How-to guide

Help centre

Search or browse step-by-step guides for invoices, quotes, clients, saved items, billing, and your account. This is product help, not tax, legal, or accounting advice.

Getting started

Use the app without an account

You can create invoices and quotes in the browser with no login. Fill in the form, check the live preview, and download a PDF.

  1. Open the Invoice Generator or Quote Generator.
  2. Enter your company, client, and line items.
  3. Click Download PDF.

Guest limits. Cloud save, clients, saved items, and the dashboard need an account. Word export is Starter only.

Create an account and sign in

  1. Click Sign In in the top navigation (or Sign In to Save on the invoice toolbar).
  2. Create an account with email and password, or continue with Google.
  3. After you sign in, use Save Invoice / Save Quote and open the Dashboard.

Forgot your password? Use Reset password. The reset email includes a link that opens the same page so you can set a new one.

Where to work: generator vs dashboard

  • Invoice / Quote Generator — the form and live preview. Best for writing a document. From the dashboard you can also open these as an embedded editor (+ New Invoice / + New Quote).
  • Dashboard — Overview, My Invoices, Quotes, Clients, My Items, Profile, Settings, and Account. Best for searching, marking paid, converting quotes, and billing.

Invoices

Create a tax invoice

  1. Go to the Invoice Generator (or Dashboard → + New Invoice).
  2. Fill My Company Details: name, address, VAT number, registration, email, and phone.
  3. Fill Client Details, or pick a saved client from the search box.
  4. Set the invoice number and dates. Signed-in accounts get the next INV-0001-style number automatically — you can still type your own. Do not reuse a number for a different invoice.
  5. Add line items, choose currency (ZAR is the default), turn VAT on or off, then download or save.

Not tax advice. You are responsible for checking each document against SARS rules. See the FAQ for typical tax-invoice fields.

Add and edit line items

  1. Click + Add Line Item (or + Add Row on mobile).
  2. Type a description, quantity, and unit price. Totals update in the live preview.
  3. Start typing a description to search your saved items. Choosing one fills the description and unit price.
  4. Use the bookmark icon on a line to save that row to My Items.

One-off custom lines are not added to your catalogue unless you bookmark them.

Turn VAT on or off

  1. Use the Apply VAT (15%) toggle on the invoice or quote form.
  2. When VAT is on and currency is ZAR, line amounts are treated as exclusive of VAT, 15% is added, and the document is labelled a South African tax invoice (with the VAT Act footer).
  3. When VAT is off, you get a standard invoice or standard quotation — the usual international terms — with no South African VAT Act line.

Use the Currency dropdown for ZAR (default), USD, EUR, GBP or AUD. There is no separate zero-rated or exempt rate. Leave VAT off and explain the treatment in the footer if you need to. Selecting a saved item stored at 15% VAT turns the document VAT toggle on; it does not turn VAT off.

Download a PDF or Word file

  1. Check the live preview on the right (on a phone, use Live Preview at the bottom).
  2. Click Download PDF.
  3. Starter only: click Download Word for a .docx file.

Save an invoice to the cloud

  1. Sign in, then click Save Invoice.
  2. Open it later from Dashboard → My Invoices, or from the public generator after you sign in.

Free plan: 5 saved invoices and 5 saved quotes per calendar month. Starter is unlimited and can autosave. Saving an invoice also stores the client in your address book if you filled in a client name.

Quotes

Create a quote

  1. Open the Quote Generator or Dashboard → + New Quote.
  2. Fill company, client, and line items the same way as an invoice. VAT, logo, header colour, and saved items all work here too.
  3. Download a PDF, or sign in and click Save Quote.

Quotes do not print your banking details or card payment buttons. Those appear on invoices only.

Convert a quote to an invoice

When the client accepts the quote, copy it into a new invoice without retyping lines.

  1. Dashboard → Quotes → → Invoice on that row, or open the quote and click Convert to invoice.
  2. Line items, client details, and VAT are copied. Check the new invoice number and dates, then save.

