What to put on a UK invoice

An invoice that is missing required details can be rejected, delayed, or held up in someone's accounts department for a fortnight while they ask you to reissue it. Getting it right first time is the cheapest cash-flow improvement available to a small trades business.

There are three levels: the details every invoice needs, the extra details that depend on your business structure, and the additional requirements for a VAT invoice.

Every invoice must contain

• The word "invoice", clearly, so it is not mistaken for a quote or a statement
• A unique identifying number, following on from your previous invoice with no gaps
• Your business name, address and contact details
• The customer's name and address
• A clear description of what you supplied
• The date the goods or services were supplied
• The date of the invoice
• The amount being charged, itemised
• VAT, if applicable
• The total amount owed

If you are a sole trader

You must include your own name as well as any trading name you use, plus an address where legal documents can be delivered to you.

If you are a limited company

You must include the full company name exactly as it appears on your certificate of incorporation, and your registered office address. If you choose to name any directors on the invoice, you have to name all of them — you cannot name just one.

If you are VAT registered

A VAT invoice needs everything above plus:

• Your VAT registration number
• The tax point, also called the time of supply, if it differs from the invoice date
• The unit price of each item excluding VAT
• The quantity of each item
• The VAT rate applied to each item
• The total amount excluding VAT
• The total VAT charged
• Any discount per item

Details that are not required but get you paid faster

None of these are legal requirements. All of them measurably reduce how long you wait for the money.

• Your bank details — sort code and account number — printed on the invoice, so the customer never has to ask
• A payment link, so they can pay by card immediately from their phone
• Clear payment terms, such as "payment due within 14 days", with an actual due date rather than just a number of days
• A purchase order or job reference if your customer uses one, because commercial customers cannot process invoices without it
• Your scheme registration numbers such as NICEIC or NAPIT, which letting agents and insurers look for
• A named contact and a direct phone number, so a query becomes a two-minute call rather than a two-week silence

How long to keep them

Keep copies of your invoices for at least six years. If you are VAT registered, HMRC requires VAT records to be kept for six years as well. Digital copies are fine.