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Invoice format

An invoice is the bill you give a client for goods or work you have supplied: what you supplied, how many, at what price, and the total they now owe you. A clear one gets paid sooner, and settles arguments before they start.

Here is what to put on it, a blank format you can print, what a sales tax invoice must carry, and how an invoice differs from a proforma invoice.

What goes on an invoice

Your unit’s name, address and phone
And your NTN and STRN once you are registered. Leave them off until then.
An invoice number
Numbered in order and never reused — INV-0001, INV-0002 — so you and your client can always find the same bill.
The date
The day you issue it. Payment terms are counted from here.
Who it is billed to
The client’s name and address. On a sales tax invoice, their registration number too.
What you supplied, and how many
One line per product, with the quantity — in the same words as the quotation and the challan, so all three papers match.
The amount, the GST and the total
The value before tax, the sales tax on it, and the total to pay. If you are not registered, one total and no tax line.
How to pay you
Your bank, account title and IBAN, or a wallet number. Clients pay sooner when they do not have to ask.
Two signatures
Yours, and a line for the client to sign that they received it.

Blank invoice format to print

Unit name
Address
Phone
NTN / STRN

Invoice

No.
Date
Bill to
Address
Client’s NTN / STRN
#Product and descriptionQuantityRateAmount
1    
2    
3    
4    
5    
6    
7    
Amount
GST @ ____ %
Total

Payment to

Bank and account title
IBAN or account no.
Pay by

For the supplier (signature)

Received by (signature and date)

Sales tax invoice format

If you are registered for sales tax, your invoice is a sales tax invoice, and the law says what it must carry. Section 23 of the Sales Tax Act, 1990 asks for:

  • Your name, address and sales tax registration number
  • The buyer’s name, address and registration number
  • The date the invoice was issued
  • A description of the goods, with their quantity
  • The value before tax
  • The amount of sales tax
  • The value including tax

The standard rate is 18% on most goods, but not every product carries it, so check the rate for what you make. The blank format above has room for all of it: fill in the registration numbers and the GST line, and leave them empty if you are not registered.

FBR digital invoicing

FBR now requires businesses registered for sales tax to issue invoices through its digital invoicing system, which gives each invoice an FBR number and a QR code. If you are registered, a printed format on its own may no longer be enough — ask your tax adviser which route suits your business.

Invoice, proforma invoice, quotation, challan

Four papers that often travel with one order, in the order they usually appear.

Quotation
An offer, before the work starts. Nothing is owed against it.
Proforma invoice
An invoice sent in advance, showing what the bill will be — often to collect an advance, or for a bank or import paperwork. It is not a demand for payment, and no sales tax is claimed on it.
Delivery challan
Travels with the goods, without prices, and comes back signed as proof they arrived.
Invoice
The bill, with the goods or after them, asking to be paid. This is the one that counts in your books.

Invoice meaning in Urdu

In Urdu an invoice is usually just called a bill, or written as it sounds. The older, formal word is بیجک (beejak).

انوائس وہ بل ہے جو مال یا کام دینے کے بعد گاہک کو دیا جاتا ہے۔ اس میں لکھا ہوتا ہے کہ کیا دیا گیا، کتنا دیا گیا، کس قیمت پر، اور کل کتنی رقم ادا کرنی ہے۔ کوٹیشن قیمت کی پیشکش ہے، انوائس ادائیگی کا مطالبہ۔

How to make an invoice in five steps

  1. Start from what was agreed — the quotation or the order — so the products and the price match.
  2. Give it the next number in your series, and today’s date.
  3. Write each product and its quantity, then the amount before tax.
  4. Add GST at your rate if you are registered, and the total.
  5. Write how to pay you, sign it and send it. Keep a copy, and follow up on the day payment is due.

Questions people ask

What is the difference between an invoice and a bill?

In everyday use in Pakistan, none: both ask the client to pay for what they received. “Invoice” is the word on business paperwork; “bill” is what most people call it.

What is a proforma invoice?

An invoice sent before the goods, showing what the final bill will be. It is used to collect an advance, or for a bank or import paperwork. It does not ask for payment in itself and no sales tax is claimed on it; the real invoice follows on delivery.

Do I need an NTN or STRN to make an invoice?

No. Any business can issue an invoice. You need a sales tax registration (STRN) to charge GST, and once you charge it, your invoice must carry what a sales tax invoice requires.

What GST rate goes on an invoice?

The standard sales tax rate in Pakistan is 18%, and most manufactured goods carry it. Some goods are taxed at other rates, so confirm yours with your tax adviser.

How should invoices be numbered?

In one unbroken series, never reused: INV-0001, INV-0002 and so on. A missing or repeated number is the first thing an auditor, or a client, asks about.

What is a commercial invoice?

The invoice an exporter sends with goods going abroad, which customs in both countries read. It carries more detail — the buyer abroad, the HS code, the delivery terms and the country of origin. For sales inside Pakistan, the ordinary invoice on this page is what you need.

Can I make an invoice on my phone?

Yes. Dhandau makes the invoice from an order you have already entered — numbered, with GST if you ask for it, in Urdu or English — and sends it to your client on WhatsApp as a PDF in one tap.