Guide · Australia

How to invoice as a sole trader.

The basics, in plain English and grounded in the ATO rules: when to charge GST, what has to be on a tax invoice, how to get paid, and what to keep. Solebooks handles all of it for you — but it helps to know how it works.

1. 1

   Work out whether you need to charge GST

   You must register for GST once your turnover reaches $75,000 a year, and within 21 days of reaching it. Below that it’s optional. Once registered you charge 10% GST and issue tax invoices; if you’re not registered you send a plain invoice with no GST.

2. 2

   Put the seven required things on the invoice

   A valid tax invoice for a sale under $1,000 needs seven things — the words “Tax invoice”, your identity and ABN, the issue date, a description of what you sold, the GST amount, and how much of each line is taxable. See the full list, with a free template → For a sale of $1,000 or more, also include the buyer’s identity or ABN.

3. 3

   Number and date every invoice

   Give each invoice a unique number (sequential is simplest) and date it DD MMM YYYY — 11 May 2026, not the US order. If a customer asks for a tax invoice, you must provide one within 28 days of the request.

4. 4

   Make it easy to get paid

   Set clear payment terms (net 7 or net 14 is common for sole traders) and put a payment method right on the invoice — PayID and BSB, so the client can pay straight from it. The sooner it’s obvious how to pay, the sooner the money lands.

5. 5

   Send it and keep a copy for five years

   Send the invoice as a PDF and keep your records for five years — the ATO requires it. A sent tax invoice is a historical record: if something is wrong, cancel and reissue rather than editing the original.