paid on time every time

Since many invoices are created and transmitted digitally now, there could be software incompatibilities between your system and your payer's system. To avoid complications, export the final version of your invoice as a PDF to ensure your layout and design are translated correctly. Exporting to a PDF is also good for preventing "accidental" editing since a PDF locks the content.

Ask follow up

For more invoice templates, check out our Invoice Collection spreadsheet collection as well. These personalized templates are great for helping you get repeat work and avoiding spam filters that are trying to stop invoice fraud scams. To learn more about the PayPal invoice scam going around right now, definitely check out the video we created about it here. Both collections will impress your clients with fully personalized, designfully beautiful invoices, and make it as easy as possible for them to pay you on time, every time.

Ask follow up