Embroidery and Screen Printing Invoice Template
A custom apparel invoice should separate the one-time setup — digitizing for embroidery, screen and film charges per color for printing — from the per-piece price, which varies by quantity, stitch count or color count, and print location. Add garment cost, rush fees, and a spoilage clause on customer-supplied goods, with 50% down before art is released. ShowTheReceipts saves each rate and holds the deposit before the order runs.
Header block
- Shop name, address, phone
- Customer business name and contact
- Order number, due date, in-hands date
- Deposit reference and balance terms
Setup lines — one time
- Digitizing — per embroidery design, $40–$100
- Screens / film — per color, per location, $20–$35
- Art recreation — hourly, for unusable customer files
- Sample / strike-off — if requested
Production lines — per piece
- Garment — style, color, sizes, at cost plus margin
- Embroidery — per piece by stitch count
- Screen print — per piece by color count and quantity tier
- Additional locations — per piece, per location
- Names / numbers — per piece
- Folding, bagging, individual labeling — per piece
- Rush fee — stated uplift
Quantity tiers belong on the invoice
| Quantity | Effect |
|---|---|
| 12–23 | Highest per piece — setup spread thin |
| 24–47 | Standard |
| 48–143 | Discounted |
| 144+ | Best per-piece rate |
Setup costs the same whether you run 12 shirts or 500. Show the tiers and the customer orders their way into a better price.
Customer-supplied goods need a clause
State the spoilage terms in writing: extra garments supplied at 2–5%, and no liability for goods damaged in production. This is the single most common apparel dispute.
What not to do
- Don’t waive setup fees to win small orders
- Don’t run custom goods without 50% down
- Don’t accept supplied garments without a spoilage clause
- Don’t quote one per-piece price regardless of quantity
Frequently asked questions
Should I charge a setup or digitizing fee?
Yes — commonly $40–$100 for digitizing an embroidery file and $20–$35 per screen per color for printing. It's real labour that happens before a single garment runs, and shops that 'waive setup' on small orders are simply paying to produce them.
How does quantity affect per-piece price?
Heavily, and it should be on the invoice as tiered pricing — 12, 24, 48, 72, 144. Setup is fixed no matter the run length, so a 12-piece order carries far more setup per shirt. Show the tiers and the reorder gets bigger on its own.
What about customer-supplied garments?
Accept them with a written spoilage clause — commonly you're not liable for garments damaged in production, and the customer supplies 2–5% extra. A misprinted shirt you bought costs you wholesale; a misprinted shirt the customer bought costs you the relationship if the terms are silent.
How much deposit should an apparel shop take?
50% before art is released or garments are ordered, balance before the order ships or is picked up. Custom-printed goods have zero resale value — a cancelled order of 72 shirts with a company logo is inventory you can only throw away.