A bill of sale is, ultimately, a piece of paper that transfers ownership of goods from one party to another. With this legal document, the one who owns the goods can trade them to the buyer instead of using a real estate agency or another service. Similar to a contract, with a signed bill, you record the agreement to sell and receive the goods.

Suppose you consider selling a vehicle, machinery, or other personal property. In that case, you should read this article on how to write a bill of sale. We will look at its function, how it works, how it is created, and some templates that you can use to easily guide you through the process.

A bill of sale details the goods that have been sold to the customer and the specific purchase price that was agreed to and paid for each. 

When conducting transactions for items that are worth a substantial amount of money (such as motor vehicles), it is important to ensure the bill of sale is completed properly and obtained at the time of sale. So, the bill of sale will generally fall into two categories, which we will look right into.

Absolute Bill of Sale

They don't represent any form of security. They are simply documents evidencing assignments, transfers, and other personal goods assurance. 

They are no more than mere contracts of sale of goods, which are covered by the sales of goods law and the common contract law.

Conditional Bill of Sale

This type of bill of sale represents any transfer or assignment of personal assets by way of security for the payment of money. 

This conditional bill of sale creates a security in favor of the beneficiary of the bill. This grantee is given the personal right of seizure and a security interest of possessory nature.

The first thing you need to do before creating your bill of sale is to check the state's requirements to make sure your documents comply with them. As an example, in some states, only the seller is required to sign the bill of sale, while in others, both parties need to. Also, you need to check the requirements for notarization, as they might vary among states.

Once all of these are done, we can proceed with writing down your bill of sale.

Seller and Buyer Information

At the very top, you need to have a list providing the buyer's information (the very basic like name, address, and contact information, which can be phone number and email). The same will go for the seller. 

Then, you should follow it with the transaction date, and if this isn't the first time such an item was transferred, you should list the previous owner.

Item Description

After you provide both seller and buyer's information, you will follow with the description of such an item. 

You have to include model, year, color, size, identification number, serial number, design, any special feature, any fault that the item may have, and any special conditions to the sale (such as warranty if you are offering it).

Additional information

If you are selling a used car, for example, you should include additional information in the description box, like the VIN (vehicle identification number), the odometer reading with its accuracy and details, and the license plate number.

Payment Details

Specify the item’s price, if sales tax will be applied, and all the forms of payment that you accept. 

Also, include any agreement that you previously had with the buyer, like deadlines for pending payments, interest rates, and terms of late payments.

This Word template includes a space for the seller and buyer names, a description of the goods sold, the transaction date, and the amount paid, with the signatures line at the bottom. 

It uses general language that you can easily adjust and modify to sell any type of asset. You can download it for Microsoft Word at the Smartsheet website.

This accessible bill of sale template is specially built for motor vehicle transactions, ready to be adjusted to fit your needs.

You can download it as a Word document from the Microsoft website.

This template has a table to list several items along with their specifications and prices. Once you enter such data, the template will calculate the total price. You can also use it for selling tools, parts, and any other items.

You can download it from Smartsheet as an Excel document.