Does Excel have a free invoice template?

Yes. In desktop Excel choose File, New and search for 'invoice' to see the built-in templates; Excel for the web shows a smaller set on its start page. They are free with Excel. Check how each one calculates the total and the tax before relying on it, or build your own so you understand every formula.

How do I make an invoice in Excel?

Put your details, the client's details, the invoice number, date and due date at the top. Build the line items as an Excel table (Ctrl+T) with Description, Qty, Rate and Amount columns, using =[@Qty][@Rate] for each line. Below it, use =SUM(Items[Amount]) for the subtotal, =ROUND(F21$B$21,2) for tax with the rate in one cell, and add them for the total. Format the money cells, protect the formulas, and save it as an .xltx template.

What formulas do I need for an Excel invoice?

Four cover most invoices: quantity times rate for each line, SUM for the subtotal, subtotal times the tax rate (with an absolute reference such as $B$21 and ROUND to two decimals) for tax, and subtotal plus tax for the total. Add total minus amount paid if you take deposits, and invoice date plus the number of days for the due date.

How do I save an Excel invoice as a reusable template?

Clear the sample data, then choose File, Save As and pick Excel Template (*.xltx) as the file type. Create each new invoice from File, New, Personal on Windows or File, New from Template on a Mac. Each one opens as an untitled copy, so the master is never overwritten. Excel for the web cannot use .xltx templates, so there you keep a master workbook and use Save a Copy.

Can Excel number invoices automatically without macros?

Not fully, but it can suggest the next number. Keep a log table of every invoice with the number stored as a plain whole number, and use =MAX(Log[Number])+1 to show the next free number. A custom number format such as "INV-2026-"0000 displays a prefix while keeping the value numeric. You still type the number on the invoice and add it to the log each time.

How do I turn an Excel invoice into a PDF?

Select the invoice range and choose Page Layout, Print Area, Set Print Area. In Page Setup, fit it to one page wide, center it horizontally and turn off gridlines. Then on Windows use File, Export, Create PDF/XPS; on a Mac use File, Save As and choose PDF; in Excel for the web, print to PDF from the browser. Check the preview for cut-off columns or a blank second page.

Should I send clients the Excel file or a PDF?

A PDF. An .xlsx file can be edited, may contain hidden rows, other tabs and your formulas, and can look different on the client's computer. A PDF is fixed, looks the same everywhere, and is what most accounts payable teams expect.

Is Excel or Google Sheets better for invoices?

Excel is better if you already have Office, want true template files and tables that grow without breaking totals, and work mostly from one computer. Google Sheets is better if you want it free, shared or available on any device. If you would rather not build or maintain a spreadsheet, the InvoiceQuick generator does the layout, math and PDF for free with no sign-up.

Excel Invoice Template: How to Build a Free One Step by Step (2026)

Excel is still where a lot of small businesses keep their numbers, so it is a natural place to make invoices. You already know the program, the file sits on your own computer or in OneDrive, and the math is reliable once the formulas are right. If you search for an Excel invoice template you will find hundreds of free downloads, and Excel itself ships with several.

The trouble is that a downloaded template is someone else's layout with someone else's formulas, and the first time a total looks wrong you have to work out how it was built. This guide builds an invoice in Excel from a blank workbook, using the features that make Excel good at this job: tables that grow without breaking the total, absolute references for the tax rate, number formats, sheet protection, a real template file, and a clean print area for the PDF. It covers desktop Excel on Windows and Mac, and points out where Excel for the web is different. If you work in Google's tools instead, the Google Sheets invoice template guide covers the same job there.

Should You Start From Excel's Built-In Templates?

Excel has invoice templates built in. In desktop Excel, choose File, New and type 'invoice' in the search box. Excel for the web shows a smaller set on its start page. They look polished, and for a one-off they are fine.

