- Is this a real invoicing tool, or do I need QuickBooks?
- It's a one-off invoice generator, not accounting software. It makes a clean PDF you can send to a client today. It doesn't track which invoices have been paid, doesn't generate recurring monthly invoices, doesn't talk to a tax service, doesn't sync with your bank. If you send 1-5 invoices a year and want them to look professional, this is the right tool. If you run a business with 50+ invoices a month, accounts receivable to chase, and a tax preparer asking for reports, get QuickBooks Self-Employed, FreshBooks, or Wave (free) — they're built for that.
- Does the tool save my invoice or send it anywhere?
- No. The whole thing runs in your browser. The form auto-saves to your browser's localStorage so you don't lose work on a refresh, but nothing is uploaded to a server, logged, or shared. Close the tab and clear your browser data and the invoice is gone. The PDF download happens entirely on your machine — your client only gets it when you email it to them yourself.
- How does the math work — is tax applied before or after the discount?
- Discount comes off the subtotal first, then tax is calculated on the discounted amount. This matches QuickBooks, FreshBooks, and most US/UK practice. Example: $1,000 subtotal, 10% discount, 8% tax → subtotal $1,000, discount $100, taxable $900, tax $72, total $972. If your jurisdiction calculates tax on the pre-discount amount, you'll need to enter your tax rate differently or adjust manually.
- Can I add my logo?
- Not in this version. The PDF is text-only — clean typography, no images. If you need a logo on the invoice, generate the PDF here, open it in Preview (Mac), Acrobat, or any free PDF editor (PDF24, Sejda), and drop your logo into the header. Or use this as a draft and re-create it in Canva or Google Docs. We may add logo support later; the simple PDF is the priority for v1.
- What currencies does it support?
- Any. The Currency field is a free-text box — type whatever symbol or code you want: $, €, £, ¥, ₹, USD, EUR, CAD. The number formatting follows US conventions (comma as thousands separator, period as decimal). If you need European number formatting (1.234,56), you'll have to manually adjust in a PDF editor after download.
- How many line items can I add?
- Practically unlimited (the tool caps at 100 lines per invoice from localStorage on reload, which is well above what a normal invoice has). The PDF will paginate automatically — if your line items overflow one page, you'll get a clean second page.
- Can I save multiple invoice templates?
- No — the tool only remembers the most recent one in your browser's localStorage. If you want to keep a copy, download the PDF after you make each one. The downloaded PDFs are your archive. If you need to manage multiple clients or recurring invoices, that's the cue to graduate to FreshBooks ($21/mo) or Wave (free, ad-supported).
- What's a reasonable invoice number format?
- Sequential numbers work fine: 0001, 0002, 0003. Some people use the year: INV-2026-01, INV-2026-02. Others use client codes: ACME-001. The IRS doesn't care about format — they care that you can show the audit trail. Pick a format, stick with it, and don't reuse a number. The tool's default is '0001' so you can change it to whatever you want.
- Will the PDF look the same as the preview?
- Yes, structurally — same fields, same column order, same totals. The PDF uses a clean serif/sans typography mix (Helvetica), so fonts may render slightly differently than the on-screen preview which uses your site's fonts. The numbers will be identical to the last cent.
- How do I send the invoice to my client?
- Email it as an attachment. Open your email client, write a short message ('Hi [Client], invoice attached for [project]. Net 30, wire details inside. Thanks!'), attach the PDF you just downloaded, send. That's it. If you need delivery confirmation or read receipts, use a service like DocSend or HelloSign — but for most freelance work, plain email is fine.
