How to annotate an invoice
To annotate an invoice, open the PDF in your browser, in Preview on Mac, or in Edge on Windows and use the built-in highlight and note tools to flag line items, add payment instructions, or explain charges. To have a client mark it up without emailing copies back and forth, share a link they can annotate directly in their browser — no account, no download.
In your browser (any platform, free)
Drag the invoice PDF onto a browser tab or go to File → Open. In Chrome, a highlight toolbar appears at the top; in Firefox and Safari you can add text annotations. Click the line item or section you want to flag, pick the note or highlight tool, and type your comment. When you're done, use ⌘P → Save as PDF (Mac) or Ctrl+P → Save as PDF (Windows) to download the annotated copy. This works on any operating system with nothing to install — useful if you just need to mark up your own copy before sending.
On Mac with Preview
Open the invoice in Preview (the default PDF viewer on macOS). Press Shift ⌘ A to show the Markup Toolbar. You get highlights, underlines, a text note pin, shapes, and a signature field. Click the line item or total you want to annotate, pick the text note tool, and type — for example, "This covers the revision round from March 14" or "Net 30 from receipt." Save with ⌘ S and the notes are baked into the PDF. One gotcha: if you annotate in Preview and the recipient opens in Adobe Reader, notes may appear slightly offset. Export as PDF rather than saving in-place to avoid this.
On Windows with Edge
Right-click the invoice PDF and choose Open with → Microsoft Edge. Edge's toolbar includes a highlighter, a text note pin, and a freehand draw tool. Click the charge or section you want to annotate and add your note. Save As to keep the annotated version. Edge comes installed on every Windows 10 and 11 machine, so no Adobe subscription is needed. The catch: Edge annotations are stored as a separate overlay, which means a client opening the file in Acrobat may see them differently depending on their viewer version.
When a client needs to annotate it and send it back
Emailing a PDF invoice for client sign-off creates a version problem fast: they download it, add sticky notes, re-save it as 'Invoice_12_reviewed_FINAL.pdf', and email it back — and now you're reconciling two copies with no clear thread of who said what. The cleaner approach is a shared link they open in a browser and annotate directly. Every note lands in one place, anchored to the specific line item they mean, without creating a new file for each round of review.
If your client is the one reviewing the invoice — not you — the fastest path is a shared link. Drop the invoice PDF into Drafty and share the URL. Your client clicks the line item they have a question about and pins a note right there: "What does 'brand assets' cover?" or "Can you split this into two payments?" No downloaded file bouncing back over email, no account required on their end. Every note is anchored to the exact charge, in one thread you can reply to and resolve.
Open a live demoQuestions
- How do I add notes to an invoice PDF?
- Open the invoice in your browser, in Preview on Mac, or in Edge on Windows. All three include free annotation tools — text notes, highlights, and shapes — with no software to install. Select the area you want to flag, add your note, and save or export the annotated copy.
- How do I annotate an invoice on a Mac for free?
- Open the invoice PDF in Preview (built into macOS), then press Shift ⌘ A to show the Markup Toolbar. From there you can add text notes to specific line items, highlight amounts, and draw shapes — all free, nothing to download.
- How do I let a client annotate an invoice without software?
- Share a link they can open in a browser and annotate directly — no download, no account. This also avoids the version problem that happens when the client emails a marked-up copy back: everyone's notes end up on the same link instead of across multiple files.
- What should I annotate on an invoice?
- Common invoice annotations include: a note explaining what a line item covers (especially useful for project-based billing), payment instructions or a payment link, a note on the payment terms, and a reference to the contract or SOW the charge relates to. Annotating before you send reduces the back-and-forth.
- Can I annotate an invoice on my phone?
- Yes. On iPhone and iPad, open the invoice PDF in Files or in Safari, tap the pencil icon to enter Markup mode, and use the text or highlight tools. On Android, open the PDF in Google Drive and use the Comment tool. Both are free and need no additional apps.
- How do I collect feedback from a client on an invoice without emailing files?
- Share a link rather than an attachment. The client opens the invoice in their browser, clicks the line item they want to question, and pins a note — no account needed. You see every note in one place and can reply or resolve each one, rather than searching through an email thread for the specific charge they meant.
Keep exploring
Stop emailing files back and forth.
Share one link. They comment on the exact spot — no account, always the current version.