Before you rely on one, check three things. First, click the total cell and read the formula in the formula bar, so you know what it adds up. Second, check how tax is calculated: many templates type the rate inside the formula, which you will forget to change later. Third, see what happens when you need more lines than the template has. If the answer to any of these is unclear, build your own. It takes about thirty minutes and you will be able to fix it yourself when something goes wrong.

Step 1: Set Up the Page

Open a blank workbook. Before typing anything, set the page so you are designing for paper from the start. On the Page Layout tab, set Orientation to Portrait and Size to Letter or A4, whichever your clients use. Then choose View, Page Layout. This view shows the page edges while you work, so you can see straight away if the invoice is getting too wide.

Set the column widths now. A practical layout uses six columns: A wide (about 40 characters) for descriptions, B and C narrow, D to F medium. Right-click a column letter and choose Column Width to type an exact number. Do not merge cells to make room. Merged cells cause trouble when you sort, copy or insert rows. If you want a title to sit across several columns, select those cells, press Ctrl+1 (Cmd+1 on a Mac), go to Alignment and choose Center Across Selection. It looks the same and does not lock the cells together.

Step 2: Lay Out the Header, Details and Bill-To Block

Use these positions. The formulas later in the guide refer to them, so if you move things, change the formulas to match.

Rows 1 to 2, your business. Business name in A1 in a larger bold font. Your address, email and phone in A2. To put line breaks inside one cell, press Alt+Enter on Windows, or Option+Return on a Mac (Control+Option+Return in some versions). Put the word INVOICE in F1, right-aligned.

Rows 3 to 6, the invoice details. Labels in E3 to E6: 'Invoice #', 'Invoice date', 'Due date', 'Terms'. The values go in F3 to F6. Right-align the labels so they sit next to the values.

Rows 3 to 7, the bill-to block. Type 'Bill to' in A4 and put the client's name, company, address and email in A5, again with line breaks inside the cell. Turn on Wrap Text for A5 (Home tab, Wrap Text) and make the row tall enough.

Row 8 stays empty as a gap. The line item table starts on row 9.

Check that the header has everything a client's accounts team needs: your name and contact details, their details, a unique invoice number, the invoice date, the due date and the payment terms. The full list, and why each field matters, is in what to include on an invoice.

Step 3: Build the Line Items as an Excel Table

This is the step that separates a sturdy Excel invoice from a fragile one. In A9 to F9, type the column headings: Description, Date, Unit, Qty, Rate, Amount. Fill a few rows below with sample values. Then click any cell in that range, press Ctrl+T (on a Mac, Ctrl+T or Insert, Table), make sure 'My table has headers' is ticked, and click OK.

Excel now treats the range as a table. On the Table Design tab, change the name in the Table Name box from Table1 to Items. Pick a plain table style, or choose None and add a simple fill to the heading row yourself. Untick Filter Button, since filter arrows will otherwise print on the PDF.

Why bother? Because a table grows by itself. When you press Tab in the last cell of the last row, Excel adds a new row, copies the formula down, and every total that refers to the table includes the new row. The most common spreadsheet invoice error, a new line left out of the total, cannot happen.

Step 4: Add the Formulas

Line amount. Click the first cell under Amount and type `=[@Qty][@Rate]`. You can also type `=D10E10` and Excel will usually convert it for you. The `[@Qty]` form is called a structured reference and means 'the Qty value in this row'. Press Enter and Excel fills the formula down the whole column. To keep empty rows blank instead of showing 0.00, use `=IF([@Qty]="","",[@Qty]*[@Rate])`.

The totals area. Leave one empty row under the table, then build the totals. With ten rows in the table it ends on row 19, so the totals start at row 21. In E21 type 'Subtotal', E22 'Tax', E23 'Total', E24 'Amount paid' and E25 'Balance due'.

The tax rate cell. In A21 type 'Tax rate' and in B21 type the rate, for example 8.25%, or 0% if you do not charge tax. The rate lives in one cell and nothing else in the workbook types it again.

Subtotal. In F21 type `=SUM(Items[Amount])`. This adds the whole Amount column of the table, however many rows it has.

