Free invoice generator for UK trades

What a UK invoice must show

Every invoice needs a unique number, your name and address, the customer's name and address, what you are charging for, the date of the work, the invoice date, the amounts, any VAT and the total owed. That is the list on GOV.UK's invoicing guide, and the generator has a box for each.

Sole traders must also show their own name alongside any trading name. So "Dave Mills, trading as Mills Plumbing & Heating", not just the van name. If you trade under a business name, you must also give an address where legal documents can reach you.

Limited companies must show the registered name exactly as it is on the certificate of incorporation, "Ltd" and all. If you put directors' names on the invoice, you must list every director, not just yourself. The trading disclosure rules also require your company number, registered office address and the part of the UK you are registered in on business letters, order forms and your website (the 2015 Regulations, regulation 25). Most companies put them on invoices too. The generator has company number and registered office boxes, which print at the foot of the invoice; add where you are registered (for example, England and Wales) in the Notes box. If you took a deposit, enter it under Payment and the invoice shows the balance due.

Number invoices in one unbroken sequence, such as 0041, 0042, 0043. HMRC's VAT rules ask for a sequential number, and a gap or a repeat is awkward to explain later.

When it has to be a VAT invoice

If you are VAT registered and you do standard or reduced-rated work for another VAT-registered business, you must give them a VAT invoice. They need it to reclaim the VAT. HMRC sets out the extra details in VAT Notice 700, section 16.3: your VAT number, the tax point (the date of supply), the quantity and VAT rate for each line, the total before VAT, and the total VAT in sterling.

You should normally issue a VAT invoice within 30 days of the date of supply. For sales of £250 or less, including VAT, you can give a simplified invoice if the customer agrees. It shows less: your name, address and VAT number, the date of supply, a description, and the VAT-inclusive total and rate (section 16.6.1). The generator always produces the full version, which works for any amount.

Not registered for VAT? Set the VAT rate to "Not VAT-registered" and leave the VAT number blank. Registering only becomes compulsory when turnover over any rolling 12 months passes £90,000.

The tool applies one VAT rate to the whole invoice: 20%, 5%, or 0% for zero-rated work such as building a new house. If a job mixes rates, HMRC lets you issue separate invoices, which keeps each total clean. Not sure which rate applies? The VAT calculator page covers the 5% and 0% cases for trades.

Invoicing under the domestic reverse charge

If you are a VAT-registered subcontractor billing a main contractor for construction work under CIS, you probably do not charge them VAT at all. Under the domestic reverse charge, the contractor pays the VAT to HMRC instead of paying it to you. It applies when all of these are true (HMRC's guide for suppliers):

• you and your customer are both VAT registered in the UK;
• the payment is reported under the Construction Industry Scheme;
• the work is standard or reduced rated, not zero rated;
• the customer has not given you written notice that it is an end user or intermediary supplier. An end user is a VAT and CIS-registered business using the work itself, such as a property company refitting its own offices.

Showing CIS on a subcontractor invoice

Split your labour from your materials on every CIS invoice. The contractor takes the CIS deduction from the labour part only: 20% if you are registered, 30% if you are not, nothing if you have gross payment status (GOV.UK: CIS deduction rates). Tag each line in the tool as labour or materials and it works the deduction out on the labour lines.

No deduction is taken from VAT, materials you bought yourself, plant hire, consumables that are used up on the job, or fuel used on site. Travel and accommodation you charge for are a different story: HMRC's CIS 340 guide counts them as part of the payment the deduction comes off, so tag those lines as labour.

Only what you actually paid for materials escapes the deduction. If you add a mark-up, the mark-up is not a materials cost, and the contractor can ask for receipts to check (CIS 340, paragraph 3.13). If you are VAT registered, enter materials without the VAT you paid on them.

The invoice still shows the full amount for the work. The tool adds a "Less CIS" line underneath and the amount you expect to receive, so nobody has to argue about the sum. The contractor pays the deduction to HMRC for you, sends you a payment and deduction statement each month, and you claim it back against your tax bill. CIS does not apply to work for private homeowners. For the figures alone, use the CIS calculator.

Three trade invoices, worked through

1. A VAT-registered plumber, bathroom refit for a homeowner. Labour 2 days at £320 = £640. Bathroom suite and fittings £1,150 and tiles and adhesive £185, both materials. These are the lines the generator starts with: set the VAT rate to 20% to see this one. Net £1,975, VAT at 20% £395, total £2,370. No reverse charge (the customer is not VAT registered) and no CIS (a homeowner is not a contractor).

2. An electrician subcontracting to a main contractor on an office fit-out, reverse charge and CIS. First-fix labour 4 days at £280 = £1,120. Cable, back boxes and containment £360, materials. Net £1,480. VAT column reads "Reverse charge", with VAT of £296 at 20% noted for the contractor to account for, and not added. Invoice total £1,480. Less CIS at 20% on £1,120 of labour: £224. Amount payable: £1,256.

3. A VAT-registered plasterer working for a builder who is in CIS but not VAT registered. No reverse charge, because the customer has no VAT number. Labour £900, materials £300. Net £1,200, VAT £240, invoice total £1,440. Less CIS at 20% on £900: £180. Amount payable: £1,260. VAT is charged on the full net amount, and CIS is never taken from the VAT. This is the same method as Example D3 in HMRC's CIS 340 guide.

Payment terms, and what to do when they pay late

Put the due date and your bank details on every invoice. If you agree no date, a business customer's payment becomes late 30 days after they get the invoice or the work is done, whichever is later. Agreed terms with another business should usually be no more than 60 days (GOV.UK: when a payment becomes late).

When a business pays late, the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 lets you claim statutory interest at 8% plus the Bank of England base rate, unless your contract sets a different rate (GOV.UK: interest on late payments). The base rate used is the one in force on 30 June for debts that go late between July and December, and on 31 December for January to June. Bank Rate was 3.75% on 30 June 2026, so the rate is 11.75% for debts going late from 1 July to 31 December 2026.

You can also claim fixed compensation on top: £40 for a debt under £1,000, £70 from £1,000 to £9,999.99, and £100 for £10,000 or more.

Worked through: a main contractor pays a £2,400 invoice 45 days late. £2,400 at 11.75% is £282 a year, about 77p a day. After 45 days that is £34.77 in interest, plus £70 compensation. To claim it, send a new invoice for the interest and compensation. You do not have to: plenty of trades use the right as a polite nudge in their terms instead.

The Act covers business-to-business debts only. It does not give you interest on a homeowner's late bill. If you want to mention it, add a line to the payment terms box on business invoices. This page explains the rules; it is not legal or tax advice.

Common questions