Let your AI assistant fill in a Pencilslip invoice

Yes, an AI chat assistant can help you make an invoice. Give it your job details and ask it to build a link to a free invoice template; the link opens the invoice already filled in. Check every name, line, quantity, price and total before you print or send it, because assistants make mistakes.

One thing goes in your favor: the template works out the line totals, tax, total and balance due itself, from the quantities, prices, tax rate and amount paid. Any total the assistant writes into the link is ignored, so a wrong total from the assistant doesn't end up on the invoice. The assistant can still put in a wrong quantity, price, tax rate or name, so you still check each line.

This is a link format our free templates read. It isn't an integration, plugin or connector, there's nothing to install, and you don't need an account. Pencilslip isn't affiliated with or endorsed by any AI company. Results depend on the assistant: some may not build the link correctly.

How it works

1. Tell your assistant the job details and paste the example prompt below. It points the assistant to the free invoice template and to the format on this page.
2. The assistant gives you a link that starts with https://pencilslip.com/free-invoice-template.html#d=.
3. Open the link. The invoice opens filled in, with a note at the top. Check and edit anything on screen, then tap Print / Save as PDF.

Want to see it first? Open an example invoice (made-up business, customer and prices).

What the link can fill in

For assistants, the exact format: the part after #d= is this JSON, URL-encoded (every character a URL can't hold, including spaces, quotes and %, written as %XX). Leave out any field you don't have.

{
  "business": {
    "name": "",
    "contact": "",
    "address": ""
  },
  "number": "",
  "date": "",
  "due": "",
  "customer": {
    "name": "",
    "contact": "",
    "address": "",
    "cityStateZip": ""
  },
  "items": [
    {
      "desc": "",
      "qty": 1,
      "price": 0
    }
  ],
  "taxRate": 0,
  "paid": 0,
  "howToPay": "",
  "notes": ""
}

Numbers are plain numbers (no $ or commas). The whole part after #d= can be up to 12,000 characters. A total, subtotal or balance in the data is ignored. A paid amount larger than the total is left blank. A link that has the word Pencilslip in any field fills in nothing. Pencilslip never writes or sends invoices, so if you get one that claims to be from Pencilslip, it isn't. For the free estimate template, use the same format with "validUntil" instead of "due"; estimates have no paid amount or how-to-pay box.

An example prompt

Example prompt (fill in the [brackets])Build a link that opens the free invoice template at pencilslip.com/free-invoice-template.html filled in, using the format at pencilslip.com/ai-assistant-invoice.html. My business: [business name], [phone · email]. Customer: [name], job at [street, city, state ZIP]. Invoice #[number], dated [date], due [on receipt]. Lines: [description, quantity, unit price] for each item. Tax rate: [ ]%. Deposit already paid: [amount]. Use only what I gave you; leave anything I didn't give you blank instead of guessing.

Check everything before you send it

• Customer name and job address.
• Invoice number and dates, including the due date.
• Each line's description, quantity and unit price. Add up every line yourself and make sure the total matches.
• Tax rate. Sales tax rules vary by state and trade, so check what applies to you locally.
• Deposit or amount already paid, and the balance due.
• How to pay, and any notes.

Check each number the assistant filled in, the same as you would a spreadsheet someone else typed. You're responsible for what you send. For what belongs on an invoice in the first place, see how to write an invoice.

What stays private, and what doesn't

The invoice details sit after the # in the link. Browsers don't send that part of a link to a website's server, so Pencilslip's server never receives them, and the template removes them from the address bar once the invoice is filled in. Anything you type into an AI assistant does go to the company that runs it, under that company's own privacy terms. The link also carries the details, so anyone you share it with, and your browser history, can show them.

To share less, give the assistant placeholders instead of customer names and fill those in after the link opens. Then send the saved PDF rather than the link.

What this is, and what it isn't

• It's a link format that the free invoice and estimate templates read.
• It isn't an integration, plugin or connector, and there's nothing to install.
• There's no account, and none of the invoice details are sent to or saved by Pencilslip.
• It isn't affiliated with or endorsed by any AI company.
• Results depend on the assistant. Some won't build long links, or will garble them; if a link can't be read, the template says so and fills in nothing.

Frequently asked questions

Can an AI assistant make an invoice for me?

It can draft the details and build the link. You open the invoice, check it, and print it or save it as a PDF. It doesn't send anything for you.

Is it safe to type customer details into an AI assistant?

What you type goes to the assistant's provider under its terms. The part of the link after # isn't sent to Pencilslip's server. If you'd rather not share customer details, use placeholders and fill in the names after the invoice opens.

Can an AI assistant get the totals wrong?

Yes. That's why the template works out the totals itself from the quantities and prices and ignores any total in the link. The assistant can still put in a wrong quantity, price, tax rate or name, so check each line.

Do I need an account, a plugin or a connector?

No. There's no account and nothing to install, and it isn't a plugin or connector. A chat assistant that can write a web link may work; results vary.

Does it work for estimates too?

Yes. The free estimate template reads the same format, with a valid-until date instead of a due date.

What should I put in the prompt?

Start from the example prompt. Tell the assistant to use only what you give it and to leave blanks rather than guess.

More to read: the free invoice template, the free estimate template, and how to write an invoice.