How to Make an Invoice in Word: A Step-by-Step Guide

To make an invoice in Word, start from an invoice template, fill in your details, the client's and each charge, give it a new invoice number and check the totals yourself, then save it as a PDF and send it. Save your filled-in layout as a Word template once, and each new invoice starts from it.

Billed publishes this page, and Billed makes invoicing software. Microsoft Word features are quoted from Microsoft's own support and template pages, and Billed's template from its live Word invoice template page, all opened on October 30, 2026. This page explains how to use Word; it doesn't rank Word against other tools. For the trade-offs, see Excel or an invoicing tool.

Step 1: Start from an invoice template

You don't need to build the layout from a blank page:

• Microsoft's templates. Microsoft's business templates page for Word includes invoices: "Bill clients and track payments with clean, professional invoice templates."
• Billed's Word templates. Billed's Word invoice template page offers two layouts, a service invoice and a product invoice, as "Word (.docx) files with sample details and typed totals".

Step 2: Fill in the invoice

Replace the sample details with your own: your business name and contact details, the client's, the invoice date, the payment terms and due date, and one line per charge with a description, quantity, rate and amount. For what each part should say, see how to create a professional invoice; for what an invoice is for, what is the purpose of an invoice.

Step 3: Give it a new number and check the totals

• Number: keep a list of the invoice numbers you've used and take the next one from it each time, so no number is used twice. See the invoice numbering guide.
• Totals: Billed's Word files come with "typed totals", so when you change a quantity or rate, work out the line amount, subtotal, tax and total again. The same page notes that its matching Excel files "calculate line amounts, tax and the amount due".

Step 4: Save it as a template for next time

Microsoft's Create a template page says to save a document you reuse "as a template so you can use that as your starting point instead of recreating the file from scratch each time you need it." Its steps:

1. "To save a file as a template, select File > Save As."
2. "In Word for example, select Word Template." Microsoft's file formats page describes a Word Template (.dotx) as one that "Saves the document as an XML-based template that you can use to start new documents."
3. "To start a new file based on your template, select File > New > Personal, and select your template." Microsoft adds: "This button may say Custom instead of Personal."

Save the template with your details filled in and the client details, lines and number left blank.

Step 5: Save it as a PDF and send it

Microsoft's Save or convert to PDF page says: "You can use the Office programs to save or convert your files to PDFs so that you can share them or print them using commercial printers." A PDF keeps your layout, but Microsoft also warns: "Simply sharing something as a PDF is not sufficient to guarantee the recipient can't edit the file." Keep your own copy of every invoice you send.

Sample: one Word invoice, checked by hand

The business and figures here are a sample, invented for this example.

A designer bills a client for logo work on invoice #2026-014, dated November 2, 2026, net 15:

• Logo design: 6 hours × $85 = $510
• Brand file pack: 1 × $240 = $240
• Extra revision rounds: 2 × $60 = $120

Subtotal: $510 + $240 + $120 = $870. In this sample the services carry no sales tax, so the total is $870. Due date: November 2 + 15 days = November 17, 2026.

If the client adds a third revision round, that line becomes 3 × $60 = $180, and the subtotal and total become $510 + $240 + $180 = $930. In a Word file with typed totals, all three figures have to be changed by hand.

Where Billed fits

Billed publishes this page and sells invoicing software. Billed's invoice software page says you can "Choose an invoice template, add your logo and business details, and save the products and services you sell so you can pull them into an invoice instead of retyping them." For a one-off invoice, Billed's invoice generator page says: "No sign-up needed." For other invoice types, see what is a proforma invoice, what is an invoice and invoice payment.

Related Articles

• How to Create a Professional Invoice
• Excel or an Invoicing Tool?
• Invoice Numbering Guide
• What Is the Purpose of an Invoice?

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make an invoice in Microsoft Word?

Yes. Start from an invoice template, fill in your details, the client's and each charge, give it a new invoice number, check the totals, then save it as a PDF and send it.

How do I save a Word invoice as a template?

Microsoft's steps are to select File > Save As and choose Word Template as the file type. To start a new invoice from it, select File > New > Personal (the button may say Custom) and choose your template.

Should I send a Word invoice as a PDF?

A PDF keeps your layout for the client, but Microsoft says sharing a PDF "is not sufficient to guarantee the recipient can't edit the file." Keep your own copy of every invoice you send.

How do I keep track of invoice numbers in Word?

Keep a list of the numbers you've used and take the next one each time you make an invoice, so no number is used twice.