The first page of the document DocMake makes from the sample values on this page.
Finance
Commercial Invoice
The commercial invoice is the document a customs authority reads to decide what a shipment is worth, what it is made of and which duty rate applies to it. It travels with the goods next to the transport document and the packing list, and every figure on it is expected to agree with those two.
Brokers and forwarders look for a familiar block of information: seller and buyer, an invoice number and date, a plain description of each item with its HS classification and country of origin, quantity, unit price, line total, net weight, the trading currency, the agreed Incoterms rule with its named place, and how freight and insurance are treated. Individual destinations add their own asks, such as an importer tax number or a stated reason for export, so confirm what a new market wants before the first shipment goes out.
Exporters who ship weekly stop retyping any of this. Hold the seller block, bank details and Incoterms wording in the template, then feed the line array out of the order record so classifications and origins come from product data rather than from memory. A single render gives you the PDF the courier portal wants and a DOCX when a buyer asks to annotate a copy.
Blanks to fill
| invoice_number | Invoice number |
| invoice_date | Invoice date |
| currency | Currency |
| seller_name | Seller |
| seller_address | Seller address |
| seller_tax_id | Seller tax number |
| buyer_name | Buyer |
| buyer_address | Buyer address |
| ship_to_address | Ship to address |
| country_of_final_destination | Country of final destination |
| reason_for_export | Reason for export |
| incoterms | Delivery rule and place |
| transport_reference | Transport reference |
| payment_terms | Payment terms |
| subtotal | Goods subtotal |
| freight_charges | Freight |
| insurance_charges | Insurance |
| total_value | Total value |
| total_net_weight | Total net weight |
| total_gross_weight | Total gross weight |
| package_count | Packages |
| payment_details | Payment details |
| declaration | Declaration |
| signed_by | Signed by |
| signature_date | Date of signature |
| lines[] | One per item, so a row is added for every item in the list |
The data behind the preview
This is the exact JSON that produced the document above. Change the values, POST them to the API, and you get your version back as DOCX or PDF. Lists grow and shrink with your data; the layout adapts.
- 01 Sign up free and duplicate this template into your workspace.
- 02 Adjust the wording and branding in the visual editor.
- 03 Fill it in the app, share it as a form link, or call the API.
{
"invoice_number": "CI-2026-0418",
"invoice_date": "August 14, 2026",
"currency": "EUR",
"seller_name": "Northwind Instruments SRL",
"seller_address": "Str. Fabricii 118, 400632 Cluj-Napoca, Romania",
"seller_tax_id": "RO18452299",
"buyer_name": "Kestrel Analytics Inc.",
"buyer_address": "77 Bay State Road, Boston, MA 02215, United States",
"ship_to_address": "Kestrel Analytics, Receiving, 14 Industrial Way, Wilmington, MA 01887, United States",
"country_of_final_destination": "United States",
"reason_for_export": "Sale of goods",
"incoterms": "CIP Boston Logan, Incoterms 2020",
"transport_reference": "Air waybill 057 88213467",
"payment_terms": "50 percent paid on order, the balance 30 days from the date of this invoice",
"lines": [
{
"description": "Benchtop conductivity meter, model NC 220",
"commodity_code": "9027.80",
"country_of_origin": "Romania",
"quantity": "12",
"unit_price": "EUR 486.00",
"net_weight": "26.4 kg",
"line_total": "EUR 5,832.00"
},
{
"description": "Flow through conductivity cell, four electrode",
"commodity_code": "9027.90",
"country_of_origin": "Romania",
"quantity": "24",
"unit_price": "EUR 112.50",
"net_weight": "7.2 kg",
"line_total": "EUR 2,700.00"
},
{
"description": "Calibration standard set, 84 uS/cm to 12.88 mS/cm",
"commodity_code": "3822.90",
"country_of_origin": "Germany",
"quantity": "6",
"unit_price": "EUR 74.00",
"net_weight": "9.0 kg",
"line_total": "EUR 444.00"
},
{
"description": "Spare electrode kit, platinum",
"commodity_code": "9027.90",
"country_of_origin": "Romania",
"quantity": "8",
"unit_price": "EUR 63.00",
"net_weight": "1.6 kg",
"line_total": "EUR 504.00"
}
],
"subtotal": "EUR 9,480.00",
"freight_charges": "EUR 620.00",
"insurance_charges": "EUR 96.00",
"total_value": "EUR 10,196.00",
"total_net_weight": "44.2 kg",
"total_gross_weight": "53.4 kg",
"package_count": "3 cartons on one pallet",
"payment_details": "Transfer to Northwind Instruments SRL, IBAN RO49 BTRL 0000 1234 5678 9012, SWIFT BTRLRO22, quoting the invoice number above.",
"declaration": "We certify that the information on this invoice is true and correct, that the goods are of the origin stated against each line, and that the contents of this shipment are as described above.",
"signed_by": "Ioana Preda, Export Manager",
"signature_date": "August 14, 2026"
}Generate this document via the API
One template plus changing data is the whole point. The list of blanks above is the contract, and every new set of values comes back in the same layout: fill it in the app, hand someone a form link, or POST the JSON and get the file straight back.
