What is a tax invoice in Australia?

A tax invoice is a document that shows the supplier’s identity, ABN, invoice date, description of the sale and the GST amount when GST applies. For invoices over $82.50 including GST, the GST must be shown separately.

Can I use this Excel template if I am not GST registered?

Yes, but you would remove the GST wording and GST calculation before issuing invoices. If your turnover reaches $75,000 a year, GST registration becomes required, so you would then switch to a GST-ready invoice layout.

What sheets are included in this template?

The workbook has four sheets: Tax Invoice, Invoice Register, GST Summary and Instructions. That gives you the invoice form itself plus a simple record of what you sent and what GST total you are carrying.

How does the Invoice Register help with reconciliation?

It gives you one list of invoice numbers, dates, customers and payment status. When you match that list to bank deposits and overdue amounts, your reconciliation is quicker and you can spot missing payments before they age out.

How long do I need to keep the invoices?

The ATO expects you to keep business records for 5 years. That includes the invoices themselves, the invoice register and any supporting notes you need to explain the GST figures in your BAS.

When should I move from Excel to accounting software?

Once you have a high invoice volume, need automatic debtor follow-up or want your invoices linked to bank feeds and payroll, software like Xero or MYOB usually saves more time. For a smaller business, though, this Excel template is a practical way to stay organised without extra monthly cost.

Accounting & GST

Tax Invoice Excel - Free Template

GST tax invoice template with supplier details, invoice lines, invoice register, GST summary and instructions for Australian businesses.

2026-06-19

162 Downloads

4.8/5 Average rating

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Screenshot 1: Tax Invoice tab - Excel template tax invoice with gst excel template australia

This tax invoice Excel template is a GST-ready spreadsheet for issuing Australian tax invoices, tracking invoice lines and summarising GST. It includes four sheets: Tax Invoice, Invoice Register, GST Summary and Instructions.

Use it when you need a clean invoice layout with your supplier details, ABN and GST information in place. It also gives you a simple way to total sales, track paid and unpaid invoices, and keep your records tidy for the ATO.

The first sheet is set up as a formatted invoice form, while the other sheets help you organise your invoice list and GST totals. That makes it practical for sole traders, small Pty Ltd businesses and bookkeepers who want a simple Excel system without jumping straight into accounting software.

The key benefits of this Excel template

Creates a professional tax invoice layout with supplier business name, ABN, address and contact details already built in.
Helps you separate taxable sales and GST amounts so you can see what is due to the ATO at a glance.
Gives you a central Invoice Register to track invoice numbers, dates, customers, status and payment timing in one place.
Includes a GST Summary sheet so you can total taxable sales, GST collected and payment amounts without recalculating every invoice.
Reduces keying errors because the invoice layout is fixed and formatted for clear, repeatable data entry.
Makes quarterly BAS prep easier by keeping invoice records and GST totals together in Excel.
Suits small businesses that issue around 10 to 200 invoices a month and want a simple system before moving to accounting software.

Step-by-step guide

Open the Tax Invoice sheet and replace the sample supplier details with your own business name, ABN, address and contact details.
Enter your invoice number, invoice date and customer details in the invoice area. Keep the numbering sequence consistent so you can reconcile sales later.
Add each item or service line, with quantities and values. Check that taxable amounts and GST are entered correctly before you send the invoice.
Use the Invoice Register sheet to list every invoice you issue. Mark whether it is unpaid, partially paid or paid so you can follow up overdue amounts.
Review the GST Summary sheet before each BAS lodgement. Compare the totals with your bank deposits and sales records so your reconciliation is clean.
Read the Instructions sheet first if you want a quick walk-through of the workflow. Then save a copy for each financial year and keep the original structure unchanged.

Screenshot 2: Invoice Register tab - Excel template tax invoice with gst excel template australia — Figure 2: Worksheet "Invoice Register"

What is included

Formatted invoice sheet with a bold title block and clear supplier identity fields.

Dedicated supplier section for business name, ABN, address and phone or email details.

Invoice Register sheet for tracking invoice dates, customers, amounts and payment status.

GST Summary sheet for totalling taxable sales and GST collected across your invoices.

Instructions sheet that explains the workflow in plain English.

Clean Excel layout that is easy to print, email or file with your records.

Built for Australian invoicing needs, including GST-registered businesses and BAS record-keeping.

Who uses this tax invoice Excel template in Australia

This spreadsheet suits the people who issue invoices every week and then have to make sense of them at BAS time. A sole trader on the tools, an office manager in a small tradie business, or a bookkeeper in a Pty Ltd can all use it to keep sales, GST and payment status under control.

The first sheet, Tax Invoice, is the working form. Image 1 shows the title block across A1:Q2, then the supplier details section underneath with fields for business name, ABN, address and phone or email. That is handy when you are sending the same layout to every customer and want the paperwork to look consistent.

When the need usually comes up

You normally feel the need when invoices start stacking up. A chippie with 4 employees might issue 40 invoices a month, and if half of them are still unpaid when the quarterly BAS lands, you need a register that tells you what is out and what is banked.

Why the register matters

The Invoice Register sheet gives you a simple place to list invoice numbers, dates and payment status. That is much easier than hunting through email or paper copies when a customer disputes a $1,320 job or you need to confirm whether a payment received on 28/06/2026 belongs in this quarter or the next.

