Templates
Free invoice template for small business, with the fields tax rules require (US and Canada)
A free small business invoice template: every field to include, a filled-in sample, numbering and payment terms, plus the CRA's GST/HST invoice rules at $100 and $500 and how long the IRS and CRA say to keep invoices.
Prepared by Aldro Accounting · Updated · Sources checked
The quick answer
A small business invoice needs your business name, the invoice date, a unique invoice number, the customer, what you sold and the total. In Canada, the CRA requires a GST/HST registrant's invoice to show its registration number from $100, and the buyer's name, a description and payment terms from $500, or the customer may be denied input tax credits.
The invoice template
Copy this layout into a document or spreadsheet. Each row is a field, top to bottom. A spreadsheet can total the line items for you. A PDF is the safest format to send because the customer can't change it.
Scroll sideways to see all columns.
| Field | What to put | Required in Canada from |
|---|---|---|
| Business name and contact | Your business or trading name, address, email | Every invoice |
| Invoice number | A unique number in sequence, e.g. 2026-014 | Not on the CRA list, but used for your records |
| Invoice date | The date you issue it | Every invoice |
| GST/HST registration number | 15 characters: 9-digit BN, RT, 4-digit account (e.g. RT0001) | $100 (registrants) |
| Bill to | Customer's name or trading name | $500 |
| Line items | Description, quantity, rate, amount | Brief description from $500 |
| Subtotal, tax, total | Tax shown as an amount, a rate, or 'total includes tax' | Tax indication from $100 |
| Payment terms and due date | e.g. Net 30, due November 30, 2026 | $500 |
| How to pay | Bank transfer, card link, cheque details | Not required |
The last column shows the sale size at which the CRA requires each field on a GST/HST registrant's invoice. US invoices don't have a federal list of required fields, but the IRS treats invoices as supporting documents for the income and expenses in your books, so the same fields make your records complete.
How to fill it out
Number invoices in one sequence and never reuse a number. A year prefix (2026-001, 2026-002) keeps them sorted and makes a missing invoice easy to spot.
Describe each line plainly enough that someone else could tell what was sold. Put quantity and rate on separate columns so the math is visible.
Write payment terms in words the customer can't misread: "Net 30" means payment is due 30 days after the invoice date. Add the actual due date next to it.
Canada: CRA invoice rules for GST/HST
GST/HST registrants must give specific information on invoices to purchasers who want to claim input tax credits. The CRA sets three tiers by total sale. Since April 20, 2021, the thresholds have been $100 and $500, replacing $30 and $150.
To show the tax, give the total with a note that it includes GST/HST, the tax amount, or the rate. If HST applies, show the total HST rate and don't split it into federal and provincial parts.
When you charge both GST and provincial sales tax, calculate the GST on the price excluding the PST. Round tax to the nearest cent: down if under half a cent, up if half a cent or more.
Which GST/HST rate goes on the invoice
HST applies in the participating provinces: New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Prince Edward Island. The HST rate is 13% in Ontario, 14% in Nova Scotia since April 1, 2025, and 15% in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island. GST alone is 5%.
For goods, collect HST if you deliver them or make them available to the customer in a participating province. For services, the supply is generally made in the province of the customer's home or business address that you get in the ordinary course of business.
Discounts, late fees and deposits
The CRA's guide for registrants spells out how tax works on the extras that often appear on an invoice.
- Discount at the time of sale: collect GST/HST on the net amount after the discount.
- Early-payment discount on credit sales: charge GST/HST on the full invoice amount, even if the customer takes the discount.
- Late-payment surcharge: don't charge GST/HST on it. Tax is payable only on the original invoiced amount.
- Deposit: don't collect GST/HST when you receive it. Collect it when you apply the deposit to the purchase price.
- Unpaid invoices: GST/HST charged on an invoice goes in the reporting period that includes the invoice date, even if the customer hasn't paid yet.
When a Canadian invoice needs GST/HST at all
You stop being a small supplier and must register when revenues from taxable supplies are over $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or over the last four consecutive quarters ($50,000 for public service bodies). If you go over in one quarter, you collect GST/HST on the supply that put you over and must register within 29 days.
