🧾 Invoice & Receipt Generator

For an invoice to be accepted by Revenu Québec and to allow your customer to claim their input tax credits (ITC / ITR), it must include a set of mandatory mentions. Here is the minimum list:

• Unique invoice number — every invoice must have a non-repeating number, in a continuous or per-customer sequence.
• Issue date — the date the invoice is issued (not necessarily the delivery date).
• Vendor identity — legal name (or registered trade name), full address, email or phone.
• GST and QST registration numbers — for example 123456789 RT0001 for GST and 1234567890 TQ0001 for QST — without those, your customer cannot claim their credits.
• Buyer's name — for invoices over $150, customer identification is required by law.
• Precise description of goods or services — quantity, unit, unit price; vague descriptions do not qualify.
• Pre-tax amount (subtotal), GST and QST shown separately, and total payable.

For invoices below $30, some mentions can be lightened (subtotal and taxes may appear globally with a "taxes included" note), but including every item above remains the safe practice. The Calculix calculator automatically generates a printable, compliant layout.

In Quebec, two sales taxes apply on top of the price of most goods and services:

• GST (Goods and Services Tax) — federal, rate 5 %.
• QST (Quebec Sales Tax) — provincial, rate 9.975 %.

Since 2013, QST is calculated on the pre-tax subtotal, no longer on the GST-inclusive amount. The two taxes are therefore parallel:

GST = subtotal × 0.05

QST = subtotal × 0.09975

Total = subtotal × 1.14975

When a merchant marks "taxes included" (for example a $5.00 coffee), they must still be able to reconstruct the subtotal and the two taxes for their GST/QST returns. Keeping invoices or journals where these components are visible avoids reassessments during an audit.

The small-supplier rule exempts businesses whose worldwide taxable revenues, calculated on four consecutive quarters, do not exceed $30,000. As long as you stay below that threshold, registration is optional. As soon as revenues cross $30,000, you have at most 30 days from the end of the quarter where the threshold was crossed to register.

Registration is done with Revenu Québec for both taxes (the province administers GST in Quebec). You obtain:

• A 9-digit business number (BN), followed by a suffix: RT0001 identifies the GST account, TQ0001 the QST account.
• A reporting frequency (monthly, quarterly or annual) determined by annual revenue.
• An effective date — registration is generally retroactive to the day you crossed the threshold.

Some sectors require registration from the first dollar: taxis and ride-sharing, short-term rentals, tobacco and fuel sales. Conversely, zero-rated supplies (basic groceries, prescription drugs) are counted toward the threshold but generate no tax to collect. Voluntary registration below $30,000 can be advantageous: you recover GST/QST paid on business purchases (ITC/ITR), especially when starting up.

Revenu Québec and the CRA require documents and supporting records related to your business to be kept for 6 years from the end of the relevant tax year. This covers invoices issued, invoices received, receipts, bank statements, contracts, time sheets, inventories and accounting records.

Paper or electronic formats are accepted, provided files are legible, intact and accessible to an auditor. If you scan, the paper original may be destroyed provided the digital copy is faithful, kept under reliable procedures and retrievable at any time.

For a receipt to support a business deduction (meals, travel, supplies, etc.), it must include: date, vendor name, description of goods or services, amount paid, and ideally taxes broken down. A simple credit-card slip is usually not enough — you need the itemized receipt. For entertainment expenses, also note the business purpose and persons met on the back or in a log.

Vehicle expenses require a mileage log (date, destination, purpose, km driven) kept on an ongoing basis, in addition to fuel and maintenance receipts. An Excel sheet or mobile app is fine if kept rigorously.

As a self-employed worker, do I have to charge taxes?

As long as your taxable supply revenues stay below $30,000 over 4 consecutive quarters, no. Above that, you must register within 30 days and charge GST and QST to your customers. Many self-employed workers nevertheless choose to register from the start to recover taxes paid on their business purchases.

What's the difference between an invoice and a receipt?

The invoice is the document issued by the seller that details goods or services and shows an amount payable (often on credit). The receipt is the proof that a payment was made. For an immediate cash sale, one document can serve as both; for credit sales, you first issue the invoice and then the receipt upon payment.

Is a signature required on the invoice?

No. No signature is required for an invoice to be compliant in the eyes of Revenu Québec or the CRA. A signature can still be useful in some commercial contexts (proof of delivery, quote acceptance).

What is the penalty for a non-compliant invoice?

For the customer, the absence of the GST or QST number triggers the denial of the claimed credit (ITC/ITR). For the supplier, repeated omission of mandatory elements may lead to administrative fines, interest on uncollected taxes and, in fraud cases, criminal sanctions. Best protection: use a compliant template and follow it without exception.

Can I use a single numbering scheme for all my invoices?

Yes. A single, continuous sequence (e.g., 2026-001, 2026-002, …) is perfectly valid and even recommended. Gaps in numbering are often flagged by auditors; keep cancelled invoices marked "VOID" rather than simply skipping the number.