The invoice template #
It is laid out for a VAT registered business. If you are not registered, delete the VAT rate column, the VAT line and the VAT number. Like any template, it is a starting point: check it against your own terms before you rely on it.
Click anything in brackets to type over it, then copy, print or download the result. Nothing you type leaves this page.
Invoice
| From | [Your name, and your business name if you use one] [Your business address] [Phone number and email address] |
|---|---|
| Invoice number | [INV-0001] |
| Invoice date | [Date of this invoice] |
| Supply date | [Date the work was done or the goods were delivered] |
| VAT registration number | [GB 000 0000 00] |
| Invoice to | [Customer name, or their company name] [Customer address] |
| Their reference | [Their order number or job reference, if they gave one] |
What this invoice is for
| Description | Quantity | Unit price | VAT rate | Amount excluding VAT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [What you supplied or did] | [1] | [£0.00] | [20%] | [£0.00] |
| [Second item, if any] | [1] | [£0.00] | [20%] | [£0.00] |
| [Third item, if any] | [1] | [£0.00] | [20%] | [£0.00] |
| Total excluding VAT | [£0.00] |
|---|---|
| VAT | [£0.00] |
| Total due | [£0.00] |
How to pay
Please pay [£0.00] by [due date], by bank transfer to:
| Account name | [Account name] |
|---|---|
| Sort code | [00-00-00] |
| Account number | [00000000] |
| Payment reference | [INV-0001] |
[Business customers only: if this invoice is paid late, we may claim statutory interest and fixed compensation under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.]
[Limited company: your full registered company name, company number and registered office address.]
[Sole trader using a business name: an address where legal documents can be delivered to you.]
What every invoice must include #
GOV.UK's guide to invoicing lists nine things. Every one is already a line in the template above.
- A unique identification number
- Your company name, address and contact information
- The company name and address of the customer you are invoicing
- A clear description of what you are charging for
- The date the goods or service were provided, the supply date
- The date of the invoice
- The amount or amounts being charged
- The VAT amount, if applicable
- The total amount owed
A sole trader must also show their own name and any business name being used. One who trades under a business name must also give an address where legal documents can be delivered to them.
A limited company invoice: what it must show #
On top of the nine lines above, GOV.UK adds two rules for a limited company's invoice. It must carry the company's full name exactly as it appears on the certificate of incorporation. And if it names any director, it must name all of them.
GOV.UK sets a longer list for a company's business letters, order forms and website: the registered number, the registered office address, where the company is registered (England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland) and the fact that it is a limited company. It says invoices follow their own rules, so those are not on its list for an invoice. The template's footer line has room for the company number and registered office anyway, so a customer has every detail about the company in one place.
What a VAT invoice adds #
If you are VAT registered and you supply standard rated or reduced rated goods or services to another VAT registered business, HMRC says you must issue a VAT invoice, normally within 30 days of the supply. Section 4.1 of VAT Notice 700/21 lists what it must show:
- A sequential number, based on one or more series, that uniquely identifies the invoice
- The time of supply, and the date of issue where that is different
- Your name, address and VAT registration number
- The name and address of the customer
- A description that identifies the goods or services
- For each item, the quantity or extent, the rate of VAT and the amount excluding VAT
- The total excluding VAT, and the rate of any cash discount offered
- The total VAT, in sterling
- The unit price
GOV.UK's summary of the same rule is that invoices must include your VAT number and show the VAT separately. The standard rate is currently 20 per cent and the reduced rate 5 per cent.
How to use it well #
-
Number every invoice in one unbroken run
Never reuse a number, and keep a copy of any invoice you cancel. HMRC asks VAT registered businesses to keep copies of every sales invoice, including the ones issued by mistake.
-
Write the due date as a date
If you agreed nothing, GOV.UK gives the customer 30 days from getting the invoice or the work, whichever is later. "Due by 27 October" leaves nothing to argue about; "30 days" leaves the start date open.
-
Send it when the job finishes
The supply date and the invoice date are both on the template for a reason. The closer together they are, the fresher the job is in the customer’s mind when the bill arrives.
-
Keep your copy with the job
A sole trader keeps records for at least 5 years after the 31 January deadline for the tax year; a limited company keeps them for 6 years from the end of the financial year.
If an invoice to another business runs late, the law already lets you add interest and a fixed sum. The payment reminder templates set out how, with the current rate.
What filling it in by hand costs #
One invoice takes a few minutes. The cost is the pattern around it. The job details get copied from wherever they were written down, the VAT is worked out again, somebody checks which number comes next, and weeks later somebody else notices which ones were never paid. None of that needs judgement. It follows the same rules every time, which is exactly the kind of work that can run without a person typing it.
What the chasing afterwards costs is what the late invoice calculator works out from your own figures, and getting paid on a trade invoice covers where the chase stops being clerical and starts needing a person.