Don’t have time to sift through countless free business forms and templates? No problem; I’ve done the work for you.

As you go about growing and developing your small business, you will need an assortment of business forms, things like: accounting forms, employment forms, invoices, reports, and contracts. It just comes with the territory. But ever tried searching for that one form you needed only to come out with nothing? I’ve been there; it’s not fun!

While there are many sites currently offering free business forms and templates,  most of those documents are pretty worthless, or they are unsuited to the needs of self-employed professionals and very small businesses.

So, it’s time to change that! Just because it’s free, it doesn’t mean it should be useless.

On this page you’ll find a growing collection of various free business documents specifically geared to micro business owners. Most of these files are from my personal collection of files that I’ve used for my own small businesses, both online and off. Where any free business forms and templates are from another source, you’ll see it noted.

Note: If you are hiring people to help you run your business, be sure to check out my collection of free sample job descriptions.

Micro Business Planning and Startup Forms

Budget for Startup Costs (12.0 KiB)– A startup cost budget worksheet is used to estimate the amount of money needed to start a new business and run it for the first 3 months to a year

Estimate of Startup Costs (13.5 KiB)– Estimate the amount of money needed to get your new micro business up and running. Just because you’re starting off small doesn’t mean there won’t be a needed investment of money.

Micro Business Plan Template (224.7 KiB)–  From SCORE. This is one of the best business plan templates floating around the web. It includes helpful instructions and definitions.

Accounting Forms and Templates

Income Statement Quarterly (19.0 KiB)– Easy-to-use income statement template broken down by quarters

Actual Vs Budgeted Income Statement (12.0 KiB)– Use this yearly income statement template to compare actual versus budgeted values

12 Month Income Statement (16.0 KiB)– Yearly income statement for small and home businesses

12 Month Cash Flow Statement (15.0 KiB)– An easy-to-use yearly cash flow statement in Excel

12 Month Cash Flow Statment X2 (19.5 KiB)–   A yearly cash flow statement with formulas, broken down by month

Daily Cash Flow Sheet (12.5 KiB)– Use this daily cash flow sheet with embedded formulas to keep track of you daily cash flow position

Profit & Loss Projection (12 Month) (318.0 KiB)– Courtesy of SCORE. Includes helpful instructions and definitions

Balance Sheet (25.5 KiB)–  Courtesy of SCORE. Includes helpful instructions and definitions

Operational Budget Template (11.0 KiB)–  An easy-to-use operational budget template for small and home businesses.

Petty Cash Journal (33.0 KiB)– Easy-to-use petty cash journal

12 Month Sales Forecast (14.5 KiB)– Use this 1 year sales forecast template to project monthly sales over 7 product groups

Breakeven Analysis (11.0 KiB)–  Calculate your break-even point based on fixed and variable costs

Daily Cash Count Sheet (17.5 KiB)– Use this form to reconcile actual cash on hand with the expected cash amount

Monthly Bank Reconciliation Statement (19.0 KiB)–  Reconcile company financial records with monthly bank statements

Marketing Budget Template From Microsoft Office (20.5 KiB)– Make a yearly budget for your marketing initiatives broken down by month

Check Register (17.5 KiB)– You can use this check register template in Excel from Microsoft Office as a simple way to keep track of your income and expenses

Employment Letters and Forms

Employment Reference Check By Letter (21.5 KiB)– When you need to check an applicant’s references, you can use this reference request sample letter to get information about the potential hire from his or her former employer.

Generic Job Description Template (14.5 KiB)– This template will help you create a job description for a new position. Be sure to also check out my collection of sample job descriptions.

Application For Employment (24.5 KiB)– When you are ready to hire workers, you can use this employee application template and then add or tweak the questions as needed.

Employment Reference Phone Script (12.5 KiB)– If you will be calling former employers for a reference check instead of emailing them, you can use this sample phone script to help decide what questions you’ll be asking.

Employee Record (28.0 KiB)– This employee record template can be used to record pertinent information about your workers

Emergency Contact Form (14.0 KiB)– Use this form to record your employees’ contact information in case of emergency

Employee Incident Report (21.0 KiB)– This form can be used to record accidents or injuries on the job as well as the actions that were taken after the fact

Employee Work Schedule (22.5 KiB)– You can use this daily time sheet template to record your workers’ hours

Log Sheet Template (22.0 KiB)– This simple log sheet template can be used as an employee sign in sheet, for recording work done, or various other business purposes.

