Finance & AccountingIntermediate
Invoice Template Designer
Generate professional PDF invoices from templates
#invoice#template#billing
Every invoice looks different because you start from scratch each time — different fonts, different layouts, tax in the wrong place. Your clients get professional invoices from everyone else and a glorified email from you.
Who it's for: freelancers wanting branded, consistent invoices, agencies creating invoice templates for multiple service types, small businesses upgrading from manual invoice creation, consultants who need different templates for different clients, anyone whose invoices don't look as professional as their work
Example
"Design a branded invoice template for my consulting business" → Reusable PDF template with your logo, branded colors, itemized line items, tax calculations, payment terms, and bank details — generate new invoices by just changing the client and line items
CLAUDE.md Template
New here? 3-minute setup guide → | Already set up? Copy the template below.
# Invoice Template
## Overview
This workflow generates professional PDF invoices from structured data and templates. Create invoices with company branding, itemized lists, tax calculations, and payment details.
## How to Use
1. Describe what you want to accomplish
2. Provide any required input data or files
3. I'll execute the appropriate operations
**Example prompts:**
- "Generate invoices from order data"
- "Create recurring invoices"
- "Batch generate monthly invoices"
- "Customize invoice templates per client"
## Domain Knowledge
### Invoice Data Structure
```python
invoice_data = {
"invoice_number": "INV-2026-001",
"date": "2026-01-30",
"due_date": "2026-02-28",
"from": {
"name": "Your Company",
"address": "123 Business St",
"email": "billing@company.com"
},
"to": {
"name": "Client Name",
"address": "456 Client Ave",
"email": "client@example.com"
},
"items": [
{"description": "Consulting", "quantity": 10, "rate": 150.00},
{"description": "Development", "quantity": 20, "rate": 100.00}
],
"tax_rate": 0.08,
"notes": "Payment due within 30 days"
}
```
### PDF Generation with ReportLab
```python
from reportlab.lib.pagesizes import letter
from reportlab.pdfgen import canvas
from reportlab.lib.units import inch
def create_invoice(data: dict, output_path: str):
c = canvas.Canvas(output_path, pagesize=letter)
width, height = letter
# Header
c.setFont("Helvetica-Bold", 24)
c.drawString(1*inch, height - 1*inch, "INVOICE")
# Invoice details
c.setFont("Helvetica", 12)
c.drawString(1*inch, height - 1.5*inch, f"Invoice #: {data['invoice_number']}")
c.drawString(1*inch, height - 1.75*inch, f"Date: {data['date']}")
# From/To
y = height - 2.5*inch
c.drawString(1*inch, y, f"From: {data['from']['name']}")
c.drawString(4*inch, y, f"To: {data['to']['name']}")
# Items table
y = height - 4*inch
c.setFont("Helvetica-Bold", 10)
c.drawString(1*inch, y, "Description")
c.drawString(4*inch, y, "Qty")
c.drawString(5*inch, y, "Rate")
c.drawString(6*inch, y, "Amount")
c.setFont("Helvetica", 10)
subtotal = 0
for item in data['items']:
y -= 0.3*inch
amount = item['quantity'] * item['rate']
subtotal += amount
c.drawString(1*inch, y, item['description'])
c.drawString(4*inch, y, str(item['quantity']))
c.drawString(5*inch, y, f"${item['rate']:.2f}")
c.drawString(6*inch, y, f"${amount:.2f}")
# Totals
tax = subtotal * data['tax_rate']
total = subtotal + tax
y -= 0.5*inch
c.drawString(5*inch, y, f"Subtotal: ${subtotal:.2f}")
y -= 0.25*inch
c.drawString(5*inch, y, f"Tax ({data['tax_rate']*100}%): ${tax:.2f}")
y -= 0.25*inch
c.setFont("Helvetica-Bold", 12)
c.drawString(5*inch, y, f"Total: ${total:.2f}")
c.save()
return output_path
```
### HTML Template Approach
```python
from weasyprint import HTML
from jinja2 import Template
invoice_template = """
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<style>
body { font-family: Arial; margin: 40px; }
.header { display: flex; justify-content: space-between; }
table { width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; margin: 20px 0; }
th, td { border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px; text-align: left; }
.total { font-weight: bold; font-size: 18px; }
</style>
</head>
<body>
<div class="header">
<h1>INVOICE</h1>
<div>
<p>Invoice #: {{ invoice_number }}</p>
<p>Date: {{ date }}</p>
</div>
</div>
<table>
<tr><th>Description</th><th>Qty</th><th>Rate</th><th>Amount</th></tr>
{% for item in items %}
<tr>
<td>{{ item.description }}</td>
<td>{{ item.quantity }}</td>
<td>${{ "%.2f"|format(item.rate) }}</td>
<td>${{ "%.2f"|format(item.quantity * item.rate) }}</td>
</tr>
{% endfor %}
</table>
<p class="total">Total: ${{ "%.2f"|format(total) }}</p>
</body>
</html>
"""
def create_invoice_html(data: dict, output_path: str):
template = Template(invoice_template)
# Calculate total
total = sum(i['quantity'] * i['rate'] for i in data['items'])
total *= (1 + data.get('tax_rate', 0))
data['total'] = total
html = template.render(**data)
HTML(string=html).write_pdf(output_path)
return output_path
```
## Best Practices
1. **Validate required fields before generation**
2. **Use templates for consistent branding**
3. **Auto-calculate totals (don't trust input)**
4. **Include payment instructions and terms**
## Installation
```bash
# Install required dependencies
pip install python-docx openpyxl python-pptx reportlab jinja2
```
## Resources
- [easy-invoice-pdf Repository](https://github.com/nickmitchko/easy-invoice-pdf)
- [Claude Code Hub](https://github.com/claude-code/workflows)README.md
What This Does
This workflow generates professional PDF invoices from structured data and templates. Create invoices with company branding, itemized lists, tax calculations, and payment details.
Quick Start
Step 1: Create a Project Folder
mkdir -p ~/Documents/InvoiceTemplate
Step 2: Download the Template
Click Download above, then:
mv ~/Downloads/CLAUDE.md ~/Documents/InvoiceTemplate/
Step 3: Start Working
cd ~/Documents/InvoiceTemplate
claude
How to Use
- Describe what you want to accomplish
- Provide any required input data or files
- I'll execute the appropriate operations
Example prompts:
- "Generate invoices from order data"
- "Create recurring invoices"
- "Batch generate monthly invoices"
- "Customize invoice templates per client"
Best Practices
- Validate required fields before generation
- Use templates for consistent branding
- Auto-calculate totals (don't trust input)
- Include payment instructions and terms
Installation
# Install required dependencies
pip install python-docx openpyxl python-pptx reportlab jinja2