Invoice and Quote Generator for 3D Printing Orders: Free Demo

To build an invoice, quote or completion act for a 3D printing order, open the document generator, pick the type, enter the client and line items with quantity and price, and a sample document appears next to the form. The demo is free and works without signing in. It shows what the document looks like but does not hand over a file: a PDF with your own details, logo and signature is made in your 3D Print Pricing account.

I built the demo for a simple situation: before creating an account you want to see what the document your client receives will look like, and play with the line items.

How do I build a document in the demo?

1. Open the generator and pick a type: Invoice, Proposal or Act.
2. Enter the client name and phone.
3. Fill in the line items: item, quantity, price. “Add item” adds a row and the trash icon removes one.
4. Watch the preview: a header with number and date, the parties, bank details, the table of items and the total.

By default the demo has two line items: a branded enclosure (12 pcs at $12) and a phone stand (4 pcs at $18), $216 in total. The preview shows the document title as Invoice, Quotation or Statement of work. The seller details in the sample are placeholders, not your data.

What the demo does not have: the document is not saved anywhere and cannot be downloaded, it has no logo, signature or stamp of yours, and the document number and the 0% VAT are filled in as an example. All of that appears in your account once you enter your own details.

Which documents are there and how do they differ?

The UPD and the public-offer contract follow Russian practice, so they are mostly useful if you sell in Russia. For a rundown of which document you need and when, see paperwork for a 3D printing business. The contract is covered in drafting a service contract for 3D printing. This is not legal or tax advice: which forms you need depends on your status and your clients, so ask an accountant if in doubt.

Which document should I issue in which situation?

What does the account add besides the PDF?

• Your details once. Company name, tax ID, bank details, logo and signature live in your profile and are filled into all seven document types.
• Numbering. Kept separately by document type and year with a configurable prefix: a number looks like PREFIX-YEAR-0001.
• Documents from orders. Items, client and totals come from orders, and a single document can be tied to several orders at once.
• Create from another document. An invoice can spawn an act, a delivery note and a UPD, a quote can spawn an invoice, and a contract can spawn an invoice and an act. The PDF prints a line naming the source document.
• PDF and DOCX. The PDF can be downloaded or emailed to the client; the DOCX version exists on the website only.
• A link for the client. Quotes and invoices have a public page: the client can accept or decline a quote, or pay an invoice online if you have connected online payment (it is switched on separately).
• An archive. Every document is stored with a snapshot of the data at the moment of creation, so you can re-download the PDF later even if you have since changed your details or the client card.
• Overdue invoices. An unpaid invoice older than 14 days gets an “Overdue” badge.

What about the watermark and the plans?

To be upfront about what the free option does not include: on the free plan and on Basic the PDF has a watermark and a standard footer text instead of your own. On Pro the quote and the delivery note can be issued without a watermark, and on Web Plus and Web Team all seven types can. These are the terms as of the date of this article; check the subscription page for the current ones.

What mistakes do people make with documents?

• No consistent numbering. Numbers typed by hand get duplicated and skipped. Automatic numbering by type and year removes that.
• An invoice with no validity period. Prices and availability change, so state a validity period in the document text. The sample, for instance, says the invoice is valid for 3 business days.
• An act with no line items. If the act refers to work, list it instead of writing “services rendered”.
• An invoice instead of a receipt. An invoice records the amount but does not replace a receipt; for payments and tax status see how to accept payments and taxes for a 3D printing side business.
• Forgetting about unpaid invoices. What to do when a client does not pay is covered in client won’t pay for a 3D print.

How does it compare with Word templates and accounting software?

• Word, Excel and Google Docs. A template is free and you can change the layout however you like. But you keep numbers, totals and details by hand, and there is nowhere to store clients and orders.
• Accounting software such as QuickBooks or Xero. The right choice when you need bookkeeping, reporting and taxes. My generator is not accounting software: it does not keep books or file reports, it issues documents for a workshop’s orders.
• This generator. Handy when documents are tied to specific 3D printing orders: items come from the order, numbers run by themselves, and the sample can be tried without signing in.

If you need to work out the price first, start with the cost calculator, and for the method see 3D print quote online: how to calculate the cost.

What next?

With the sample in front of you, price the order in the calculator, then issue the document to the client. To see which papers you will need, read paperwork for a 3D printing business.