What to Write When You Email an Invoice

When you email an invoice, the covering message is what gets it into someone's workflow. A blank email with a PDF attached is the easiest thing in an inbox to postpone.

The subject line when you email an invoice

It should be searchable and self-explanatory, because someone in accounts will look for it again in six weeks.

Weak: Invoice

Better: Invoice INV-0148 · Ngwenya Plumbing · R6,555.00 · due 26 Sep

Number, supplier, amount, date. All four are useful and none of them require opening the attachment.

The body

Four lines is enough:

1. What it is for, in one sentence.
2. The amount and the due date.
3. The purchase order number, if they use one.
4. Where to send queries.

Hi Thabo, invoice attached for the geyser replacement at Unit 12, completed on 27 August. R6,555.00 including VAT, payable by 26 September, against PO 4500129887. Banking details are on the invoice. Any queries, reply here.

Attach a PDF, not a link

Cloud links expire, require sign-in, and get blocked by corporate mail filters. A PDF attachment always arrives. Name the file properly too: INV-0148-Ngwenya-Plumbing.pdf, not invoice.pdf, because it will be saved into a folder with forty others.

Send it to accounts

Your day-to-day contact is not the person who pays you, and forwarding your invoice is not on their list. Ask once, at onboarding, who invoices should go to, and copy your contact rather than the other way round.

Keep the sent record

If a client says the invoice never arrived, the sent email is the answer. It is also the only proof of the date you issued it, which matters more than people expect when an account is disputed.

Common questions

Disclaimer: This content is for general information only and does not constitute legal, tax, accounting or financial advice. Always confirm important requirements with SARS, the relevant authority or a qualified professional.