Tax. In F22 type `=ROUND(F21*$B$21,2)`. The dollar signs make $B$21 an absolute reference: if you copy or move the formula, it still points at the rate cell instead of sliding to a different one. The ROUND keeps the tax to whole cents, so the printed total always equals the printed figures added by hand.

Total. In F23 type `=F21+F22`. Amount paid in F24 is where you type a deposit or partial payment, if any. Balance due in F25 is `=F23-F24`. Make F25 bold, because it is the figure the client pays.

A tidier alternative to $B$21 is a named cell. Click B21, click in the Name Box to the left of the formula bar, type TaxRate and press Enter. The tax formula becomes `=ROUND(F21*TaxRate,2)`, which is easier to read and works the same way.

If only some lines are taxable, add a column to the table called Taxable, type Y on the taxable lines, and use `=ROUND(SUMIFS(Items[Amount],Items[Taxable],"Y")*$B$21,2)` for the tax. Whether you should charge tax at all depends on where you and your client are and what you sell, so check the rules that apply to you. The basics are in sales tax on invoices.

Step 5: Number Formats and Dates

Money. Select the Rate and Amount columns and F21 to F25. Press Ctrl+1, choose Number, then Currency or Accounting. Currency puts the symbol right next to the figure. Accounting lines the symbols up at the left edge of the cell, which looks neater in a column of totals. Either is fine; use one throughout. Set Decimal places to 2.

The tax rate. Format B21 as Percentage with two decimals. Format it before you type, then type 8.25 and Excel shows 8.25%. If you type 8.25 into a cell formatted as General, Excel treats it as 825%.

Dates. Type the invoice date in F4. A quick way is Ctrl+; (semicolon), which enters today's date as a fixed value. Do not use `=TODAY()` for the invoice date: it changes every time the file opens, so an invoice reopened next month shows next month's date. For the due date, type `=F4+14` in F5 for net 14, or `=F4+30` for net 30. Format both cells with Ctrl+1, Date, and choose a format that cannot be misread, such as 14-Oct-2026, if you have clients in other countries, because 10/11/2026 means different days in the US and in Europe.

Dates inside a sentence. If you want the footer to say 'Please pay by November 13, 2026', a plain `="Please pay by "&F5` shows a serial number such as 46339, because Excel stores dates as numbers. Wrap the date in TEXT: `="Please pay by "&TEXT(F5,"mmmm d, yyyy")&"."` The format codes in TEXT follow your language settings, so on a non-English copy of Excel the letters may differ.

Units and quantities. If you bill by the hour, quantities like 2.5 need one or two decimal places. Format the Qty column as Number with two decimals, or as General if you mix whole items and hours.

Step 6: The Footer and a Logo

Below the totals, from about row 27, add your payment details: bank transfer details or a payment link, who to make checks out to, and your payment terms in plain words. If you charge a late fee, say exactly what it is. Clear terms make a real difference to how fast you are paid; how to write payment terms on an invoice has wording you can use.

To add a logo, choose Insert, Pictures, This Device, and place it in the top left above the business name. Right-click the image, choose Size and Properties (Format Picture on a Mac), and under Properties pick 'Don't move or size with cells' so it stays put when you resize rows. Use a small image file so the PDF stays small.

Finally, make it look like a document rather than a spreadsheet. On the View tab, untick Gridlines. Use one font, one accent color for the table heading and the balance due, and a thin border above the total.

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Step 7: Protect the Formulas

Excel protection works the other way round from what most people expect. Every cell starts out as Locked, but locking does nothing until you protect the sheet. So you first unlock the cells you want to fill in, then turn protection on.

Select the input cells: F3 to F6, A5, the Description, Date, Unit, Qty and Rate columns of the table, B21 and F24. Press Ctrl+1, open the Protection tab, untick Locked and click OK. Then choose Review, Protect Sheet. Leave 'Select unlocked cells' ticked. If you want to be able to add table rows while protected, also tick 'Insert rows'. A password is optional; if you set one, store it somewhere safe, because Excel cannot recover it.