How the GST summary fits in

The GST Summary sheet is the quick-check page. If you have 60 invoices at $550 plus GST, the sales total is $33,000 plus $3,300 GST, and that is the sort of number you want ready before you start your BAS reconciliation.

Screenshot 3: GST Summary tab - Excel template tax invoice with gst excel template australia — Figure 3: Worksheet "GST Summary"

What the ATO expects on a tax invoice

For Australian businesses, a valid tax invoice must show the supplier’s identity, the ABN, the date, a description of what was sold and the GST amount where relevant. If the total is more than $82.50 including GST, the GST must be shown separately on the invoice.

GST is a 10% tax, and you generally register once your turnover reaches $75,000 a year, or $150,000 for not-for-profits. If your sales are $88.00, the GST component is $8.00 and the net amount is $80.00, so your invoice needs to make that split obvious.

Why the layout is set up this way

The title on this sheet is fixed as “TAX INVOICE — GST REGISTERED SUPPLIER”, which matches what customers and the ATO expect to see on a business invoice. That reduces back-and-forth when a client’s accounts team checks whether they can claim an input tax credit.

Record-keeping and BAS timing

You need to keep business records for 5 years, and that includes the invoices behind your BAS figures. Most small businesses lodge quarterly, while businesses with GST turnover above $20 million lodge monthly, so having the invoice register and GST summary in the same workbook saves time at each reporting cycle.

Practical invoice control

If you are charging for labour, materials and call-out fees, the cleanest approach is to enter the taxable total first and let the GST sit as a separate line or summary amount. That is better than mixing GST-included and GST-exclusive amounts in the one column, because a $2,200 job split incorrectly can throw out both your sales reporting and your reconciliation.

That same separation makes the BAS reporting sheet easier to complete, because the taxable sales and GST totals are already laid out for each quarter or month.

Where tax invoices go wrong and what it costs

The usual problems are small, but they turn into messy work later. Missing ABN details, wrong invoice numbers, GST shown inconsistently or no clear payment status can mean you spend an extra hour or two each month untangling the register before you lodge your BAS.

Missing GST detail

If you issue 25 invoices at $1,100 each and forget to separate GST, you are staring at $2,500 of GST that can be hard to reconcile later. The client may still pay the right total, but your records will not support a clean input tax credit trail or a tidy sales summary.

Duplicate or skipped invoice numbers

A skipped invoice number is more than a cosmetic issue when you are chasing debtors. If invoice 1042 is missing and 1043 has been paid, you can waste half a morning checking whether 1042 was deleted, voided or simply never sent, and that is the sort of thing that slows down monthly reconciliation.

Unpaid invoices left too long

When you do not track status, you lose cash flow. A business that invoices $18,000 in a fortnight and lets 30% drift unpaid for 45 days can be $5,400 short when wages, super and supplier bills fall due.

Paper trail problems at review time

The ATO expects records to match the numbers in your reports. If your GST Summary says $12,000 collected but your invoices only support $11,250, the difference has to be explained, and that usually means time spent searching emails, bank lines and old PDFs instead of getting on with the job.

A clean ABN invoice format keeps the GST Summary aligned with the invoices behind it, so the figures are easier to trace at review time.

Screenshot 4: Instructions tab - Excel template tax invoice with gst excel template australia — Figure 4: Worksheet "Instructions"

How to make this spreadsheet part of your month

The best way to keep this template alive is to tie it to a routine you already do. Most businesses can update the Invoice Register when they send invoices, then check the GST Summary when they run the pay cycle or prepare the quarterly BAS.

Simple habits that stick

Update the register at the end of each day so you are not chasing 10 invoices on Friday afternoon.
Copy the previous month’s file and clear the data rather than rebuilding the workbook from scratch.
Use the same invoice number format every time, such as INV-2026-001, INV-2026-002 and so on.
Run a quick reconciliation against your bank deposits once a week so missing payments are obvious early.

Make the sheet harder to break

If you are sharing the file with staff, protect the formulas and keep input cells obvious with colour. That stops someone overwriting a GST total and saves you from a painful clean-up when the numbers do not add up at quarter end.

Know when to move on

This sort of Excel system works well for a small business sending maybe 20 to 150 invoices a month. Once you are pushing past that, or you need automatic debtor chasing, inventory links or STP-style payroll integration, it is usually time to move to Xero or MYOB.

Frequently asked questions about this template

A tax invoice is a document that shows the supplier’s identity, ABN, invoice date, description of the sale and the GST amount when GST applies. For invoices over $82.50 including GST, the GST must be shown separately.
Yes, but you would remove the GST wording and GST calculation before issuing invoices. If your turnover reaches $75,000 a year, GST registration becomes required, so you would then switch to a GST-ready invoice layout.
The workbook has four sheets: Tax Invoice, Invoice Register, GST Summary and Instructions. That gives you the invoice form itself plus a simple record of what you sent and what GST total you are carrying.
It gives you one list of invoice numbers, dates, customers and payment status. When you match that list to bank deposits and overdue amounts, your reconciliation is quicker and you can spot missing payments before they age out.
The ATO expects you to keep business records for 5 years. That includes the invoices themselves, the invoice register and any supporting notes you need to explain the GST figures in your BAS.
Once you have a high invoice volume, need automatic debtor follow-up or want your invoices linked to bank feeds and payroll, software like Xero or MYOB usually saves more time. For a smaller business, though, this Excel template is a practical way to stay organised without extra monthly cost.