An event invoice should show who is billing whom, what the invoice is for, each charge as its own line, any service charge and tax, the payments already received, the balance due, the due date and how to pay. If a client can read it once and know exactly what to pay, by when and why, it is doing its job.
This is general information, not tax or legal advice. What an invoice must contain depends on where you are and how your business is registered, so check with your accountant.
What are the parts of an event invoice?
A complete invoice has seven parts, in roughly this order:
- Who is billing and who is being billed. Your venue's legal or trading name, address and contact details, and the client's name and billing address. If a company is paying, use the company's name and add a contact person.
- An invoice number and dates. A unique number, the issue date and the due date. Numbers in sequence make it easy to find an invoice later.
- What it is for. One line with the event name, date and space, such as "Spring team summit, May 14, 2027, The Mill Room".
- The charges. One line per item, with a quantity and a unit price.
- Service charge and tax, on their own lines.
- Payments already received, each with its date, amount and method.
- Balance due and payment instructions.
Keep the invoice to one page where you can. A client's accounts-payable team will thank you.
How do I list the charges?
Use the same lines as the proposal or the booking, then change the quantities to the actual figures. If the proposal quoted 120 dinners and the final count is 118, the invoice shows 118.
Match the descriptions to the signed paperwork. If the event proposal said "Bar package, per guest", the invoice should say the same, not "Beverage service". Matching wording means nobody has to reconcile two documents.
Here is the example the event invoice generator opens with. The venue, client and numbers are invented placeholders:
| Line | Qty | Unit | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Room rental, 7 hours | 1 | $5,000 | $5,000 |
| Dinner service, per guest | 118 | $85 | $10,030 |
| Bar package, per guest | 118 | $45 | $5,310 |
| AV and staging | 1 | $850 | $850 |
| Subtotal | $21,190 |
In the example, a 20% service charge applies to the dinner and bar lines ($15,340), which is $3,068. Sales tax of 8% on the subtotal plus the service charge adds $1,940.64, for an invoice total of $26,198.64. Those percentages are placeholders. How a service charge is taxed differs by state,1 and the generator only applies the percentages you enter. It does not know your rates or what is taxable where you are.
How do I show a deposit that is already paid?
List each payment received, with its date, amount and method, and subtract the total from the invoice to show the balance due. This is the part clients check first, because it proves you counted what they already paid.
In the example, a $5,000 deposit was received by bank transfer on February 10. The balance due is $26,198.64 − $5,000 = $21,198.64. The generator lets you record up to four payments, which covers a deposit and a few installments from the payment schedule.
Use the same word for the deposit as your contract does. If the contract says "booking deposit", do not call it "retainer" on the invoice.
What payment instructions should I add?
Say exactly how to pay and what reference to use. Include the accepted methods (bank transfer, card by phone, check) and the details a client needs for each. Ask the client to put the invoice number in the payment reference, so you can match the payment without a phone call.
If card payments carry a fee that you pass on, say so on the invoice. Whether you may add a card surcharge, and how much, depends on your state and the card networks' rules, so check before you do. [REVIEW] Never put full card or bank details in an email body unless you have a safe way to share them.
State the due date plainly and what happens after it. If your contract allows a late fee, repeat the terms in one line on the invoice instead of adding a new term the client has not agreed to.
What mistakes should I avoid on an invoice?
- New charges that were not in the proposal or the contract. If something unplanned happened at the event, such as extra hours or damage, explain it in a note and attach the reason.
- Totals that do not add up. Round each line to the cent and add the rounded lines, so the lines always sum to the total.
- No invoice number. Without one, a client's finance team cannot file it.
- Mixing deposits. Keep a refundable security deposit on its own line or its own document, separate from the rental payments, so it does not get tangled with the balance.
- Sending it late. An invoice sent after the due date of the payment it asks for causes friction. Send it ahead of the date.
How do I send an invoice and keep records?
Send it as a PDF in an email that restates the amount, the due date and how to pay. Save a copy with the event's records. How long you must keep invoices depends on your tax authority, so ask your accountant.
The free event invoice generator lets you fill in your details, the event, the charges, up to four payments received and your payment instructions, then download a PDF or Word file. Your document stays in your browser unless you ask us to email you a link. It does not take payments or track whether an invoice is paid. VenueDirector is in early access, and you can join the list on the home page. [REVIEW]
Footnotes
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New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, Tax Bulletin ST-320, "Gratuities and service charges" (February 23, 2012), https://www.tax.ny.gov/pubs_and_bulls/tg_bulletins/st/gratuities.htm. One state's published guidance, given as an example: treatment differs from state to state. ↩