How to create a PayPal invoice

If you’re a freelancer or small business, you’ll know that invoicing can be time consuming. It’s unavoidable - in order to get paid, you have to invoice.

But you don’t have to drown in paperwork, tie yourself in knots over templates or waste time chasing late payments. There are ways you can invoice quickly and efficiently, in just a few clicks.

One of these is PayPal, which lets you create professional invoices fast. They’re easy to make and easy for your clients to pay, and you can track everything in your PayPal account.

Or you could get a money-saving Wise account and enjoy seamless integration with Xero and your other favourite accounting tools¹. This means headache-free invoicing, plus the chance to receive money in multiple currencies with zero fees².

But for now, let’s focus on PayPal invoices and how to get started.

What is PayPal Invoicing?

PayPal Invoicing is a handy tool for businesses to create, customise, send and manage their client invoices. You can use them for anything, from selling products to getting paid for services provided. You can even use PayPal Invoices for subscriptions, rent payments and other bills.

All you need to get started is a PayPal account. Once you upload a few basics – your business address, logo, contact information, terms and conditions – you’ll have a personalised, professional-looking template to use for all of your invoices. ³

When it’s time to invoice, it’s simply a matter of entering client-specific information to create and send a new invoice. You can set the payment date, a choice of payment options and even include a personal note to your client. It should only take a minute.

You can also set up recurring invoices which run automatically, or copy old invoices to easily create new ones. It certainly beats squinting at spreadsheets and wrangling with the formatting on word processed invoice templates.

How does PayPal Invoicing work?

If you want to use PayPal to send an invoice, here are the essentials you need to know. You’ll need a PayPal account, but the good news is that it doesn’t cost anything to create and send an invoice. You’ll only pay PayPal fees when the client sends a payment.⁴

To create your first invoice template, you’ll need to spend a few minutes entering/uploading the following⁵:

• Your company logo
• Your business address and phone number
• Shipping information
• Purchase details (this will be amended for each invoice, but start with an example purchase)
• Terms and conditions – these can be pasted into the relevant box straight from your website
• Any personal note you’d like to include – for example ‘thanks for your business!’

If you like, you can create different templates to suit a range of products/services you invoice for.

Now it’s time to make a few tweaks. Amend and check (and double-check, just in case) the purchase details and set a due date for the invoice.

Once you’re happy, the next step is sending the invoice to the client. You can send via PayPal, where a link is automatically emailed to the client, or supply the payment link in your own email.

Your client will see a copy of the invoice, and a link to pay. At this point in our guide on how to send a PayPal invoice, there’s a crucial point to note. Your client doesn’t need to have a PayPal account. They will be presented with options to pay by credit or debit card, or using PayPal.

When the client pays, you’ll receive a notification and the invoice will be marked as paid in your account. You can keep an eye on all outstanding invoices in this way, and easily send reminders with just a click.

So, are there any PayPal invoice fees to pay? As we’ve mentioned, it’s free to create and manage invoices. But you will be charged PayPal’s standard processing fees when your client pays.

Fees start from around 2.6% + $30 for payments from clients within Australia, while it’s 3.6% + a fixed fee for international payments. Plus, if you receive payments in currencies other than Australian dollars and want to withdraw to your bank account, PayPal will convert at 3% above its base rate. ⁶

The final important thing to know about PayPal invoices is that it can be integrated with your accounting software (i.e. Zero, Sage One or Intuit QuickBooks Online). ⁷ This means you can create invoices straight from your accounting software and get paid with PayPal.

Alternatives to PayPal for getting paid

PayPal Invoicing makes it quick and easy to invoice and get paid. But it isn’t necessarily the cheapest way to receive your money. PayPal’s fees can eat into your earnings, especially if you’re invoicing an international client. Before settling on an invoicing tool, make sure you shop around for the best deal, as well as prioritising convenience.

Here are a couple of invoicing alternatives to consider:

Wise

Get a multi-currency Wise account and you’ll have the best of both worlds – easy invoicing and low-cost payments. You can use a Wise template⁸ for invoicing simplicity, or integrate with your accounting software and invoice straight from there.

Now here’s the really good part. When it comes to getting paid, from within Australia or internationally, you’ll receive money with zero fees. This is because with Wise, you’ll have your own Eurozone, New Zealand, US or UK bank details, but without needing a local address. You can invoice an international client in their own currency and when they pay up, you’ll receive the cash in your ‘local’ account. Hold it there for future payments, or move it to your bank – it’s up to you.⁹

Square

Square has a handy app for invoicing on the go. It’s all about simplicity, with the aim of making custom invoices and even detailed estimates effortless. For a user-friendly app, it packs a punch. You can create, send and track invoices, schedule recurring invoices and set up automatic payment reminders.¹⁰ There are no monthly fees, but you will pay 2.2% per invoice for card payment processing¹¹. At present though, there’s no multi-currency support¹².

PayPal Invoicing is designed to be easy to use, so you should soon be firing invoices off like a pro. But remember that it isn’t the only game in town.

Alternatives like Wise could save you money per payment as well as making invoicing quick and easy, which could be just as important to your bottom line. This is why it’s always important to do your research and pick the solution that works for your business.

Sources used:

Sources checked on 18-May 2020.