Now try to type in F23. Excel refuses, and the totals cannot be overwritten by accident. Remember that sheet protection prevents mistakes; it is not security, and it should not be used to hide anything private. One trade-off: a table on a protected sheet cannot grow when you press Tab in the last row. If you need more lines, choose Review, Unprotect Sheet, add them, and protect it again. Ten rows covers most invoices.

Step 8: Save It as a Real Template (.xltx)

Most people save the master as a normal workbook and then accidentally type over it. Excel has a better way. Clear the sample line items and client details, leaving the formulas and labels. Then choose File, Save As, and in the file type list choose Excel Template (*.xltx). On Windows, Excel offers its Custom Office Templates folder; keep that location. On a Mac, choose Excel Template from the File Format menu, and Excel saves it to its templates folder.

From now on, create each invoice from the template: on Windows, File, New, then the Personal tab; on a Mac, File, New from Template. Excel opens an untitled copy, so saving it can never overwrite the master. Save each copy with a clear name, for example 'INV-2026-0142 Acme.xlsx', in a folder for the year.

Two cautions. Save as .xltx, not .xltm; the 'm' versions allow macros and trigger security warnings. And Excel for the web cannot save or open .xltx templates as templates. If you mainly use the web version, keep a master workbook called 'Invoice MASTER' in OneDrive, open it, and use File, Save As, Save a Copy before typing anything.

Step 9: Number Invoices Without Macros

Excel will not issue invoice numbers by itself, and you do not need VBA to manage them. Macros add security prompts and break in Excel for the web. Instead, keep a log.

Make a separate workbook called 'Invoice Log 2026' with a table named Log and columns for Number, Date, Client, Total, Due date and Paid date. Store Number as a plain whole number: 141, 142, 143. To make it display with a prefix, press Ctrl+1, choose Custom, and enter `"INV-2026-"0000`. The cell shows INV-2026-0142 but still holds 142, so it sorts correctly and you can do math on it.

Above the table, in a spare cell, type `=MAX(Log[Number])+1`. It always shows the next free number, even if rows were sorted or filtered. Before each new invoice, read that number, type it into F3 of the invoice, and add a row to the log as soon as you send it. If you want the invoice itself to show the prefix as text, use `="INV-2026-"&TEXT(142,"0000")`, or apply the same custom format to F3.

Use the year prefix only if you are happy to restart or carry on the count each January, and decide that once. Never reuse a number, and never delete a voided invoice from the log; mark it void and issue a credit note if one was sent. The reasoning behind formats like this is in invoice number format best practices. The log also becomes your list of who owes you: sort by Due date and filter for blank Paid date.

Step 10: Set the Print Area and Export a PDF

Always send a PDF, not the .xlsx. A PDF looks the same on every device, cannot be edited by accident, and does not carry your formulas, hidden rows or file properties.

First set the print area. Select A1 to F32, or whatever range holds the whole invoice including the footer, then choose Page Layout, Print Area, Set Print Area. Next, open the Page Setup dialog (the small arrow at the corner of the Page Setup group). On the Page tab, choose 'Fit to 1 page wide by 1 tall' if the invoice is short, or 1 page wide and leave tall blank if it can run longer. On the Margins tab, tick 'Center on page: Horizontally'. On the Sheet tab, untick Gridlines and leave Row and column headings unticked.

Check the result in File, Print, which shows a preview. If an empty second page appears, the print area includes extra rows; reset it. If columns are cut off, View, Page Break Preview lets you drag the blue page boundary to the right edge of column F.

Then export. On Windows, File, Export, Create PDF/XPS, or File, Save As and choose PDF. On a Mac, File, Save As and choose PDF from the File Format menu; if Excel offers a choice, select 'Sheet' rather than 'Workbook', so your other tabs do not end up in the PDF. In Excel for the web, use File, Print and choose Save as PDF in the browser's print window; some versions also offer File, Export, Download as PDF. Name the file with the invoice number and client, and attach it to your email. Practical tips on the email itself are in how to send an invoice via email.