Registration is done online through Business Registration Online or with Form RC1. A small supplier that registers voluntarily has to stay registered for at least one year before asking to cancel.
How long to keep invoices
In Canada, you usually keep all sales and purchase invoices and other GST/HST records for six years from the end of the year they relate to.
The IRS lists invoices among the supporting documents that show the amounts and sources of gross receipts. The general period of limitations is 3 years, 6 years if you leave out income that is more than 25% of the gross income on the return, and unlimited if no return is filed.
Aldro's bookkeeping at $20 a month records every invoice and payment, with monthly reconciliation and statements, so the books match what you billed.
Worked example
An Ontario web designer registered for GST/HST bills a Toronto client for 10 hours at $90, or $900. Because the sale is $500 or more, the invoice shows her trading name, the date, her registration number (123456789 RT0001 format), the client's name, "Website updates, 10 hours at $90", and "Net 30, due December 1, 2026". HST at 13% is $117, for a total of $1,017. If the client pays 45 days late and she adds a $15 late fee, no HST is charged on the $15.
Common questions
What has to be on an invoice?
At minimum your business name, the invoice date and the total. In Canada, GST/HST registrants add their registration number and the tax from $100, and the buyer's name, a description and payment terms from $500.
When do I put a GST/HST number on an invoice?
Once you're registered, on any invoice of $100 or more. Registration is required when taxable revenues pass $30,000 in a quarter or over four consecutive quarters.
Do I charge tax on a late fee?
Not GST/HST in Canada. The CRA says tax is payable only on the original invoiced amount.
Do I report GST/HST on an invoice the client hasn't paid?
Yes. It goes in the reporting period that includes the invoice date.
How long should I keep copies of invoices?
Six years from the end of the year they relate to in Canada. In the US, the IRS's general limitation period is 3 years, longer in some cases.
The cheapest way to get your business taxes done: $399 flat.
Business tax filing is $399 USD a year, and it covers everything tax for that year.
How it works
- Tell us about your business. A two-minute form. No payment is collected through it.
- Get your next steps by email. We’ll email you the next steps within one business day. After you sign up we’ll send you a secure upload link for your documents.
- We file it. Our team prepares and files your return. Add bookkeeping for $20 a month if you want it.
What's included
$399 a year covers everything tax for that tax year.
- Every business return for the year. All the federal and state or provincial business returns you need for the tax year: Schedule C, 1065, 1120-S, 1120 and their state returns in the US; T2, or T1 with T2125, in Canada.
- More than one state. Multi-state returns are included at the same price.
- Your personal return. The owner’s personal return (1040 or T1) is included when it’s needed for the business income.
- Quebec. Quebec returns (CO-17, TP-1 and TP-80) are included. Our Quebec pages are in French, and our team works with you in English.
- Extensions and reminders. Extensions (Form 7004 or 4868) and quarterly estimate reminders are included.
- Information returns. 1099-NEC, T4/T4A and T5018 slips are included in the tax price.
- City and excise returns. City and local business tax returns, and state excise returns such as Washington B&O, are included in the yearly price.
- Franchise tax reports. State franchise tax reports, such as the Texas franchise tax report, are included.
- Estimated tax and instalment amounts. We work out your quarterly estimated tax payments in the US, or your CRA instalments in Canada, and tell you what to pay and when.
- Unfiled past years. Each unfiled prior-year return is $399 per tax year, the same flat price.
- Bookkeeping at $20 a month. Unlimited bank and card accounts, monthly reconciliation and monthly statements.
Basic inventory tracking for online stores, such as Shopify, is included. Full cost-of-goods reconciliation is quoted separately. Payroll processing and sales-tax filing aren’t included in bookkeeping. Prices are in USD. Our team prepares and files your return.
Sources
- CRA: Input tax credits · checked October 31, 2026
- CRA: Excise and GST/HST News No. 118 · checked October 31, 2026
- CRA: RC4022, General Information for GST/HST Registrants · checked October 31, 2026
- IRS: Publication 583 · checked October 31, 2026
This guide explains general rules from the sources listed. It isn’t tax advice for your situation.