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My Saudi client's accounts team reads English; should the invoice be bilingual?

Yes: set the document language to 'Bilingual'. Every label on the invoice is then printed in Arabic and English together, such as 'المبلغ المستحق / Balance due', so the business owner and the accounts team can each read it in their own language. One catch: the tool translates its fixed labels only; whatever you type in the line descriptions is printed as you wrote it.

Published · 2 min read

What a bilingual invoice looks like

The page is laid out right to left, and each label carries its Arabic form, then the English, with a slash between them:

  • The heading: 'فاتورة / Invoice'.
  • The parties: 'البائع / Seller' and 'فاتورة إلى / Bill to'.
  • The table columns: Description, Qty and Unit price, each paired with its Arabic label.
  • The totals: Subtotal, Total and Balance due, each paired the same way.
  • The footer notice: printed in Arabic and in English on separate lines.

Numbers and currency codes are the same in both, so there is nothing to translate there.

The part you write yourself

Line descriptions, addresses, notes and payment details print exactly as typed. Write only 'تصوير منتجات' and the accountant sees English headings next to a description they cannot read. You have two options:

  1. Write each description in both languages in the same field, such as 'تصوير منتجات / Product photography', which is clearest for both sides.
  2. Or write it in English only if the accounts team is mostly who handles the invoice, and leave Arabic to the labels.

With mixed Arabic and English text on a right-to-left page, check the preview before downloading. The tool keeps Latin phrases in order, but brackets around mixed text can land on the wrong side, so a slash or a comma is safer.

When you do not need both

  • If everyone reading the invoice reads Arabic, Arabic alone is lighter and shorter.
  • If the client is outside the region and does not read Arabic, English alone gives them a left-to-right page that is easier to follow.
  • If the invoice is very long, double labels take up more room in the header and totals.

A habit for corporate clients

Ask at the first job which language they want documents in. If you send a quote first, build it in the Quotation generator in the same language, as it has the bilingual option too, so your paperwork stays consistent. Then open the Basic invoice generator and choose 'Bilingual' before you start typing, so you write the descriptions knowing how they will appear.

Choosing the document language does not change the language of the tool on screen, only the language of the PDF.