The request below carries this page's own values, so it runs as soon as the template exists in your workspace. Swap the values for yours and the response is your document.
curl -X POST https://app.docmake.io/api/v1/render \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $DOCMAKE_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "Accept: application/json" \
--output commercial-invoice.pdf \
--data-binary @- <<'JSON'
{
"template_id": "tmpl_your_template_id",
"format": "pdf",
"data": {
"invoice_number": "CI-2026-0418",
"invoice_date": "August 14, 2026",
"currency": "EUR",
"seller_name": "Northwind Instruments SRL",
"seller_address": "Str. Fabricii 118, 400632 Cluj-Napoca, Romania",
"seller_tax_id": "RO18452299",
"buyer_name": "Kestrel Analytics Inc.",
"buyer_address": "77 Bay State Road, Boston, MA 02215, United States",
"ship_to_address": "Kestrel Analytics, Receiving, 14 Industrial Way, Wilmington, MA 01887, United States",
"country_of_final_destination": "United States",
"reason_for_export": "Sale of goods",
"incoterms": "CIP Boston Logan, Incoterms 2020",
"transport_reference": "Air waybill 057 88213467",
"payment_terms": "50 percent paid on order, the balance 30 days from the date of this invoice",
"lines": [
{
"description": "Benchtop conductivity meter, model NC 220",
"commodity_code": "9027.80",
"country_of_origin": "Romania",
"quantity": "12",
"unit_price": "EUR 486.00",
"net_weight": "26.4 kg",
"line_total": "EUR 5,832.00"
},
{
"description": "Flow through conductivity cell, four electrode",
"commodity_code": "9027.90",
"country_of_origin": "Romania",
"quantity": "24",
"unit_price": "EUR 112.50",
"net_weight": "7.2 kg",
"line_total": "EUR 2,700.00"
},
{
"description": "Calibration standard set, 84 uS/cm to 12.88 mS/cm",
"commodity_code": "3822.90",
"country_of_origin": "Germany",
"quantity": "6",
"unit_price": "EUR 74.00",
"net_weight": "9.0 kg",
"line_total": "EUR 444.00"
},
{
"description": "Spare electrode kit, platinum",
"commodity_code": "9027.90",
"country_of_origin": "Romania",
"quantity": "8",
"unit_price": "EUR 63.00",
"net_weight": "1.6 kg",
"line_total": "EUR 504.00"
}
],
"subtotal": "EUR 9,480.00",
"freight_charges": "EUR 620.00",
"insurance_charges": "EUR 96.00",
"total_value": "EUR 10,196.00",
"total_net_weight": "44.2 kg",
"total_gross_weight": "53.4 kg",
"package_count": "3 cartons on one pallet",
"payment_details": "Transfer to Northwind Instruments SRL, IBAN RO49 BTRL 0000 1234 5678 9012, SWIFT BTRLRO22, quoting the invoice number above.",
"declaration": "We certify that the information on this invoice is true and correct, that the goods are of the origin stated against each line, and that the contents of this shipment are as described above.",
"signed_by": "Ioana Preda, Export Manager",
"signature_date": "August 14, 2026"
}
}
JSON tmpl_your_template_id is
a stand-in: build this template in the visual editor and copy the id it shows, or create one with POST /api/v1/templates. Keys, formats, strict mode and batches are in the API reference.
Or let an AI assistant do it
The DocMake MCP server lets Claude and other assistants make this document the same way. Install it once:
claude mcp add docmake \
--env DOCMAKE_API_KEY=dm_your_api_key \
-- npx -y @docmake/mcp@latestThen ask for the document in plain words:
Make a PDF from my Commercial Invoice template with invoice number "CI-2026-0418" and invoice date "August 14, 2026".
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