Free UK Invoice Template

A UK invoice must show nine core details, from a unique invoice number to the total amount owed; the full gov.uk list is set out below the template. Sole traders must also give their own name and, if trading under a business name, an address for legal documents. If you and your customer are both VAT registered you must issue a full VAT invoice, which adds your VAT number, the tax point and a per-line VAT breakdown. Copy the free template below; no email required.

Requirements checked against gov.uk (Invoicing and taking payment from customers) and VAT Notice 700, sections 16.3 and 16.6.

The template

Copy it straight into a document, email or accounting system. Square brackets mark the fields to replace. Delete the VAT line entirely if you are not VAT registered; you must not show VAT unless you are.

INVOICE

Invoice number: INV-0001
Invoice date: [date]
Supply date (tax point): [date goods/services supplied]

From:
[Your name / trading name]
[Address for legal documents]
[Email]  [Phone]
[VAT registration number: GB 123 4567 89, only if VAT registered]

Bill to:
[Customer / company name]
[Customer address]

--------------------------------------------------------------
Description                     Qty    Unit price    Amount
--------------------------------------------------------------
[Goods or services supplied]    [1]    £[0.00]       £[0.00]
[Goods or services supplied]    [1]    £[0.00]       £[0.00]
--------------------------------------------------------------
                                       Subtotal:     £[0.00]
                                       VAT [20]%:     £[0.00]
                                       TOTAL DUE:     £[0.00]
--------------------------------------------------------------

Payment terms: [e.g. 30 days from invoice date]
Pay to: [Bank name]  Sort code: [00-00-00]  Account: [00000000]
Reference: INV-0001

Notes: [purchase order number, thank you, any agreed terms]

How to make an invoice, step by step

1. Your details. Your business name, address and contact details. A limited company uses its full name as it appears on its certificate of incorporation.
2. Your customer's details. Their company name and address.
3. A unique invoice number. Numbering in order (INV-0001, INV-0002) is the simplest way to keep each one unique.
4. The dates. The date of the invoice and the date you supplied the goods or service.
5. The line items. A clear description of what you are charging for, with the amount for each line.
6. The totals and VAT. The VAT amount if you are VAT registered, and the total amount owed.
7. The payment terms. When payment is due and how to pay. Unless you agree a payment date, GOV.UK says the customer must pay you within 30 days of getting your invoice or the goods or service (GOV.UK).

Steps 1 to 6 follow the fields GOV.UK says an invoice must include (Invoicing and taking payment from customers, read 21 October 2026).

What an invoice looks like

The same fields as the template, filled in with made-up details.

What every UK invoice must include

Whatever your business type, gov.uk requires every invoice to show:

1. A unique identification number
2. Your company (or trading) name, address and contact information
3. The company name and address of the customer you are invoicing
4. A clear description of what you are charging for
5. The date the goods or service were supplied (the supply date)
6. The date of the invoice
7. The amount(s) being charged
8. The VAT amount, if applicable
9. The total amount owed

If you are a sole trader you must also show your own name and any business name you use, and, where you trade under a business name, an address at which legal documents can be delivered to you. If you run a limited company and put a director's name on the invoice, you must include the names of all directors.

Extra fields a full VAT invoice needs

You must issue a full VAT invoice when you and your customer are both VAT registered. On top of the standard fields, VAT Notice 700 (section 16.3) requires:

• A sequential number that uniquely identifies the document
• Your VAT registration number
• The time of supply (tax point), where it is different from the invoice date
• For each line: the quantity, the unit price, the rate of VAT, and the amount payable excluding VAT in sterling
• The total amount payable excluding VAT
• The rate of any cash discount offered
• The total amount of VAT charged, expressed in sterling
• The reason for any zero-rated or exempt line

Construction work under the Construction Industry Scheme often falls under the VAT domestic reverse charge, which changes what the invoice must say. See reverse charge invoice wording in our CIS invoice template.

You only charge VAT once you are registered, which is compulsory above the £90,000 VAT taxable turnover threshold (in force from 1 April 2024, gov.uk) and voluntary below it. If you are not registered, delete the VAT line: showing VAT you are not entitled to charge is an offence.

Simplified invoices (retail, under £250)

A retailer can issue a simplified VAT invoice where the price the consumer pays does not exceed £250 including VAT (VAT Notice 700, section 16.6). It needs only your name and address, the invoice date, a description of the goods or services, the total price including VAT, and the VAT amount, which can be worked out with the VAT fraction rather than itemised. A simplified invoice does not need the customer's details.

A compliant invoice is a fundable invoice

If you use, or might use, invoice finance, the invoice is the asset a provider funds. Under factoring or invoice discounting you can receive part of an invoice's value soon after raising it (the headline advance rates published by the funders in our provider data run from up to 90% to up to 100%, most often up to 90%; these are maximums, and timing depends on the provider), with the balance (less fees) released when your customer pays. Providers verify the invoices they fund, so the same fields that make an invoice compliant, a clear customer, a verifiable supply, a unique number and clean payment terms, are the fields that let it fund without a query.

Anything that reduces an invoice after funding reduces your cash: a credit note or a disputed line cuts the funded value and your availability. Getting the invoice right the first time is the cheapest form of credit control there is. If invoices are already overdue, see the unpaid invoices hub for escalation routes, including statutory late-payment interest.

Companion templates

• Proforma invoice template: a pre-sale quote-style document that is not a VAT invoice and does not create a tax point.
• Credit note template: to reduce or correct an invoice you have already issued.
• Invoice finance fee comparison template: line up quotes from providers side by side.
• CIS invoice template: for construction subcontractors, with the CIS deduction and the VAT reverse charge.