How to Create an Invoice in QuickBooks Online (Step by Step)

Quick answer: To create an invoice in QuickBooks Online, select + New (or + Create) and choose Invoice. Pick the customer, confirm the date, terms and due date, add each product or service with quantity and rate, check tax and totals, then choose Review and send to email it or Save and close to send it later.

QuickBooks Online is one of the most widely used accounting tools for small businesses, and invoicing is one of the first things new users need to do. The good news is that the basic flow is short. The less obvious part is the setup around it: customer records, products and services, payment terms, sales tax and how payments are recorded. Get those right once and every future invoice takes a minute. This guide explains how to create an invoice in QuickBooks Online step by step, how to customize and send it, how to record payment, and the mistakes that cause the most trouble.

Intuit updates the QuickBooks interface regularly and some accounts show a newer invoice layout than others, so button names may differ slightly from what you see. The steps below use the terms in Intuit's help article on creating invoices as checked in October 2026.

Before you create your first invoice

A few minutes of setup prevents most invoicing errors later.

• Company details. In account settings, confirm your legal business name, address, phone, email and logo. These appear on every invoice.
• Sales settings. Set default payment terms, for example Net 30, and choose whether to show fields such as shipping, discount, deposit or custom fields.
• Sales tax. If you charge sales tax, set it up in the Taxes area before invoicing. QuickBooks can calculate tax based on location once configured.
• Products and services. Create items for what you sell, with a name, description, default rate and taxable status. This keeps descriptions consistent and makes reports more useful.
• Customers. Add customers with their billing address and the email address their accounts team uses.
• Online payments (optional). To let customers pay through the invoice by card or bank transfer, you need QuickBooks Payments, which has its own fees.

How to create an invoice in QuickBooks Online: step by step

1. Open a new invoice. Select + New or + Create, then Invoice. You can also open the Invoices list from the Sales area and start a new one there.
2. Choose the customer. Select the customer from the dropdown, or add a new one. Check the billing address and email address are correct.
3. Check the dates and terms. Confirm the invoice date, choose payment terms such as Net 15 or Net 30, and check the due date that QuickBooks calculates. "Net" means the number of days until payment is due.
4. Add line items. For each line, select a product or service, then enter the quantity and rate. Edit the description if this job needs more detail. Add more lines, a subtotal or a text line as needed.
5. Add tax, discounts and shipping. Confirm each line's taxable status and check the calculated tax. Add a discount or shipping if those fields are turned on.
6. Pull in billable items (optional). If you track billable time or expenses, or have open estimates, QuickBooks can suggest them so you can add them to the invoice.
7. Add a message and attachments. Use the customer message field for payment instructions or a thank-you note, and attach supporting files such as a timesheet or signed estimate.
8. Choose payment options. If QuickBooks Payments is active, choose which online methods to allow on this invoice.
9. Review the design. Use the design or manage options to check the template, logo and which fields display.
10. Send or save. Select Review and send to preview and email it now, or Save and close to keep it. Scheduling options let you mark it to print or send later.

Once sent, the invoice status shows as sent, and you can see when the customer views or pays it if online payments are on.

Worked example: a QuickBooks invoice with tax and a discount

The figures below are illustrative. A bookkeeper invoices a retail client for monthly services and some taxable supplies.

Product or service	Qty	Rate	Amount	Taxable
Monthly bookkeeping	1	$600.00	$600.00	No
Payroll processing (per employee)	6	$15.00	$90.00	No
Printed tax forms pack	2	$40.00	$80.00	Yes

• Subtotal: $600.00 + $90.00 + $80.00 = $770.00
• Discount of 5% on the subtotal: $770.00 x 0.05 = $38.50, leaving $731.50
• Sales tax at an illustrative 8% on the taxable line after its share of the discount: $80.00 x 0.95 = $76.00, and $76.00 x 0.08 = $6.08
• Invoice total: $731.50 + $6.08 = $737.58

Whether a discount applies before or after tax, and how it is spread across taxable lines, depends on your QuickBooks settings and your state's rules. Check the preview carefully the first time. If you want to sanity-check the tax, our sales tax calculator gives a quick independent figure, and our guide to sales tax on US invoices explains what needs to show.

