Gather Customer Data

• The first step to creating your invoice in Excel is to gather and list information about your customers. This includes the company name, contact name, full address of the company's accounts payable department and phone number. You also need to assign the customer an identifying number series that you can use for all invoices. For instance, the first invoice number in the series for one customer could be 32800001---the first three numbers (328) is your "customer code" for the company, and the "1" represents the very first invoice. Continue the series with 2, 3, and into infinity for each invoice you receive. You can store this information for each customer in a database or a simple Microsoft Word document.
  
  

Download Invoice Template

• The next step is to download an invoice template from Microsoft's template website (see "Resources" for a direct link). This is much more convenient than trying to craft a professional-looking invoice on your own. Browse the invoice styles and choose one that works with Microsoft Excel. Make sure that the invoice contains a formula to calculate order totals automatically so that you will not have to do this yourself. Choose the template, download it to your computer and extract the files. The invoice will open in Excel.
  
  

Enter Information

• After you have your invoice template open, immediately type in your own company information, including your address, phone number, fax number and logo. Then save it to your computer in a folder named "Invoices." Now you can start entering information about your first customer into the invoice from the information that you gathered earlier. Type in the customer's name and address information in the "Bill to" or "Customer" section. Enter the date if it does not update automatically. Then look for the "Invoice Number" section and type in the first invoice number for that customer. Enter in the product description, quantity, extended price and shipping cost. Check that the invoice adds up the total correctly. Include the customer's purchase order (PO) on the invoice as well, so that he can reference the order. Name the file with the invoice number (such as 32800001.xls) so that you can refer to it quickly.
  
  Every time you have a new invoice to send to the customer, change the invoice number, PO number, date and product information; name it with the new invoice number; and then save it to your "Invoices" folder.