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Invoices for sole traders, without the software

You do not need a $40-a-month accounting subscription to send a professional invoice. Fill this in, download the PDF, get on with the actual work.

Compliant GST tax invoice PDF in one click Runs entirely in your browser

Your business

Add your logo

PNG, JPG or SVG · stays on your device

Business name

Address & contact

GST number

Leave blank if you are not registered.

Bill to

Client name

Client address & contact

Required in NZ on invoices over $1,000, and in AU over $1,000.

Invoice details

Invoice number

Issue date

Payment terms

Due date

Currency

Tax

Rate %

Your prices are

Items

DescriptionQtyUnit priceAmount

Discount %

Payment & notes

Payment details

Notes

Style

Template

Accent colour

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The sole trader invoicing setup that takes ten minutes

Working for yourself means the invoicing is on you, and the two failure modes are equally expensive: sending something that looks like it was typed in Notepad, or spending an hour a week on admin that should take four minutes.

Get these four things right once and the rest is repetition. Use your trading name consistently — whatever is on your bank account and, if you have one, your GST registration, because a mismatch between the name on the invoice and the name on the account is a genuine reason for a payment to be held. Number sequentially from one series, not per client. Put your bank details and a reference on every invoice, because the easiest invoice to pay gets paid first. And invoice the day you finish, not at month end.

On GST: below $60,000 turnover in New Zealand (or $75,000 in Australia) you do not have to register, and if you sell mostly to consumers you probably should not — adding 15% to your price to hand it straight to Inland Revenue makes you more expensive with nothing to show for it. If your clients are GST-registered businesses, they claim it back and it costs them nothing, so registering is usually the better call. Either way, set the tax mode here to match and the invoice wording follows automatically.

The short version. A compliant tax invoice needs the words tax invoice, your business name and GST number, the date, a description of what you supplied, and the amount payable with the GST shown separately or stated as included. Over $1,000 you also need the buyer's name and address. Every field is in the generator above — the full walkthrough, including invoice numbering and the payment terms that actually get you paid, is on the New Zealand invoice guide.

When a free generator stops being enough

This tool is genuinely all you need for your first few dozen invoices. Past that, the admin around them is the problem, not the invoice itself. Some links below are affiliate links — they cost you nothing and keep this tool free.

Hnry

Built for New Zealand sole traders: Hnry takes your income, pays your GST, ACC and income tax automatically and files the returns. If invoicing is the part of self-employment you hate, this removes almost all of it.

See Hnry

Xero

The default accounting software for NZ small business. Once you are sending more than a handful of invoices a month, automatic bank reconciliation and GST returns pay for themselves.

See Xero

QuickBooks

A cheaper alternative to Xero with strong invoicing, expense tracking and reporting. Worth comparing if you are just starting out and watching every dollar.

See QuickBooks

Questions people actually ask

Do I need a company to send an invoice?

No. A sole trader invoices under their own name or a registered trading name — no company, no GST registration and no accounting software required. What matters is that the name on the invoice matches the name on the bank account you are asking to be paid into, because a mismatch is a legitimate reason for a client to hold payment.

Should I register for GST as a sole trader?

It is compulsory once turnover passes $60,000 in New Zealand or $75,000 in Australia. Below that it is a genuine choice: if your clients are GST-registered businesses they claim it back and registering costs them nothing, but if you sell mostly to consumers, adding 15% makes you more expensive with nothing to show for it.

What do I put if I do not have a GST number?

Leave it out and set the tax mode to 'No tax'. The document heading changes from 'Tax invoice' to 'Invoice' automatically, no GST line appears, and that is exactly correct — charging GST when you are not registered means collecting tax you have no right to collect.

How do I invoice for my time rather than a fixed price?

Enter your hours as the quantity and your rate as the unit price, and the line total calculates itself. Showing hours × rate rather than a single lump sum is worth doing even when you agreed a fixed fee, because it makes the invoice self-explanatory to whoever approves it.

Is this invoice generator really free?

Yes. There is no signup, no watermark, no invoice limit and no trial that expires. The site is paid for by the ads around the tool and by affiliate links to accounting software. The invoice you create is yours.

Where is my data stored?

In your own browser, and nowhere else. There is no account and no server database — your business details, logo and last invoice are saved to your browser's local storage so they are still there next time you visit. Clearing your browser data removes them, and using a different device means starting fresh.

How do I save the invoice as a PDF?

Click Download PDF. Your browser's print dialog opens with the invoice already laid out to A4 — choose 'Save as PDF' as the destination. This produces a smaller, sharper file with selectable text, which is exactly what accounting software and clients want.

Invoice templates by trade and country

Invoice generator NZ Invoice generator Australia GST invoice template Sole trader invoice Tradie & builder invoice Freelancer invoice

The rest of the toolkit

Ten free tools that talk to each other — send hours or an accepted quote straight into an invoice without retyping a thing. No signup on any of them.