Employee Sign In Sheet (23.0 KiB)– You can use this employee sign in sheet template to keep a record of your workers’ daily hours

Freelance Writer Contract Agreement (15.0 KiB)–  If you are thinking of hiring a freelancer for a big job or one that involves the handling of sensitive information or assets, then you should have a freelance worker agreement in place. Here is a sample one for a freelance writer/editor. Just make sure to have this sample agreement checked over by a legal professional to ensure that you are in line with federal and state laws.

Job Applicant Rejection Letter (12.5 KiB)– Here is a sample rejection letter to job applicants who you will not be hiring

Sample Paycheck Stub Template (25.0 KiB)– Here is a sample paycheck stub for your employees when they receive electronic payments

Business Operations Forms

Inventory Report (35.0 KiB)– You can use this spreadsheet to record the items in your inventory

Inventory Count Sheet (23.5 KiB)– If you conduct inventory counts, this template will help you record your inventory in stock

Travel Reimbursement Form (22.0 KiB)– This is a simple travel reimbursement form that can be used to track the miles traveled

Travel Expense Report (24.0 KiB)– If you frequently travel for business, then you can use this travel expense report template to record expenses.

Auto Expense Travel Report (34.5 KiB)– Keep track of auto-related expenses with this auto expense report

Auto Expense Report (47.5 KiB)–  Track mileage, gas, and tolls with this auto expense form.

Packing List (29.0 KiB)– This packing list template can be used when shipping products to customers

Customer Info Sheet (13.5 KiB)– Use this simple customer information template to keep a record of your customers’ important information. This document is also called a customer profile sheet or a new customer form.

Sign Up Sheet (16.5 KiB)– A simple sign-in sheet template for projects or business events

Log Sheet (23.0 KiB)– A simple log sheet template for business projects

To Do List (15.0 KiB)– Use this to do list template to keep track of your daily progress and stay focused

Blank Check Template (247.9 KiB)– This is a editable free blank check template that you can download and print out as needed. It is a Gimp file (Just go to “View”  and choose “Closed Layers, Docs, etc” in order to edit it) I’ve included the MICR font as well.

Fax Cover Sheet (11.5 KiB)– A simple fax cover sheet

Phone Memo (12.0 KiB)–  A simple memo form for recording phone messages

Memo Form (11.5 KiB)– A simple form for recording memos within your business

Order Forms, Invoices, and Receipts

Service Invoice (30.0 KiB)–  This service invoice form shows customers the expense breakdown for a given job

Customer Invoice (20.0 KiB)– A simple template for a customer invoice

Customer Invoice X2 (18.0 KiB)– Another example template for a customer invoice

Sales Receipt (28.0 KiB)–  Here is a simple sales receipt template

Receipt for Goods (16.0 KiB)– Another receipt for goods template from Microsoft Office.

Sales Order Form (14.5 KiB)–  Here is a sales order form template for micro businesses

Purchase Order From Customer To Vendor (24.0 KiB)– You can use this purchase order form template to send to vendors

Purchase Order Form Simple (24.0 KiB)– A simple purchase order form from Microsoft office

Purchase Order Form Blue (21.5 KiB)– A simple purchase order form template with a blue theme also from Microsoft Office

Purchase Order Form From Vendor (23.0 KiB)– If you are a product vendor, you can use this purchase order template to send to your customers for repeat orders

Credit Card Authorization Form (17.5 KiB)– If you need to collect customer credit card information manually, you can use this credit card authorization form template

Sample Business Letters

Business Letter Template (13.5 KiB)– You can use this generic business letter template for your written business communications. The template can be customized with your company’s logo.

Letter Thanking a New Customer (13.0 KiB)– A simple sample business letter to thank new customers for their business

Letter In Response To Accounting Error (11.5 KiB)– Use this letter template to inform a customer that an accounting error in the customer’s favor has been discovered and that corrective action is being taken

Returned Check Notice (12.0 KiB)– This returned check notice can be sent out to customers whose checks have bounced

Demand For Payment Letter (13.0 KiB)– This is the first of a series of collection letters that you can send to customers with overdue account

Account Past Due Letter (13.5 KiB)– This is a second follow-up demand of payment letter that you could send to a customer whose account is past due and who has already received a the previous collection letter.

Rejection Of Extended Payment Request (12.5 KiB)– You can use this letter template to reject a customer’s request for an extended billing period

Notice Of Deliveries Held Due To Nonpayment (12.0 KiB)–  With this sample collections letter, you can inform a customer that further deliveries will be halted until full payment of the outstanding balance has been received.

Final Demand For Payment (13.5 KiB)– This is the final demand for payment letter you can use in an attempt to recover an outstanding customer debt