How to Send an Invoice: Checklist, Email Template and the Best Way to Send It

To send an invoice, create it with all the details your customer needs to pay, save it as a PDF, and email it to the person who pays your bills with a short message stating the invoice number, amount, due date and how to pay. Send it the day the job is finished. Email with a PDF attached is the standard in Australia, and the ATO accepts an emailed invoice as a valid tax invoice. For large customers and government, eInvoicing through Peppol is increasingly the expected route.

How to send an invoice in 7 steps

1. Check the invoice is complete. If you're registered for GST and the sale is $82.50 or more, it must meet the ATO's tax invoice requirements: the words "Tax invoice", your name and ABN, the date, a description, the GST and, from $1,000, the buyer's name or ABN. Add a due date and payment details even though the ATO doesn't require them. Without them, you're relying on the customer to ask.
2. Give it a unique invoice number. Sequential and never reused. See how to number invoices.
3. Save it as a PDF with a clear file name, such as Brightside-Electrical-INV-0142.pdf. Avoid "invoice.pdf", which gets lost in a customer's downloads folder.
4. Find out who pays. The person who booked the job often isn't the one who pays. For businesses, ask for the accounts payable email and any purchase order number before you start.
5. Write a short email using the template below, with the invoice number and amount in the subject line.
6. Attach the PDF and send. Copy yourself in, or check your sent folder, so you have a dated record.
7. Diary the due date. If it isn't paid by then, follow up using our payment reminder email templates.

Invoice email template

Copy this and change the details in brackets. Short is better: the invoice carries the detail, and the email just has to get it opened and paid.

For a business customer, add their purchase order number to the subject and the first line. Many accounts teams can't pay an invoice without a matching purchase order.

Subject lines for different situations

• Standard: Invoice INV-0142 from Brightside Electrical – $1,320.00 due 13 November
• With a PO: Invoice INV-0142 – PO 88213 – $1,320.00
• Deposit: Deposit invoice INV-0142 – 30% to confirm your booking
• Progress payment: Progress claim 3 – INV-0142 – 12 Ocean Pde
• Revised invoice: Revised invoice INV-0142 (replaces version sent 30 October)

For deposits and staged work, our guides to the deposit invoice and progress claim cover what to put on the invoice itself.

Which way should you send it?

eInvoicing is worth knowing about if you supply government. Australian Government agencies pay valid eInvoices faster, and more large businesses now ask suppliers to send through Peppol. Our explainer on eInvoicing and Peppol in Australia covers how to get set up.

Is an emailed invoice a valid tax invoice?

Yes. The ATO says a tax invoice doesn't need to be on paper. An invoice emailed as a PDF or in another digital format is valid, as long as it contains everything a tax invoice must show. Your customer can claim GST credits from it, and you don't need to post a paper copy as well.

If a GST-registered customer asks for a tax invoice, you must provide one within 28 days of the request. Sales of $82.50 or less (including GST) are exempt.

When to send an invoice

• One-off jobs: the same day you finish, while the customer is happy with the work. Invoices sent days later get paid later.
• Long jobs: at the milestones agreed in your quote, such as deposit, rough-in and completion, or monthly.
• Ongoing services: on the same date each period, such as the 1st of the month for a retainer.
• Before the work: only for deposits or prepayment, and label it clearly.

Your payment terms then set the due date. Seven or 14 days is common for small businesses. Our guide to invoice payment terms covers the options and the wording.

Protect your customers from invoice scams

Fake invoices are one of the most common scams targeting Australian businesses. A scammer gets into an email account, or copies a supplier's invoice, then sends a version with their own bank details. Your customer pays the scammer, and you're still owed the money. A few habits make your invoices harder to fake:

• Send from the same address every time, ideally your own domain rather than a free webmail account.
• Keep your bank details the same on every invoice, and print them on the invoice itself, not only in the email.
• Add a line to your email footer: "We will never change our bank details by email. If you receive a request to, call us on [number] before paying."
• Turn on two-factor authentication for your email and invoicing accounts.
• If you really do change banks, phone your regular customers to tell them.

The Scamwatch site has current warnings about business email compromise and fake invoices.

After you send it

Sending is only half the job. Record the invoice in your books with its sent date, so you can see what's outstanding at any point, and follow up on the due date if it hasn't been paid. Most late invoices are paid within a day or two of a polite reminder.

If you send more than a few invoices a week, an invoicing app saves the copy-paste. InvoiceSonic, for example, emails the invoice with a pay-now link, shows when the customer has opened it, and sends reminders automatically if the due date passes. For the occasional invoice, the free generator and the email template above do the job.

Common mistakes when sending invoices

• Sending it to the person who booked the job instead of whoever pays.
• No due date, or "payment on receipt" when you mean 7 days.
• No payment details on the invoice itself. See how to put bank details on an invoice.
• Sending a Word file the customer can edit, instead of a PDF.
• Missing the PO number a business customer gave you.
• Waiting until the end of the month to invoice a job finished on the 3rd.
• Re-using an invoice number when you correct an invoice. Issue a credit note and a new invoice instead, or clearly mark it as a revised version.

This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. For guidance specific to your business, see business.gov.au and the ATO, or speak to your accountant.

Frequently asked questions