Google Docs Invoice Template

To get paid for their products and services, freelancers need access to invoicing systems that make financial tasks simpler, less mundane, and more meaningful. By creating your invoice in Google Docs, you can make a document using a word processor that is free, is user-friendly, and offers the tools necessary to create invoices that are simple, functional, and incredibly easy to manage.

By creating your invoice in Google Docs, you gain the benefit of a cloud-based invoicing solution that optimizes personal and collaborative workflows while improving the organization of digital files that you and your clients clients must deal with each pay cycle. 

For freelancers that seek more guided direction for creating their digital invoices, Google Docs allows users to upload their own professional templates for updating, or they can create an invoice design by scratch. With the basic word processing and customizations tools offered by Google Docs, creating a simple invoice that reflects the unique look and feel of your brand is easy. 

To begin creating your invoice in Google Docs, login using your Google account to access your Drive. From there, you can browse the template gallery or upload a professional template to edit directly in the program.

As you explore different templates in the gallery and elsewhere online, consider important business elements that may have an effect on the final capabilities of your invoice, including the placement of components such as product and service descriptions; quantities; client and customer details; and shipping and tracking information. 

If you choose to build your own invoice design from scratch, take some time to explore the editing and formatting tools supported by Google Docs before composing your document. 

Once you’ve decided how you will compose your document, begin updating the page with all relevant details to reflect your personal brand. Here are some elements to keep in mind as you update your template or build out your original design: 

• your logo (if you have one)
• branding colors and fonts
• freelancer contact details
• payment terms, i.e. acceptable payment options, late fees, and policies

Once you’ve placed these key components into your design, you can begin to bill your vendors and clients for payment by running your first invoice. To do this, update your invoice document will all financial details relevant to the transaction, including the following elements: 

• client and/or vendor contact details
• unique invoice number (for internal tracking purposes)
• invoicing/transaction date
• itemized list of products and/or services rendered 
• subtotals for each product and/or service
• payment due dates
• payment totals, including taxes applicable to your area

Once you’ve updated your file, the next step is to decide how you will share the invoice with your client. Thanks to the range of options offered by Google for sharing documents, freelancers enjoy flexibility when choosing the sharing method best suited to their payment process and the needs of their clients. Depending on your preference and business needs, share your invoice with your client via email by downloading your Google Docs invoice as a PDF, or share the document directly by “adding” your client's Gmail account to the document in either view-only or editing mode.

Depending on the needs of your freelancing business and clients, you may want to consider other options for creating an invoice that better suits your payment workflow. Fortunately, there are a variety of options available for users depending on a wide range of factors, including the freelancer’s familiarity with common software and design experience, as well as the affordability and functionality of the technology to be utilized throughout a given project.

At Indy, we understand the importance of accurately representing the work you do, especially when it comes to getting paid. By utilizing professional invoicing software by Indy, freelancers gain access to a powerful tool that simplifies the payment process while providing the greatest flexibility to clients as possible through integrated online payments, direct deposit or mailing options, and hour tracking.

For those freelancers who are already familiar with the Google suite of tools, another creative tool to consider for an invoicing workflow is Google Sheets. For those seeking a smarter solution for visualizing more complex financial cost breakdowns, Google Sheets is a powerful tool that provides formulaic functions that make the tedious, time-consuming task of calculating subtotals automatic and streamlined. 

Outside of the Google suite of tools, another creative tool to consider for your invoicing workflow is Microsoft Word. With Word, users benefit from the utilization of a widely-available program that serves as a one-stop solution for all essential invoice development requirements and specifications. Page elements are easily updated for branding and readability, and the final document is easily shared via email using a PDF formatted file export. With easy access to over 175 pre-designed templates, making an invoice with Word grants freelancers the flexibility they need to build necessary business materials more efficiently. 

Microsoft Excel provides freelancers with the formulaic functionality of spreadsheet software without sacrificing the ease-of-use granted by a word processor. By utilizing cloud-based spreadsheet software to create your invoice, you gain access to formulaic functionality that’s simply impossible with word processors. As with Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel transforms the complicated, tedious task of performing complex financial cost calculations, leaving you with more time to consider the overall design of your invoice or to update the document with other invoice-specific financial information.