How to Set Up QuickBooks Invoicing in 2026 (Complete Beginner's Guide)

Go to quickbooks.intuit.com and click the 'Start free trial' button. QuickBooks offers a 30-day free trial with no credit card required. For most beginners, the Simple Start plan at $30/month is the right choice — it includes unlimited invoices, estimates, and basic reporting. As of 2026, Intuit frequently offers 30% off your first 12 months for new users, so check the pricing page before signing up.

During signup, enter your email address and create a password. QuickBooks will ask a few questions about your business type, how long you've been in business, and what you primarily need help with — answer honestly, as this personalizes your dashboard. Select 'Send invoices and get paid' as your main goal to ensure the invoicing features are front and center when you log in.

Once inside, you'll land on the main dashboard. Take 60 seconds to explore the left-hand menu — you'll see options like Sales, Expenses, Banking, and Reports. Everything you need for invoicing lives under the Sales section. The + New button in the top left corner is your shortcut for creating new invoices at any time. Bookmark the QuickBooks login page for quick daily access.

Your company information automatically appears on every invoice you send, so getting this right from the start saves you from editing invoices one by one later. Click the Gear icon (⚙) in the upper right corner of your dashboard, then select Account and Settings. Click the Company tab on the left side of the settings panel.

Fill in your business name exactly as you want it to appear on invoices. Add your business address, phone number, email address, and website if you have one. To upload your logo, click the small camera or plus icon in the Company Name section — select your PNG logo file from your computer. QuickBooks recommends a file under 10MB at roughly 300x100 pixels for the best print quality.

Next, scroll down to find the Company Type field and enter your industry. This helps QuickBooks suggest the right chart of accounts. Click Save after completing the Company tab, then click the Sales tab in the left menu of Account and Settings. Here you can set your default payment terms — choose Net 30 if you want payment within 30 days, or Due on Receipt for immediate payment. You can also write a default invoice message here, like 'Thank you for your business. Please pay within the terms listed above.' Click Save again. This entire step should take about 10 minutes.

A branded invoice looks far more professional than a generic one and can increase the likelihood of getting paid faster. From the Gear icon, go to Custom Form Styles. Click the blue New Style button and choose Invoice from the dropdown menu that appears.

You'll see a live preview panel on the right side as you make changes. In the Design tab, select a template layout — try 'Fresh' or 'Bold' for a clean modern look. Click Change up the template to choose your color scheme by entering your brand's hex color code (for example, #2D6BE4 for a professional blue). Use the font dropdown to select something readable like Arial or Lato.

Click the Content tab next. Here you can control exactly what appears in your invoice header, table, and footer. Toggle on or off columns like Quantity, Rate, and Amount. Add your tagline or a short footer note such as 'Questions? Call us at 555-123-4567.' You can also control whether to show the invoice number, due date, and terms at the top.

Under the Emails tab inside Custom Form Styles, customize the subject line that customers see when they receive your invoice — something like 'Invoice #[number] from [Your Business Name] — Due [date]' is clear and professional. Click Done to save your custom style. This style will now be the default for all new invoices you create.

Before creating invoices, build a list of the products or services you regularly sell. This saves enormous time because instead of typing descriptions and prices every time, you simply select from a dropdown. Click the Gear icon, then select Products and Services under the Lists section.

Click the green New button. Choose Service for work you perform (consulting, design, repairs), Non-inventory for physical goods you don't track stock levels on, or Inventory if you need to monitor how many units you have on hand. For most service-based beginners, Service is the right choice.

Fill in the Name field with something short and clear like 'Web Design - Hourly' or 'Logo Design Package'. In the Description field, write the longer version that will appear on the invoice — for example, 'Custom logo design including 3 initial concepts, 2 rounds of revisions, and final files in PNG, SVG, and PDF formats.' Enter your Sales Price or rate. Select the correct Income Account — if unsure, use Services Income or Sales of Product Income.

If you charge sales tax, tick the Is taxable checkbox. Click Save and close. Repeat for each product or service you offer. Building a full list of 5 to 10 items upfront means your first several invoices will be much faster to create. You can always add new items later directly from the invoice creation screen.

You're ready to create your first real invoice. Click the + New button in the top left of your dashboard, then select Invoice from the Customers column. A blank invoice form opens.

In the Customer field at the top, click the dropdown and either select an existing customer or click + Add New. If adding new, enter their company name, display name, and most importantly their email address — without a valid email, you can't send the invoice digitally. Fill in billing address and save the customer.

Verify the Invoice Date (today's date by default) and the Due Date which calculates automatically based on your terms. The Invoice Number is auto-generated sequentially — leave it as-is unless you have a specific numbering system.

In the line item rows, click the Product/Service dropdown and select the item you created in Step 4. The description, rate, and income account populate automatically. Enter the Quantity. The Amount calculates instantly. Add more rows for additional items by clicking Add a line. If offering a discount, click the Discount checkbox above the totals area and enter a percentage or fixed dollar amount.

If applicable, make sure the Tax column is checked for taxable items and that your tax rate is set up correctly. The subtotal, tax, and total appear at the bottom right. Review every figure carefully — a wrong quantity or rate here directly affects what your client owes. Click the preview icon (the eye symbol) to see exactly how the invoice will look to your customer.

Before sending, activate QuickBooks Payments so your client sees a Pay Now button directly on the invoice — this dramatically speeds up collections. Click the Gear icon, go to Account and Settings, then the Payments tab. Click Learn More or Set Up Payments and follow the prompts to apply for QuickBooks Payments. Approval typically takes a few minutes to a few hours. Transaction fees in 2026 are 2.9% + $0.30 per credit card payment and 1% for ACH bank transfers (capped at $10). There is no monthly fee to have this feature enabled.

Once payments are active, return to your draft invoice. You'll see payment method checkboxes near the bottom of the form — enable Credit card, Debit card, and ACH bank transfer so customers have multiple ways to pay.

Now click Review and Send. A preview of the email your customer will receive appears. Check the To field to confirm the email address is correct. Review the subject line and message body. Personalize the message if needed — for example, replace 'Hi there' with 'Hi [Customer Name]'. Click Send Invoice. QuickBooks immediately emails the invoice to your customer.

You can also click the dropdown arrow next to Save and Send for other options: Save and Close to send later, Print or Download to generate a PDF, or Copy Link to share the invoice via a payment portal. For most beginners, Send Invoice by email is the fastest and most trackable method.

After sending, monitoring your invoices is just as important as creating them. Go to Sales in the left menu, then click Invoices. You'll see a list of all invoices with their current status: Draft, Sent, Viewed (customer opened the email), Partial (partially paid), or Paid. If an invoice shows Sent but not Viewed after a couple of days, consider following up with a phone call — the email may have gone to spam.

When a customer pays online via the Pay Now button, QuickBooks automatically marks the invoice as Paid and records the transaction. If a customer pays by check, cash, or bank transfer outside QuickBooks, you need to record it manually. Click the invoice, then click Receive Payment in the top right corner. Select the customer, confirm the payment date, choose the payment method (Check, Cash, etc.), enter the amount received, and add a reference number like the check number. Click Save and Close. The invoice status updates to Paid immediately.

For overdue invoices, QuickBooks can send automatic reminders. Go to Gear > Account and Settings > Sales and scroll to the Reminders section. Enable automatic reminders and set triggers such as 3 days before due date, on the due date, and 7 days after due date. This removes the awkward task of manually chasing clients. Use Reports > Who Owes You > Accounts Receivable Aging to see a full summary of outstanding invoices grouped by how overdue they are.