Invoice: what it is, and how to find or export one
By Arthur Teboul, DokuTrak · Published
In short
An invoice is the bill a business sends to ask for payment for goods or services. It shows who sells, who buys, an invoice number and date, the items, the amounts, any sales tax and the payment terms. Export it from the invoicing or accounting software that created it, or find it in your email if you were billed.
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What is an invoice?
An invoice asks for payment; it does not prove that payment happened. A paid invoice, a receipt or a bank record shows the money actually moved.
A clean invoice carries a unique number, the issue date, the seller’s and buyer’s names and addresses, a description of each item or service, quantities and prices, taxes, the total and the due date.
Who sends it, and when
The business that sold the goods or services issues the invoice, usually when the work is done or on a billing schedule set in the contract. If you run the business, you issue invoices; if you are the customer, you receive them.
Where to get an invoice
- Your invoicing or accounting software (QuickBooks, Xero, FreshBooks, Wave and similar): open the invoice and export or print it to PDF.
- Your payment tool (Stripe, Square, PayPal), which keeps the invoices it sent.
- Your email, for invoices you received from a vendor: search the vendor name or the invoice number.
- The vendor’s customer account or billing page, where many keep past invoices.
- The vendor directly, who can resend a copy if you cannot find it.
Wrong files people send instead
- A quote or estimate instead of the invoice.
- A receipt when the request is for the invoice, or the reverse.
- A statement of account listing several invoices instead of the single invoice asked for.
- A draft invoice that was never sent, or one later voided or replaced.
- A screenshot of the invoice list instead of the invoice itself.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between an invoice and a receipt?
An invoice asks for payment. A receipt confirms payment was made. If someone needs proof you paid, send the receipt or a paid invoice with the payment date.
How do I download an invoice from QuickBooks?
Open the invoice, then use the print or download option to save it as a PDF. Menus change between versions, so look for Print or Save as PDF on the invoice screen.
Ask once. DokuTrak does the chasing.
- Your client uploads from one link, with no account and no password.
- Reminders go out on a schedule, by default 2, 5, 10 and 14 days after the request, until the file arrives.
- With AI review switched on in your workspace (it is off by default), each upload gets a first pass that flags a file that is not an invoice or an unreadable or blurry scan. It says so when it is not sure.
- You accept every file or mark it for re-upload, and your client gets the note by email. The AI never accepts a file.