What details does a valid tax invoice need in Australia?

For sales of $82.50 or more (including GST), the ATO requires a tax invoice to show the words "tax invoice", your business identity and ABN, the date it was issued, a description of what was sold, and the GST amount or a statement that the total includes GST. Snapceipt's invoices carry your ABN, the "Tax invoice" heading and a clear GST breakdown, so the document meets that format. Quotes are separate and don't need to meet the tax-invoice rules.

Do I record invoice income when it's issued or when it's paid?

In Snapceipt, income is recognised when you issue the invoice, not when the money lands, so your reports reflect what you've billed. That lines up with the accruals method; if you've registered to report GST on a cash basis, you'd instead account for it when payment is received. Check which basis you're on with the ATO so your BAS figures match.

Can my customer pay online through the invoice or quote link?

No — the tokenised link and PDF are for viewing only, with no built-in accept-or-pay portal or card processing. Your bank details appear as plain text on the document for a manual transfer, and you record the payment yourself once it arrives. Snapceipt then tracks each invoice as unpaid, part-paid, paid or overdue.

How long is a quote valid for before it expires?

A quote should state a validity period so your price isn't open-ended, and in Snapceipt new quotes default to 28 days, which you can change before sending. When the client accepts, converting the quote copies every line item, the client details and your GST settings straight into a draft invoice, so you never re-key anything. The original quote is then marked "invoiced" and linked to the new record.

The Best Quote & Invoice App for Australian Sole Traders

Last updated 29 June 2026

Most invoicing apps treat quotes and invoices as a world unto themselves — a separate tool, a separate login, a separate place your numbers live. But if you're a sole trader, your income and your expenses are two halves of the same job, and both end up on the same BAS. Snapceipt's quotes and invoices are built on exactly that idea: it's one app that reads your receipts and raises your quotes and invoices, so the whole picture sits in one place. This guide walks through how the feature works, who it's for, and why it's a genuinely strong fit for Australian sole traders and small businesses.

How quotes and invoices work in Snapceipt

The flow follows the way most jobs actually run: quote the work, win it, invoice it, get paid.

You start by building a quote. Add line items — a description, a quantity, and a unit price in plain dollars and cents — and Snapceipt computes the subtotal, GST and total live as you type, all on your device. New quotes default to a 28-day validity, which you can change. Pick a client from your saved list (or create one inline), and their name, email, mobile and address are snapshotted onto the document so later edits to the client don't rewrite a quote you've already sent.

When you're ready to send, Snapceipt mints a quote number and a tokenised web page your client can open from a link you email them. If they'd rather a file, the app renders that same quote page into a PDF on your own phone for sharing.

Win the job and conversion is one tap. Converting a quote clones the client details, GST settings, GST rate and every line item into a new draft invoice, links the two records, and marks the quote "invoiced" — so you never re-key a thing. From there you issue the invoice: that mints an invoice number, sets the issue and due dates (due defaults to 14 days out), and produces a proper tax-invoice document with your ABN, the words "Tax invoice", and a GST breakdown. "Send" emails the PDF to your client.

Then you track the money. Snapceipt records payments against an issued invoice — the amount defaults to the outstanding balance, with a paid-on date, method and note — and works out whether each is unpaid, part-paid or paid. Anything issued, unpaid and past due is flagged overdue, with a "Needs attention" view and a Home-bell count so nothing quietly slips.

What makes it the right fit for Australian sole traders

Plenty of apps can produce an invoice. Here's where Snapceipt is built specifically for the way Australians work.

It's one app that also reads your receipts. This is the real differentiator. Quotes and invoices aren't a bolt-on — they share the same tax engine the app already uses for expenses. Your invoiced income and your scanned receipts live together, which is exactly what you need at BAS time. If you haven't met the expense side, the best receipt scanner apps in Australia guide covers how that half works, and the pillar on tracking business expenses in Australia ties the whole routine together.

It's GST-native, not a US tool bent into shape. GST can be switched on or off and set as GST-inclusive or GST-exclusive pricing. The rate is a configurable preset — 10% for Australia, 15% for New Zealand, or a custom percentage — snapshotted onto each quote and invoice when you save, so a document you've already sent keeps its original numbers even if you change your settings later. The tax-invoice format carries your ABN and a clear GST breakdown, the way a valid Australian tax invoice should. For the wider picture on GST and credits, see GST on business expenses.

Issued invoices flow straight into your reports and BAS. When you issue an invoice, Snapceipt automatically books it as an income transaction — positive amount, GST captured, line items carried over — so your invoiced revenue feeds the same reports and BAS-ready export the app already produces. It's a closed loop from quote to invoice to tax summary, with no double entry. Worth knowing: income is recognised when you issue the invoice, not when it's paid, so your figures reflect what you've billed.

The shareable quote PDF is made on your phone. Snapceipt loads the quote page in an off-screen web view and renders it to a PDF right on the device. Your business name, ABN, email, phone, website, address, payment details and uploaded logo all appear on it, so the document goes out looking like yours.

Accounts receivable is built in — and kept gentle. You get paid / part-paid / unpaid / overdue tracking and a "Needs attention" list without bolting on a separate debtors system. The framing is deliberately soft — amber, never red — because it's for a solo operator glancing at who still owes them, not a collections department.

Knowing what it doesn't do

An honest pitch means being clear about the edges:

Some steps need a connection. Drafting, editing and live totals happen on-device, but issuing an invoice, minting a quote or invoice number, generating the share link, and emailing your client all talk to the server — and the on-device PDF first fetches the hosted quote page online.
The client link is for viewing, not paying. Your client can open the web page or PDF, but there's no online accept-or-pay portal. Payments are recorded by you, and bank details show as plain text for manual transfer — no card processing is built in.
Reminders are in-app only. Overdue invoices surface in the "Needs attention" list and the Home bell. There are no automated chasing emails, recurring invoices, or multi-user team features.

Who it's for

If you're a sole trader, freelancer or small operator who quotes work, sends invoices, and wants your income and expenses in one Australian, AUD-and-GST-native app, this is built for you. Quotes and invoices are part of Snapceipt Pro — currently AUD $9.99/month or $79/year with a 14-day free trial, billed through Apple — while receipt scanning is on the free tier. (Check the current App Store listing for the latest pricing.) For a one-person business, having quote-to-invoice-to-BAS in a single tool you already use for receipts is hard to beat.