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Invoicing guides for South African small business

Short, practical answers to the invoicing questions SA business owners actually ask — SARS rules, templates, and getting paid. No jargon, no fluff.

SARS · Compliance

Invoice requirements in South Africa: what SARS actually wants (checklist)

Full vs abridged tax invoices, the R5,000 rule, what non-VAT vendors may and may not put on an invoice — with a copy-paste checklist.

How-to · Mobile

How to make an invoice on WhatsApp (free, from your phone)

Three ways to send a professional invoice straight from WhatsApp — and why a text message alone isn't an invoice.

Templates

Free invoice template for South Africa (VAT and non-VAT versions)

Every field a South African invoice needs, a copy-paste text template, and when Word/Excel templates start costing you money.

Basics

Quote vs invoice vs receipt: the difference (with SA examples)

Which document to send at each stage of a job, whether a quote is legally binding, and how to turn a quote into an invoice without retyping.

Sole proprietors

Invoicing as a sole proprietor in South Africa: what you need (and don't)

You don't need a registered company to invoice. What to put on a sole prop invoice, when VAT applies, and how SARS sees your income.

Invoice from WhatsApp in 30 seconds

Text your line items to WhatsApp, get a branded PDF invoice back — emailed to your customer. Free to start, built for SA small business.

Try WhatInvoice free