Converting an estimate into an invoice

If you send estimates in QuickBooks, you do not need to retype an accepted one. Open the estimate and use the option to create an invoice from it, or add it from the suggestions panel when you start a new invoice for that customer. The lines, rates and tax settings carry over, and the estimate is marked as closed or converted. Check that quantities still match what was actually delivered before sending, and edit any line that changed. Linking the two documents also makes it easier to answer client questions later, because you can show exactly which approved estimate the invoice relates to.

Customizing your QuickBooks invoice template

QuickBooks lets you change the look of invoices through custom form styles. Common changes include:

• Uploading your logo and choosing brand colors and fonts.
• Showing or hiding fields such as PO number, shipping details, SKU or service date.
• Adding custom fields, for example a project code your client requires.
• Editing the footer with bank details, late fee terms or a thank-you message.
• Editing the default email subject and body.

Keep the layout simple. Accounts payable teams look for your business name, invoice number, dates, amount due and how to pay. Our guide to invoice payment terms covers wording that reduces late payment.

Sending invoices and following up

When you choose Review and send, QuickBooks shows the email and a preview of the PDF. Check the recipient address, add a CC if the client's accounts team needs a copy, and send. You can also download or print the PDF and send it yourself.

For follow-up, QuickBooks can send automatic reminders before or after the due date if you turn them on in settings. If you prefer to write your own messages, our collection of payment reminder emails gives templates for each stage.

Recording payments against invoices

If the customer pays online through QuickBooks Payments, the payment is usually recorded automatically. For checks, bank transfers or other methods, record it yourself:

1. Open the invoice and choose to receive payment, or select + New and then Receive payment.
2. Choose the customer and tick the invoice or invoices being paid.
3. Enter the payment date, payment method, reference number and amount received.
4. Choose where the money went: directly to the bank account, or to Undeposited Funds if you group several payments into one bank deposit.
5. Save. The invoice changes to paid, or partially paid if the amount was less than the balance.

For installment arrangements, see our guide to the partial payment invoice, which explains how each payment should reduce the balance due.

Recurring and progress invoices

For retainers and monthly services, create the invoice once and use the recurring option, labeled Make recurring in many versions, to set a schedule. QuickBooks can send it automatically, create it unsent for review, or remind you. Our recurring invoices guide explains when each approach makes sense.

For larger projects billed in stages, some QuickBooks plans support progress invoicing from an estimate, letting you bill a percentage or amount of each line at a time. Availability depends on your plan and settings.

QuickBooks invoices vs a free invoice generator

Need	QuickBooks Online	Free invoice generator
Professional PDF invoice	Yes	Yes
Line items, tax, discount, shipping	Yes	Yes
Email sending and reminders	Yes	No; you send the PDF yourself
Payment tracking and bookkeeping	Yes	No
Online card payments	With QuickBooks Payments	Paste a payment link in the notes
Cost	Monthly subscription	Free

If you send a handful of invoices a month and keep books in a spreadsheet, a browser-based tool such as our free invoice generator may be enough. It builds the PDF, including amount paid and balance due, but it does not send, track or collect payments. For a full comparison, read invoice generator vs accounting software, or see how QuickBooks stacks up in FreshBooks vs QuickBooks.

Common mistakes when invoicing in QuickBooks

• Typing one-off item names every time. Creating products and services keeps reports accurate.
• Skipping sales tax setup. Tax will show as zero or wrong until it is configured and items are marked taxable.
• Wrong customer email. Invoices sent to a general inbox may never reach accounts payable.
• Duplicate customer records. "Acme Inc" and "Acme Inc." split balances and confuse statements.
• Depositing payments twice. Recording a payment to Undeposited Funds and then also entering the bank deposit separately inflates income.
• Editing sent invoices without telling the client. Issue a corrected copy and explain the change.
• Breaking the numbering sequence. Keep invoice numbers unique; our invoice numbering system guide explains why.

QuickBooks invoice checklist

• Company name, address, logo and contact details are correct.
• Customer record has the right billing address and accounts email.
• Invoice date, terms and due date are set.
• Each line has a product or service, quantity, rate and correct taxable status.
• Discounts, shipping and tax are checked against the preview.
• PO number or project reference added if the client requires one.
• Payment instructions or online payment options are visible.
• Invoice is sent to the right email and a copy is saved.
• Payment is recorded against the invoice when it arrives.

Next step

Set up your products, terms and sales tax first, then create a test invoice to yourself and check the PDF before sending to a client. For more step-by-step walkthroughs, browse our invoicing guides.