How to write an invoice in Japan

All the information to make a perfect invoice to your Japanese customers.

Once you are officially registered at the tax office as a freelancer, you finally can work and invoice your customers! But you might wonder, what is a good invoice regarding the japanese standards? If you make sure to check all the points below, you cannot mistake.

Invoice Sample for Japan #

Checkpoints #

• ① The notification of “Invoice” or “請求書”
• ② Information about you :
  • The business name (if any)
  • Your name (optional if you are using a business name)
  • Your business address (optional if you are working at home)
  • Your email address ; phone number (optional)
  • Your logo (optional)
• ③ Information about the customer :
  • The name of the company : the name of the business name (if any)
  • The name of the contact in the company : the name of the freelance
  • The address
• ④ Invoice information :
  • Invoice number : it has to be logical and to follow a series.
  • Invoice date
  • Due date
• ⑤ The details of the provided services :
  • The name of the service (and the description, optional)
  • Unit price without CST
  • Quantity
  • Amount (Unit price * quantity) without CST
• ⑥ The total calculation :
  • The total without tax
  • The CST amount (10% of the total without tax)
  • The withdrawn tax amount (10,21% of the total amount without tax if it is under 1,000,000 yens, 20,42% if it is over 1,000,000 yens ; not necessary if under 50,000 yens or if you are billing a freelance who is not authorized to withdraw tax from your invoice)
  • The payable amount (total without tax + CST amount - withdrawn tax amount)
• ⑦ Payment information :
  • The payment method (bank transfer, cash, credit card…)
  • If bank transfer #1 : a short notification about who must pay the bank transfer fees
  • If bank transfer #2 : your bank account information

Example #

• Total without tax : 100,000 yens
• CST Amount : 100,000 yens * 10% = 10,000 yens
• Withdrawn tax amount : 100,000 yens * 10,21% = 10,210 yens
• TOTAL (payable amount) : 100,000 yens + 10,000 yens - 10,210 yens = 99,790 yens

There is no rule about the design of an invoice. Do not hesitate to make a personal invoice template which looks like you, then your customers will recognize them quickly! If you still wonder how to make your invoice template or if you don’t have time, feel free to use our template below.