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What you should do before creating your first invoice:<\/b><\/h2>\n
Before creating your first invoice in Accountable, check your personal details in your account. The following details are automatically added to every invoice:<\/p>\n
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Name and address<\/b> of your business or self-employed activity<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Tax number or VAT ID<\/b> \u2013 at least one of the two must appear on an invoice. Whether you need to show your VAT ID on your invoices is explained in this article about the VAT ID<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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IBAN<\/b>, so your clients know where to send their payment<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
You can find these under “Account” \u2192 “Settings” \u2192 “Personal details”<\/b> in the menu bar. Without this, your invoice may not be valid, and you will not be able to receive payments.<\/p>\n
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![](\"https:\/\/downloads.intercomcdn.com\/i\/o\/c9wnmh12\/2755912316\/42f53abcac526a2b2b8df603ac8b\/Bildschirmaufnahme2026-10-21um14_32_46-ezgif_com-video-to-gif-converter.gif?expires=1792821600&signature=322e6fffd17f1944489f658a747f2082ca429552975109717d5a4dd6ec08463a&req=diciE8B%2Fn4JeX%2FMW3nq%2BgbVlOHJyYXIk2x%2BWaCGmhShOkIX0RnkB6sPzy0Kf%0AhKsNvnsh31zZKOhfOT%2FXRRHxZis%3D%0A\")
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\nStep-by-step: how to create an invoice<\/b><\/h2>\n
Follow these simple steps to create your invoice:<\/p>\n
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Click on “Revenues” \u2192 “Create invoice”<\/b>
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Enter your client\u2019s details: <\/b>
Add your client’s full name and address. Make sure the details are correct so the invoice meets the legal requirements. For businesses in another EU country, you also need their VAT ID.
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Add your goods or services:<\/b><\/p>\n
Click “Add item”<\/b> and fill in:
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Name & description:<\/b> What did you deliver or provide? The more specific, the fewer questions you’ll get.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Category:<\/b> Choose the category that fits your sales of goods\/services.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Quantity & price:<\/b> Enter the quantity and the price per unit (net, i.e. excluding VAT).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Advanced settings:<\/b> Optionally add a discount and adjust the unit. Pick a preset (e.g. hour, days, kilometres) or enter your own: just click into the “Unit” field and overwrite what’s there.
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Choose the right VAT rate:<\/b>
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Standard taxation: <\/b>If applicable, select the VAT rate for each item. In most cases 19% applies. For certain services, the reduced rate of 7% applies.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Small business owner (Kleinunternehmer):<\/b> No VAT is shown. Accountable automatically adds the legally required note.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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No VAT \/ reverse charge (e.g. for clients abroad):<\/b> You don’t charge VAT yourself; your client accounts for it. Accountable adds the required note here too. You’ll find more details in our article How do I invoice clients abroad?<\/a>
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Check the details:<\/b>
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Invoice date:<\/b> The date on which you issue the invoice.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Service date:<\/b> The date (or period) in which you provided the service. It can differ from the invoice date. Example: you deliver on 28 May and write the invoice on 3 June, so 28 May is your service date.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Invoice number:<\/b> Invoice numbers must be consecutive, gapless and ascending, so that every invoice can be clearly identified and no number is skipped or used twice. Accountable assigns them automatically. You can also change them manually, but make sure they still meet these requirements.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Payment term:<\/b> By when should your clients pay? 14 or 30 days is common.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Invoice templates:<\/b> You can save invoice designs as a template and reuse them whenever you need.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Check the amounts:<\/b><\/p>\n
Accountable automatically calculates the net amount (excluding VAT), the VAT amount and the gross amount (total including VAT) from your input. Still, take a quick look to make sure everything is right.
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Payment Instructions:<\/b>
Your IBAN from your personal details is automatically added to the invoice so your clients know where to pay. If you’d like to give different payment instructions, you can change them here.
\u200b<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n![](\"https:\/\/downloads.intercomcdn.com\/i\/o\/c9wnmh12\/2755977251\/0ebc0f5f6032b3bbbf227ff9f7a6\/Bildschirmaufnahme2026-10-21um15_02_32-ezgif_com-video-to-gif-converter.gif?expires=1792821600&signature=0a6cc430e287354b4b5ec4db0cd3a3254b8ec043bf5b0a3fd28a6e65193658e0&req=diciE8B5moNaWPMW3nq%2BgXifX6EGZ76bcL8fQwWxzhM2ymi%2FJeTu05EbLX%2BV%0A6uadbVaoDNYY%2BpHk%2B5aTqYxXjbI%3D%0A\")
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Can I customise my invoice?<\/b><\/h2>\n
Customising your invoice design is possible in all paid plans. Accountable lets you design your invoice to fit your self-employed activity. First you choose one of 4 styles as a base. Then you decide on:<\/p>\n
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Colour:<\/b> to match your branding<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Font and font size<\/b><\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Density:<\/b> whether your invoice looks more compact or more airy<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Table borders:<\/b> with or without borders around your line items<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Language:<\/b> the language your invoice is created in<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Currency:<\/b> if you work with clients abroad, you can also create invoices in other currencies<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Add element:<\/b> add your own custom line to the invoice, for example a short note, a thank-you message, conditions or any extra information you\u2019d like to show<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\u26a0\ufe0f Please note: you can customise your invoices in all paid plans. Unfortunately, this isn’t possible in the free “Invoices Free” plan.<\/b>
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\u200b<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/downloads.intercomcdn.com\/i\/o\/c9wnmh12\/2755996242\/ada4a6e7dbc6f89ea12ea61d1cb1\/Bildschirmaufnahme2026-10-21um15_10_50-ezgif_com-video-to-gif-converter.gif?expires=1792821600&signature=e432161ad644341261f3fc59c709183303a224d9a47058aa7cbee8c5a303288f&req=diciE8B3m4NbW%2FMW3nq%2BgZAwl318UxkBD5%2BWwYd2Zf2ecJAr0znn9CAetkXM%0A7vSLJw0fEEtO1c6awW78XbirJAk%3D%0A\")
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How to send your invoice:<\/b><\/h2>\n
Once your invoice is ready, you have several options for sending it:<\/p>\n
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Save + exit:<\/b> You first save the invoice as a draft and send it later. It has not been sent yet.
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Download as PDF:<\/b> Download the invoice and send it manually by email or another way.
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Send directly from Accountable:<\/b> Send the invoice straight from the app to your client.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Choose the option that works best for you and your client.<\/p>\n
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