Parties first
Make the seller and buyer easy to identify before the reviewer reaches the goods or values.
Trade-document checklist
How to Fill Out a Commercial Invoice
Filling out a commercial invoice is mostly about making the shipment parties, goods, and declared values legible enough for the trade workflow to trust the document. The page should not look like a generic service invoice with a different title. It needs to behave like shipment-facing paperwork that travels with the goods and aligns with the rest of the export package.
Fill out the document in the order a reviewer will scan it
Goods and quantities next
The goods description should help the shipment make sense without relying on internal shorthand or vague product labels.
Value and trade meaning after that
The declared values should be visible enough that the commercial role of the invoice is obvious.
Keep customs decisions outside the fill-out checklist
MakeInvoice.ai is not a customs decision engine. This checklist helps keep seller, buyer, goods, declared values, currency, and shipment-facing trade information visible, but it does not decide customs classification, import rules, duties, tax treatment, or legal acceptance.
If a carrier, broker, marketplace, or customs authority gives specific document requirements, follow that instruction and use this checklist only to keep the commercial invoice, packing list, and proforma roles clear.
Choose the next step
Open the shipping-specific guide
Use this when you want the choice that stays closest to the actual shipping workflow.
Best next step
Review the example page
Use this when you want a shorter overview of what the document should look like before you fill it out.
See help page
Compare packing list vs commercial invoice
Use this when the blocker is still whether the choice should stays with packing detail or shift into trade-value detail.
Compare documents
Compare commercial invoice vs proforma
Use this when the shipment timing still feels too early for a true commercial invoice.
Compare timing
What do you fill out on a commercial invoice?
You fill out the seller and buyer details, goods description, quantities, declared values, and shipment-facing trade information needed for the document to travel with the goods.
Is it enough to copy a generic invoice?
No. A commercial invoice needs trade-document detail that is more specific than a generic service invoice or a packing list.
Should it match the packing list exactly?
The documents should align, but the commercial invoice carries value and trade context while the packing list focuses on package contents and handling detail.
What is the best next step after reading this guide?
Most users should review the commercial invoice example or the shipping-specific guide, then draft the commercial invoice with the shipment parties and goods clearly visible.
Need the shipping-oriented checklist next?
Open the commercial-invoice-for-shipping guide, then keep the parties, goods, and declared values visible enough for the document to move with the shipment cleanly.