Excel vs Google Sheets vs an Online Generator

All three work. The differences are in how much you build and maintain yourself. This comparison is written as a list so it reads the same on a phone.

Excel. Setup: about thirty minutes to build properly. Line items: Excel tables grow without breaking the total, which is Excel's main strength here. Templates: a true .xltx template on the desktop, so the master is never overwritten. Numbering: manual, with a log workbook. PDF: good, once the print area and page setup are set. Works offline: yes. Cost: needs a Microsoft 365 or Office license for the desktop app; Excel for the web is free with a Microsoft account but has no .xltx templates.

Google Sheets. Setup: similar time. Line items: plain ranges, so inserted rows need care. Templates: you copy a master file. Numbering: manual. PDF: good, with some page setup. Works offline: limited. Cost: free. Better if you want to share the file or work from several devices.

An online invoice generator such as InvoiceQuick. Setup: about a minute, because the layout, math and PDF are already done. Numbering: handled in the editor. PDF: built in. Cost: the InvoiceQuick generator is free and needs no sign-up. Less control over the exact layout than a spreadsheet you built yourself.

In short, Excel is a good choice if you already pay for Office, like to control every cell, and work mostly from one computer. A side-by-side of the file formats themselves, including Word and PDF downloads, is in the invoice template download guide, and free invoice templates for freelancers covers which layout suits which kind of work.

Common Mistakes With Excel Invoices

Editing last month's invoice instead of the template. You change the client, send it, and the old invoice is gone. The .xltx template prevents this, because every new invoice opens as an untitled copy.

A SUM that misses new rows. If you built the line items as a plain range with `=SUM(F10:F19)` and then add a line on row 20, it is not counted. Using a table and `=SUM(Items[Amount])` fixes it permanently. If you inherited a template without a table, convert it with Ctrl+T.

A tax rate typed into the formula. `=F21*0.0825` works until the rate changes, and then every copy is wrong. Keep the rate in one cell and point to it with an absolute reference or a name.

Using TODAY() for the invoice date. The date changes each time the file opens. Type the date, or use Ctrl+; to enter it as a fixed value.

Totals that are a cent off. Excel stores more decimals than it displays, so three lines can show as 33.33 each and a total of 100.00. If clients add lines by hand, round each line amount: `=ROUND([@Qty]*[@Rate],2)`.

Dates stored as text. A date pasted from an email may be stored as text, which breaks the due date formula. If a date is left-aligned and the due date shows #VALUE!, retype it, or use Data, Text to Columns, Date to convert it.

Sending the .xlsx file. The client can change the numbers, see hidden rows and other tabs, and read the author name in the file properties. Send a PDF.

Macros you did not write. Free templates downloaded as .xlsm contain code. Unless you know what the macro does, do not enable it; a plain .xlsx or .xltx does the job.

When to Stop Using Excel for Invoices

An Excel invoice works well when you send a few invoices a month to clients who rarely change. It starts to cost you time when you send more than five or six a month, bill the same clients the same lines every month, need to chase late payments, or invoice from your phone between jobs. Every step, opening the template, looking up the next number, exporting, attaching, updating the log, is done by hand, and each one is a chance for a mistake.

If that is where you are, the free invoice generator does the layout, math, numbering and PDF in one place, with no sign-up. You can also start from a trade-specific layout on the invoice template page or read how the free invoice generator works. If your Excel setup is working, keep it; many people use the spreadsheet for regular clients and the generator for a quick one-off.

A Final Check Before You Send

Before each invoice goes out, check that the invoice number is new and recorded in the log, the client details are current, every line has a clear description, quantity and rate, the balance due matches a quick sum by hand, tax appears only if it applies, the due date and terms are on the page, your payment details are present, and the attachment is a single-page PDF named with the invoice number. It takes a minute and catches nearly every problem.