Clients and saved items

Save and reuse clients

  1. On an invoice or quote, start typing in Search saved clients and pick a match. Name, address, VAT, email, and phone fill in.
  2. Or type a new client and save the document — that client is stored in your address book.
  3. Dashboard → Clients to add, edit, delete, or start an invoice/quote from a client.

Build a price list (My Items)

Saved items are reusable products or services: a name, description, unit price, and whether they are VAT-rated at 15%.

  1. Dashboard → My Items → add or edit items, or search the table.
  2. On an invoice or quote, type in a line description to autocomplete from your list. Selecting an item fills description and unit price. If the item is stored at 15% VAT, the document VAT toggle turns on.
  3. Click the bookmark icon on a line to save that row to the catalogue.

Free plan: up to 5 saved items. Starter is unlimited. If you later downgrade, extra items stay in your list but you cannot add more until you are under the Free limit or you upgrade again.

Dashboard

Find and reopen invoices and quotes

  1. Open the Dashboard after you sign in.
  2. Use Overview for recent activity, or My Invoices / Quotes for the full lists.
  3. Search by number, client, or text. Click a row to reopen it in the editor.

Mark paid, email, or duplicate

  • Mark paid / Mark unpaid on My Invoices is for your records only. It does not collect money from the client.
  • Email opens your own mail app with the client address and a short message. Attach the PDF you downloaded. Tax Invoice SA does not send the PDF from our servers.
  • Duplicate (copy) creates a new draft with the same lines and client so you can change dates and the number.

Profile, billing, and account

Company profile, banking, and payment links

  1. Dashboard → Profile — company name, address, VAT number, registration, billing email, and phone. These print in the invoice header.
  2. Dashboard → Settings — bank name, account holder, account number, branch code, and account type for the “Banking Details for EFT” block.
  3. Paste a Paystack and/or Yoco payment page URL to print Pay Now buttons on invoices. Starter is required for banking, Paystack, and Yoco to appear on the PDF.
  4. Paste a PayPal.me (or PayPal) link. A Pay via PayPal button prints on Free and Starter.
  5. Click Save profile or Save settings.

Free vs Starter, upgrade, and cancel

  • Free: unlimited documents in the browser, PayPal on PDFs, 5 saved invoices and 5 saved quotes per calendar month, 5 saved items.
  • Starter (R49/month): unlimited cloud saves, banking / Paystack / Yoco on PDFs, Word export, unlimited saved items.
  1. To upgrade: Dashboard → Account (or the Upgrade button) and pay with Paystack. Prices are in South African Rand. Full comparison: Pricing.
  2. To cancel: Dashboard → Account → Cancel subscription. Paid features end when Paystack confirms (usually immediately). The current month is not refunded unless the law requires it. Saved invoices stay on the Free plan.

Password, download your data, or delete your account

  1. Password: Dashboard → Account → enter a new password (at least 6 characters) and save. Google-only logins follow the on-screen hint.
  2. Download my data: Account → download a JSON copy of your profile, invoices, quotes, clients, and saved items (POPIA access).
  3. Delete my account: Account → type DELETE to confirm. Any Paystack subscription is cancelled first, then your login, profile, invoices, quotes, clients, and saved items are permanently removed. Limited billing logs and contact-form messages may be kept as described in the Privacy Policy.

Troubleshooting

Common problems

  • I cannot save. Sign in first. On Free, you may have hit 5 invoices or 5 quotes this calendar month, or 5 saved items. Upgrade or wait until next month for document saves.
  • Word is disabled. Download Word is a Starter feature.
  • Banking or Paystack is missing on the PDF. Save them under Settings and use Starter. PayPal still prints on Free.
  • Email did not send a PDF. Email only opens your mail app. Attach the file you downloaded.
  • Short questions — see the FAQ. Something broken or a privacy request — Contact us or taxinvoicesa@gmail.com.