Free invoice template for UK businesses

GOV.UK says every invoice must include the following, whether or not you are VAT registered. The free invoice template above has a box for each one:

• a unique invoice number;
• your business name, address and contact details;
• the name and address of the customer you are invoicing;
• a clear description of what you are charging for;
• the date the goods or services were provided (the supply date) and the date of the invoice;
• the amounts charged, the VAT if it applies, and the total amount owed.

If you trade as a limited company, show the full company name as it appears on your certificate of incorporation. Many companies also add their company number. A due date, your bank details and your payment terms are not on the legal list, but they are the quickest way to get paid on time.

If you are VAT registered and you sell standard-rated or reduced-rated goods or services to another VAT-registered business, you must give them a VAT invoice. They need it to reclaim the VAT you charged. HMRC’s VAT guide (Notice 700, section 16) says a full VAT invoice must show:

• a sequential number that uniquely identifies the invoice;
• the time of supply (tax point), and the date of issue if that is different;
• your name, address and VAT registration number (you can use a trading name, but your VAT-registered name and address must appear somewhere on the invoice);
• your customer’s name and address;
• a description that identifies the goods or services;
• for each line, the quantity or extent, the VAT rate, and the amount before VAT;
• the total before VAT, the rate of any cash discount offered (the template has an optional box for this), and the total VAT in sterling;
• the unit price, where the goods or services can be counted (an hourly rate counts).

If one invoice mixes standard-rated items with zero-rated or exempt ones, those items must show clearly that no VAT is due and have their own total. This template does that for you: pick 20%, 5% or 0% on each line and it shows the net amount and VAT for each rate. You normally have to issue a VAT invoice within 30 days of the tax point. Section 16.6 of the guide says a simplified invoice can be used for supplies of £250 or less if your customer agrees, and retailers can issue a shorter retailers’ VAT invoice for sales of £250 or less when the customer doesn’t ask for a full VAT invoice.

Not sure whether to add VAT to a price or take it out? The free VAT and deposit calculator works it out to the penny.

You still send an invoice with the details in the first list, but you must not charge VAT or show a VAT number: GOV.UK is clear that you must register for VAT before you start charging it. Untick “My business is VAT registered” at the top of the template and the VAT column, VAT totals and VAT number box disappear. A short line on the invoice saying you are not VAT registered saves your customer asking.

Say exactly when you expect to be paid, for example a due date or “within 14 days of the invoice date”, and how to pay. For business customers, GOV.UK says that if no payment date was agreed, the payment is late 30 days after the customer receives the invoice or you deliver, whichever is later. Agreed terms between businesses should usually be within 60 days.

When a business customer pays late, the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 lets you claim statutory interest and fixed compensation unless your contract sets something else. The free late payment interest calculator works out both. These rules are for business-to-business invoices; for homeowners, set out your payment terms clearly in your quote and contract. This is general guidance, not legal or tax advice.

1. Choose whether your business is VAT registered.
2. Fill in your business name, address and VAT number, then the customer’s details.
3. Add the invoice number, invoice date, supply date and due date.
4. Add a line for each item: description, quantity, unit price before VAT and the VAT rate.
5. Add your bank details and edit the example payment terms.
6. Press “Print / save as PDF”. Only the invoice prints, without the website around it, so you can email the PDF.

Quoting the job first? Use the free quote template, or the bathroom quote template if you fit bathrooms.

Not yet: raising and sending invoices in IBIOS is coming soon. Until then, use this free template for your invoices. What IBIOS does today is the work around them. IBIOS Quote Studio builds the quote, the customer can accept it online, and once the balance on a job is paid in full you can download a payment receipt document for the customer’s records. IBIOS Payments records deposits and balances against each job, and pay by link is available through SumUp or Stripe, sent by your staff.

Our guide to quote to cash for trade businesses covers the whole journey from quote to payment.