Small Business Invoice Template

A business-to-business invoice. It has the fields a corporate accounts payable system matches on — purchase order, account number, SKU, remit-to address — which is the difference between getting paid on terms and getting paid eventually.

Download the small business invoice template

DOCXSmall business invoice template (.docx) (10 KB)Purchase order and account number fields, SKU column, shipping and discount lines, separate remit-to address and remittance block.

Free to download and use. No sign-up, no email, no watermark.

How to use this small business invoice template

Get the purchase order number before you invoice, and put it where the template asks. At any company large enough to use POs, an invoice without a valid one is not late — it is unmatched, and nobody is going to call you about it.
Include your customer's account number if they use one. It is how their system finds you, and it is faster than matching on a name.
Put the SKU or product code beside each line if your customer orders by code. Their receiving records use those codes, not your descriptions.
Use the remit-to block if payment goes somewhere other than your listed address — a lockbox, a factoring company, or a different entity. Getting this wrong sends your money to the wrong place.
State your terms precisely. "2/10 Net 30" means a 2% discount if paid within 10 days, otherwise the full amount in 30. Write both, since many AP systems will take the discount automatically if it is on the invoice.

How a B2B invoice actually gets paid

Not by a person deciding to pay you. At most companies your invoice is matched automatically against a purchase order and a goods-received record — the three-way match — and only exceptions reach a human. An invoice that matches gets scheduled and paid on terms without anyone thinking about it. An invoice that does not match goes into an exception queue, where it waits for somebody to have time.

Everything on this template is there to make the match work. The PO number is the key the system searches on. The SKU column lets line items reconcile against what was received. The account number identifies you. The remit-to block routes the money. None of it is decoration; each field is a place the match can fail.

The early-payment discount is the one lever you control. "2/10 Net 30" is a real 2% cost, but many AP departments run a discount capture process precisely because taking it is free money for them. If your cash flow is tight, offering it converts a 30-day wait into a 10-day one more reliably than any reminder email.

Shipping is a separate line because in many states it is taxed differently from the goods, and sometimes not at all if it is separately stated. Folding freight into the item price can create a tax liability that would not otherwise exist.

Example

A small specialty coffee roaster invoices a regional café group for a monthly wholesale order against a standing purchase order, shipped from their own warehouse.

House Blend 5lb — SKU HB-05	24 × $46.00 = $1,104.00
Single Origin Ethiopia 2lb — SKU SO-ET-02	18 × $34.00 = $612.00
Subtotal	$1,716.00
Shipping (separately stated)	$95.00
Sales tax — resale certificate on file	$0.00
Payment terms	2/10 Net 30

Total due: $1,811.00 — or $1,776.68 if paid within 10 days.

Both lines carry SKUs because the café group orders by code and their receiving log records the same codes. Without them the invoice has to be matched on description, which is where a three-way match falls over and lands in the exception queue.

No sales tax, because the café is buying for resale and has a resale certificate on file. That certificate is what makes the zero defensible — without it on record you are liable for the tax whether or not you collected it. Note it on the invoice so the reason for the zero is visible.

Shipping is stated separately rather than built into the coffee price. In many states separately stated freight is not taxable while freight bundled into the item price is. On a $95.00 shipping line the tax at stake is small; across a year of wholesale orders it is not.

The 2% early-payment discount is $34.32 — the difference between $1,811.00 and $1,776.68. Whether that is worth twenty days of cash depends on your position, but many AP departments will take it automatically, so only offer it if you mean it.

Limits and things to watch for

One flat tax field. Mixed rates across product categories, or tax on goods but not shipping, have to be calculated separately and entered as a figure.
No inventory or backorder handling. Partial shipments should be invoiced as separate invoices referencing the same PO.
No credit note logic. Returns and adjustments need their own document.
Nothing calculates, including the early-payment discount. The Excel version does the arithmetic.

Disclaimer. This template is a business document, not tax advice. Sales tax on goods and shipping, and the handling of resale exemptions, vary by state. Confirm your obligations with a qualified accountant.

Frequently asked questions

What happens if I invoice without a PO number?: At a company that requires one, the invoice fails the automated match and lands in an exception queue. It is not rejected and you are not notified — it simply does not get paid until someone works through the queue. Get the PO before you invoice.
What does 2/10 Net 30 mean?: A 2% discount if the invoice is paid within 10 days; otherwise the full amount is due in 30. Write both parts on the invoice. Many AP systems capture the discount automatically, so it is an effective way to shorten your cash cycle — at a real 2% cost.
Do I charge sales tax to a business customer?: If they are buying for resale and you have their resale certificate on file, no. Without the certificate on record you are liable for the tax whether or not you collected it, so get it before the first order rather than after.
Should shipping be a separate line?: Yes. In many states separately stated freight is not taxable while freight bundled into the item price is. It also makes the invoice easier to reconcile against a receiving record.
What is a remit-to address for?: It tells the payer where the money goes when that differs from your business address — a lockbox, a factoring arrangement, or a parent entity. If it is wrong, the payment goes to the wrong place and takes weeks to recover.