Need an invoice quickly and want to get it right? Here is a ready-made template for freelancers and small businesses in Germany — whether you invoice German clients or work from Germany for clients abroad. It has every detail a German invoice needs, including the one line you can't leave off. You download it, type in your details, done.

Further down we explain in plain language what has to be on the invoice, how to fill the template in, and where a Word template reaches its limits.

Download the template

All three files contain the same fields — just pick the format you like working in:

The template is free. No signup, no email needed.

It is set up for invoicing in Germany, so the mandatory §19 line stays in German — that is the exact wording the tax office and German clients expect — with an English explanation right beside it.

What an invoice must include

Even as a small business, your invoice needs a few fixed details. If something is missing, your client can send it back. These belong on it — and they are already laid out in the template:

  • Your name and address (or your business name)
  • Your client's name and address
  • The invoice date
  • A sequential invoice number – each number used once, in order
  • What you did – a short description of your work
  • The amount
  • Your tax number (or your VAT ID, if you have one)
  • The §19 line – more on that next

As a small business your invoice is actually simpler than usual: you need no VAT line and no split into net and gross. Just your amount.

The one line you can't leave off

One thing is mandatory. Every small-business invoice carries this line, in German:

Gemäß §19 UStG wird keine Umsatzsteuer berechnet.

(Under the small-business rule, §19 UStG, no VAT is charged.)

It tells your client and the tax office why no VAT is shown. Without it, it looks as though you simply forgot it. The line is already in the right place in the template — you don't need to add anything.

When the small-business rule applies to you

Quickly, so you're sure the template fits you: you can be a small business (Kleinunternehmer) if you earned under €25,000 last year and expect to stay under €100,000 this year. Then you charge no VAT.

The details — what happens when you cross the line, and what to watch for — are gathered here: Kleinunternehmer: what your invoice needs.

How to fill in the template

The template has placeholders in square brackets everywhere, for example [Client name]. Go through them once, top to bottom:

  1. Your details at the top – name, address, and later your contact.
  2. The "Bill to" block – your client's name and address.
  3. Invoice number and date – use a new, sequential number.
  4. The table – one line per service, with quantity and price. Just delete any rows you don't use.
  5. Total – the sum of your lines. In the Excel version this works itself out as soon as you enter quantity and price.
  6. Payment – your bank details and by when you expect the money.

Leave the §19 line and the layout as they are. It's best to save the finished invoice as a PDF before you send it — that way no one can change anything by accident.

Where a template reaches its limits

A template is good to start with. But on every invoice you repeat the same steps by hand — and that is exactly where mistakes creep in:

  • You have to count up the invoice number yourself. Using one twice or skipping one happens fast.
  • The §19 line is easy to overwrite or forget when you copy an old invoice.
  • A figure slips while adding up, and the total no longer matches. (The Excel version handles this one for you.)

There's also a newer point: for invoices to other businesses, Germany is gradually making the e-invoice mandatory. That's a structured data set (such as XRechnung or ZUGFeRD), not a normal Word file or PDF. A template helps you practise, but it cannot produce that format. If you mostly work for private customers, this doesn't affect you yet — if you invoice companies, keep an eye on it.

Faster and fewer slip-ups with Kikiform

The template above is yours, use it as much as you like. If you write invoices regularly, Kikiform takes the error-prone steps off your hands:

  • We put the §19 line on every invoice automatically.
  • The invoice number counts up by itself — no duplicates.
  • The maths is automatic, so the total is always right.
  • You get a real e-invoice that works for business clients too.

The first three invoices are free, no card needed. So you can try it in your own time and see whether it takes the template off your plate.