How to use the Art Invoice Generator
- Fill in the three boxes at the top. From is you, Bill to is the buyer, and Invoice holds the number, issue date, payment terms and currency. Picking terms such as Net 14 sets the due date for you; typing your own due date switches the terms to Custom. Press Remember my details once and every new invoice starts with your name, address, currency, tax rate and payment notes.
- Add what you sold. The Quick add buttons drop in a ready-made line for an original, a commission, a print, framing, shipping or a rush fee — overwrite the template text with your own title, medium and size. + Rush fee prices itself at 25% of the other lines. Press Enter in the last line’s quantity or price box to start another.
- Set the adjustments. Enter a discount as a percentage or a fixed amount, a tax rate with the right label (sales tax, VAT, GST, HST), and any deposit the client has already paid. Untick Tax on a line that isn’t taxable. The totals panel spells out the math in plain words.
- Check the page and send it. Open Preview to see the exact A4 or Letter layout, then press Download PDF for a text-based file you can attach to an email, or Print. Copy totals puts a short summary on your clipboard for a message.
- Keep a paper trail. Save draft stores the invoice in this browser, New invoice files the current one and suggests the next number, and the drafts list reopens anything you saved earlier.
What an artwork invoice has to prove
An invoice is not just a request for money. For an artist it is often the only record that a specific piece changed hands, at a specific price, on a specific day. That record gets read by more people than the client: your accountant at tax time, a gallery checking provenance years later, an insurer after a shipping claim, a collector’s heirs. Each of them needs something slightly different, which is why the generator asks for more than a name and an amount.
A unique, sequential number lets you and the tax office see that nothing is missing. Pick a pattern such as INV-2026-014 and never reuse a number, even for a canceled job — issue a credit note instead.
Dates and terms decide when a payment is late. “Net 14” means due 14 days after the issue date, so an invoice dated November 3, 2026 is due November 17; Net 30 lands on December 3. Writing the due date out in full removes any argument about what “net” means.
A description a stranger could match to the artwork is what turns a bill into provenance. “Painting — $2,400” proves very little. “Original oil painting Morning at the Pier, 24 × 36 in, oil on canvas” can be matched to a photo, a certificate of authenticity and the signature on the back. For prints, include the edition number, such as 12/50.
What the price does not include prevents the most common dispute in art sales: buying a painting does not buy the right to reproduce it. One line in the notes — “Artist retains copyright; reproduction rights are not included” — settles that in advance.
The math behind the example
The invoice loaded above is a commission with a deposit, the most common shape of a freelance art invoice. Here is every step, in the order the tool does it:
| Step | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Line items | $2,400 + $285 + 4 × $45 + $165 | $3,030.00 |
| Sales tax at Pennsylvania’s 6% statewide rate | $3,030.00 × 6% | $181.80 |
| Invoice total | $3,030.00 + $181.80 | $3,211.80 |
| Less 50% deposit paid in advance | $3,211.80 − $1,200.00 | $2,011.80 due |
Two details are easy to get wrong by hand. First, the deposit comes off after tax: tax applies to the whole sale price, and the deposit was simply an early part-payment of it. Second, tax is rounded once, on the invoice’s taxable amount, rather than line by line. Five $35 prints at an 8.25% rate show the difference: rounding each line gives 5 × $2.89 = $14.45, while taxing the $175.00 total gives $14.44. A cent is trivial, but mismatched cents are exactly what a client’s bookkeeping software flags.
When some lines are taxable and others aren’t, a discount is shared out in proportion. Take an $850 commission plus $40 of untaxed shipping with 10% off: the discount is $89.00, the taxable part of the discount is $85.00, so 8.25% tax applies to $765.00 and comes to $63.11. Whether shipping is taxable depends on where you sell — some US states tax delivery charges and others don’t when they are listed separately — so check your state’s rules before unticking it.
Tips from practice
Ask for the deposit with its own invoice. Bill 50% of a commission before you start, then credit it on the final invoice like the example does. Clients pay a document with a due date faster than a line in an email, and you get two clean records instead of one muddy one. The Commission Contract Template Generator puts the same deposit terms in writing.
Name the file the way your client will search for it. The download is saved as Invoice-INV-2026-014.pdf. Put the invoice number in the email subject too — “Invoice INV-2026-014 for Morning at the Pier” is easy to find in a crowded inbox six weeks later.
Keep the payment details on the invoice, not in a separate message. Whoever approves payment is often not the person you talked to. Your bank details, PayPal address or payment link should travel with the PDF.
Send a friendly reminder the day after the due date. Resend the same PDF with one sentence: “Just a reminder that invoice INV-2026-014 was due yesterday.” Late payment is usually forgetfulness, and a prompt, neutral nudge fixes most of it.
Price the job before you bill it. If you are unsure what to charge for a commission or a rush job, work it out first with the Commission Price Calculator, then copy the figures here.