Freelance invoice + simple books pack (free sample you can send today)

You do not need QuickBooks on day one. You need one invoice you can fill in five minutes, and a short ledger so you know what is still unpaid.

This is the free sample. Copy it. Send a PDF. If you want the filled-in Excel / Google Sheets workbook (invoice + books + clients, formulas live), the $19 card is at the bottom of this page. No email. No waitlist.

What a freelance invoice has to have

If a field is missing, add it before you send. Clients delay on messy PDFs.

• You: working name, email, mailing address if AP needs it
• Them: company name, contact, billing email (not the Slack handle)
• Invoice number: sequential. AL-1042 is easier to chase than "July invoice"
• Dates: issue date and a calendar due date. Write Net 15 and the day
• Line items: description, qty, rate, amount. One row per deliverable
• Math: subtotal, tax if you collect it, total due. Do not type the total by hand
• How to pay: ACH, Wise, Stripe, or check — on the PDF, not only in the email
• Notes: revision limits or "work is licensed after payment" — one short paragraph

Print it on one US Letter page. If it spills to two pages, cut the decoration, not the totals.

Free sample: send this invoice

Filled-in example. Swap the names. Keep the structure.

Field	Sample
From	Avery Lane Design · [e-mail] · 418 Pine St, Portland, OR 97214
Invoice #	AL-1042
Date	25 Aug 2026
Due	9 Sep 2026 (Net 15)
Bill To	Northshore Coffee · [e-mail]
Line 1	Summer brand system — logo lockup, color, type
Line 2	Menu design — 2-sided, print-ready
Line 3	Packaging — 12oz bag + sleeve
Line 4	Homepage refresh — 4 sections
Subtotal	$4,650.00
Tax	$0.00
Total due	$4,650.00
Pay	ACH · First National · acct 000123456 · ref AL-1042
Notes	Work is licensed after payment. One round of revisions included.

Subject line when you send it:

Invoice AL-1042 from Avery Lane — due 9 Sep 2026

If they ask for a resend, send the same PDF. Do not invent a new number.

Simple books (the part blank templates skip)

A pretty invoice without a ledger is how you forget who still owes you. Keep one sheet:

Date	Client	Invoice #	Amount	Status	Date paid	Method	Notes
25 Aug 2026	Northshore Coffee	AL-1042	4650	Unpaid			Net 15
2 Aug 2026	Harbor & Pine	AL-1041	2100	Paid	12 Aug 2026	ACH
18 Jul 2026	Elm & Oak Studio	AL-1040	875	Paid	1 Aug 2026	Stripe

Add the row the same day you send. On day 16, you know what to chase.

Status dropdown: Paid / Unpaid / Partial. Method dropdown: ACH / Wise / Stripe / Check / Other.

At the top of the sheet, three cells:

• Paid = SUMIF Status = Paid
• Outstanding = SUMIF Status = Unpaid (plus Partial)
• All invoiced = SUM of Amount

That is a books tab. Not tax software. Enough to hand a CPA a year of rows.

Common misses that delay payment

• Sending from a personal Gmail with no invoice number in the subject
• "Due upon receipt" with no calendar date
• Totals that do not match the line items
• Payment details only in the email body, not on the PDF AP will file
• No record of what is still outstanding, so you forget to follow up on day 16

Get the packed version — $19

I built Freelance Invoice + Simple Books. One .xlsx you open in Excel or import to Google Sheets.

• Invoice tab — eight line-item rows, live Amount / Subtotal / Tax / Total, US Letter print
• Books tab — Paid / Outstanding / All Invoiced dashboard, 20 formatted rows, dropdowns
• Clients tab — name, email, rate, default terms
• Sample job already filled (the Northshore invoice above) so you edit a finished piece, not a blank grid

Pay once. Keep the file. No monthly invoicing app.

Buy the freelance invoice + simple books pack — $19

Card on Stripe. Download as soon as you pay. No email gate.

I'm Riley Craig. This is my file. If you already have a sheet that calculates and prints clean, keep using it.