How to Create a Professional Invoice in India (With a Free Sample)

Quick answer

A professional invoice in India is a dated, numbered document that names you and your client, lists what you supplied with clear amounts, shows tax correctly (or states that no GST is charged), and tells the client exactly how and when to pay. If you are registered under GST, your tax invoice must also carry the fields listed in Rule 46 of the CGST Rules, such as your GSTIN, the SAC or HSN code and the tax breakup.

When you need to issue an invoice

You should issue an invoice every time you supply goods or services and expect payment. For GST-registered businesses this is a legal requirement, and for services the tax invoice generally has to be issued within 30 days of supplying the service. Even if you are not registered, a proper invoice protects you: it records what was agreed, starts the payment clock and gives you evidence if a client delays or disputes payment.

The fields every professional invoice should have

These are the fields to include, in roughly the order a reader scans them:

• Your business details: trading name, address, email, phone and your GSTIN if registered. Add your PAN if you are a professional receiving fees that may attract TDS.
• The word "Tax Invoice" or "Invoice": registered suppliers charging GST should title it "Tax Invoice". Unregistered suppliers should not use that title.
• Invoice number: a unique, consecutive number for the financial year, up to 16 characters (letters, numbers, hyphen or slash). Our guide to invoice numbering in India shows formats that work.
• Invoice date and due date: the due date turns a vague "please pay" into a deadline.
• Client details: name, billing address and the client's GSTIN if they are registered.
• Place of supply: the state name and code. This decides whether you charge CGST plus SGST or IGST.
• Line items: a short description, SAC or HSN code, quantity, rate and amount for each item.
• Tax breakup: taxable value, GST rate and the CGST, SGST or IGST amounts.
• Total in figures and in words: for example "Rupees Seventy-Six Thousand Seven Hundred Only". Words are not a GST requirement, but they make tampering harder and clients expect them.
• Payment details: bank account, IFSC, UPI ID and payment terms.
• Signature: a physical or digital signature of the supplier or authorised person. Rule 46 does not require a signature on an invoice issued electronically, but signing PDFs is still good practice.

A worked example

Ananya runs a two-person design studio in Pune and is registered under GST in Maharashtra. Her client is a Mumbai-based tea brand, also in Maharashtra, so the supply is within the state and she charges CGST and SGST at 9% each (18% in total for design services).

• Logo design, SAC 998391, 1 unit at ₹40,000 = ₹40,000
• Brand guidelines document, SAC 998391, 1 unit at ₹25,000 = ₹25,000
• Taxable value: ₹65,000
• CGST at 9%: ₹5,850
• SGST at 9%: ₹5,850
• Invoice total: ₹76,700 (Rupees Seventy-Six Thousand Seven Hundred Only)

If the same client were based in Bengaluru, Karnataka, Ananya would charge IGST at 18%, which is ₹11,700, and the total would stay ₹76,700. Only the type of tax changes.

GST invoice versus non-GST invoice

If you are not registered under GST, you cannot charge GST or call your document a tax invoice. Your invoice should show the amount without tax and can include a line such as "Supplier not registered under GST". Everything else on the checklist still applies: numbering, dates, clear line items and payment terms. Our guide on creating an invoice without GST registration covers this in detail.

Step-by-step: creating your invoice

1. Confirm your client's legal name, billing address, state and GSTIN before you start.
2. Pick the next number in your invoice series, never reusing or skipping numbers without a record.
3. Add each deliverable as a separate line with its SAC or HSN code.
4. Apply the correct GST rate and choose CGST plus SGST or IGST based on the place of supply.
5. Check the arithmetic, then write the total in words.
6. Add your payment details and a due date, for example "Payable within 15 days".
7. Sign, export as PDF and send it with a short covering email.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Charging the wrong type of GST because the client's state was not checked.
• Missing the SAC code, which your registered client needs for their records.
• Reusing an old invoice and forgetting to change the number or date.
• Vague line items such as "Design work" with no scope or quantity.
• No due date, which makes follow-ups awkward.
• Rounding errors between the line items and the total.

Make it faster next time

Once you have a correct format, save it as a template. If you send more than a handful of invoices a month, invoicing software saves real time: it numbers invoices automatically with your own prefix, remembers client details and GSTINs, works out CGST, SGST or IGST from the place of supply and shows which invoices are still unpaid. That is exactly what PikZiy Books does, and each invoice also updates your stock, your books and your GST returns.

Frequently asked questions

Next step

Use the checklist above for your next invoice. If you want numbering, tax and payment tracking done for you, PikZiy Books opens for sign-ups in November 2026: join the waitlist and we will tell you the day you can start.

Join the PikZiy Books waitlist