What is a line item?

A line item is a single row on an invoice that describes one product or service, along with its quantity, unit price and total. Add up all the line items and you have the invoice subtotal, before tax and discounts.

How it works

Each line item has the same parts:

• Description: what was sold or done.
• Quantity: how many, or how many hours.
• Unit price: the price of one unit.
• Amount: quantity multiplied by unit price.

The invoice adds every amount into a subtotal, then applies discounts and sales tax to reach the total due. Because each line is its own calculation, one wrong quantity changes the whole invoice, so check the numbers before you send.

Good line items answer the question a client would otherwise email you about. “Consulting” invites questions. “Pricing strategy workshop, 3 hours” does not. For hourly work, show the rate. For parts, show the quantity and unit cost. Billing both is called time and materials, and it is clearest with separate lines for labor and parts.

Example

A plumber replaces a faucet and bills the following.

Description	Qty	Unit price	Amount
Faucet, brushed nickel	1	$89.00	$89.00
Labor, plumber	2 hr	$95.00	$190.00
Trip charge	1	$40.00	$40.00
Subtotal			$319.00
Tax at 7% on the faucet only			$6.23
Total due			$325.23

Here, tax applies only to the taxable line. Whether labor or parts are taxable depends on your state, so check local rules. You can enter lines like these in the free invoice generator, which does the math to the cent, or run the tax step with the sales tax calculator.

Related terms

• Subtotal: the sum of all line items before tax.
• Time and materials: a billing method that itemizes labor and parts.
• Sales tax: the tax applied to taxable lines.

PayToMe’s AI invoicing is in development and will draft line items from a plain description. You review every line before anything is sent.