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Invoice Requirements Checklist for Canadian Sole Proprietors

Use this checklist before sending any invoice as a Canadian sole proprietor or freelancer.

Business details

  • Your legal or business name
  • Your business address or contact information
  • Your GST/HST number, if registered

Client details

  • Client's name (or company name)
  • Client's billing address, if they require one for their own records

Invoice mechanics

  • A unique, sequential invoice number
  • The invoice date
  • The payment due date and your accepted payment methods
  • A clear description of each item or service, with quantity and rate

Tax lines

  • Subtotal before tax
  • GST/HST (and PST, where it applies separately) shown as its own line, not folded into your rate
  • The final total

Record-keeping

  • Keep a copy of every invoice you send — the CRA generally expects business records to be kept for six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to, not six years from the invoice date
  • Keep your invoice numbers sequential across your whole business, not restarted per client, so nothing looks skipped if you're ever audited

Working from a template that already tracks your invoice numbers and calculates the right tax lines means this checklist is satisfied by default, rather than something to double-check by hand on every invoice.