How to invoice as a freelancer in Canada

If you sell your time in Canada and still duplicate last Friday’s Word file, you do not need QuickBooks on day one. You need a document that looks like a business, a number that does not collide with last month, and a way the client can pay you without guessing.

This is not tax advice. Whether you must register for GST/HST depends on your revenue and the CRA small-supplier rules. Read CRA GST/HST for businesses or ask an accountant. What follows is what usually belongs on the invoice itself.

What to put on the document

Label it Invoice. Then include:

• Your legal or trade name, address, email, and phone — the same name you use with the CRA if you are registered.
• A unique sequential number (INV-0007). UK VAT makes this a hard rule; Canadian AP desks still bounce unnumbered bills.
• The client’s name, address, and email.
• Issue date and due date. Net 7 or 14 pays faster than “Net 30.”
• Line items: description, quantity, rate, amount. Not a lump sum.
• Subtotal, tax line if you charge GST/HST, total due.
• Currency labeled CAD (or USD/GBP if that is actually the contract). A label is not a foreign-exchange engine.
• How they pay: Interac e-transfer address, bank details, or a PayPal URL. Canadians often prefer Interac because it is free. Print it on the PDF so they do not hunt Slack.

If you collect GST/HST, add your GST/HST number (BN) and break tax out as its own line. Clients claiming input tax credits need that. See what to put on an invoice for GST/HST.

How to send it

Email a PDF, or send a public link the client can open without an account. Share links are easier to resend than “I never got the attachment.” justIssued Free includes a share page and print/PDF. Paid emails the invoice from the app to that client’s address — still not a card checkout.

justIssued does not collect cards from your clients. There is no Pay now button. Mark paid when Interac or the wire lands. Outstanding is a list, not a second set of books.

What justIssued is for

Free is three clients, unlimited invoices to those three. Paid is $12/mo after a 7-day trial (card required): unlimited clients, logo, GST/HST BN on the PDF, e-transfer/bank/PayPal block, CAD label, email from the app, estimates, recurring, reminders, CSV. If you want bank feeds or a P&L, use Wave or an accountant — a different job.