Put the right details on an invoice

These rules apply across the UK.

What to put on every invoice

Keep a copy of every invoice you issue. You must keep records of your business income for Self Assessment.

A limited company must show its full name as it appears on its certificate of incorporation. If you choose to name any directors on your invoices, you must name all of them.

If you trade under a business name

Leaving your name or address for service off an invoice without reasonable excuse is a criminal offence.

It can also cost you a debt claim. If you were in breach when you made the contract, the court must dismiss your claim to enforce it if the customer shows the breach cost them a claim against you or caused them financial loss. The court can let the claim continue if it decides that is just and equitable.

If you are VAT-registered

You must issue a VAT invoice whenever you make a standard-rated or reduced-rated sale to another VAT-registered business, normally within 30 days of the sale. You do not need to where your customer self-bills, where you sell under a second-hand margin scheme, or where the invoice covers only exempt or zero-rated sales in the UK. A retailer need not issue a VAT invoice to a customer who is not VAT-registered unless they ask for one.

A full VAT invoice carries these details:

If the sale is £250 or less including VAT, you can usually issue a simplified VAT invoice instead. It shows your name, address and VAT registration number, the time of supply, a description of what you supplied and, for each VAT rate, the total including VAT and the rate charged. It cannot include exempt supplies.

Number your invoices

Give each invoice a unique number, in sequence, such as INV-0042 then INV-0043. A VAT invoice must carry a sequential number based on one or more series. A simplified VAT invoice needs no number.

Set out how and when to pay

No law requires payment terms on an invoice. Agree a payment date with the customer before you start work, and state it on the invoice with how to pay. Unless you agree a payment date, the customer must pay within 30 days of getting your invoice or the goods or service.

Announced changes

The government plans to make e-invoicing compulsory for VAT invoices, and a bill before Parliament would cap payment terms. Neither has yet changed what an invoice must show.