Invoice Template UK: Free Template and What Your Invoice Must Show

A free, copyable UK invoice template for sole traders and freelancers, with exactly what an invoice must show, the extra details you need once you are VAT-registered, how to set payment terms and what you can claim when a business client pays late.

By Tony Musso on Fri Oct 23 2026

If you work for yourself, an invoice is how you get paid. It tells your client what they owe, when and how to pay, and it becomes part of the records you keep for HMRC. You don't need special software to make one. A clear document with the right details works just as well, whether you are a hairdresser, a freelance designer or a plumber billing a builder.

This guide gives you a free UK invoice template you can copy, explains what an invoice must show, covers the extra rules once you are VAT-registered and sets out your rights when a business client pays late. If you are just starting out, read our guide to becoming self-employed in the UK first, as you need to register with HMRC before your first tax return is due.

What a UK invoice must include

There is no official HMRC invoice form. You can design your own, as long as it shows the right information. GOV.UK says an invoice should include:

A unique invoice number. Most people number invoices in sequence, such as INV-0001, INV-0002, so each one can be traced and none goes missing. Don't reuse a number, even for a cancelled invoice.
Your name or business name, address and contact details.
Your customer's name or business name and address.
The invoice date. The day you issue the invoice.
The date of supply. When you did the work or delivered the goods. For a longer job, give the date range.
A clear description of what you are charging for, such as "Bathroom tiling, 14 to 16 October" rather than just "Work done".
The amount for each item and the total amount owed.

If you are VAT-registered, you need more (see below). Two other details aren't legally required but help you get paid faster: your payment terms, with the actual due date, and how to pay, including your bank details and the reference you want the client to use.

Free UK invoice template (copy and paste)

Copy the template into a word processor or spreadsheet, replace everything in square brackets and save each invoice as a PDF before you send it. Keep a copy of every invoice you send.

``` INVOICE

Invoice number: [INV-0001] Invoice date: [23 October 2026] Date of supply: [6 to 17 October 2026] Payment due: [22 November 2026]

FROM [Your full name], trading as [business name, if you use one] [Address line 1] [Town or city, postcode] [Email address] | [Phone number]

BILL TO [Customer name or company name] [Address line 1] [Town or city, postcode] Purchase order number: [if the client gave you one]

DESCRIPTION QTY RATE AMOUNT [Logo design, three concepts] 1 £[350.00] £[350.00] [Revisions, per hour] 2 £[40.00] £[80.00]

TOTAL DUE: £[430.00]

PAYMENT TERMS Please pay within [30] days of the invoice date.

HOW TO PAY Bank transfer to: Account name: [Name on your account] Sort code: [00-00-00] Account number: [00000000] Payment reference: [INV-0001]

Thank you for your business. ```

Tips for freelancers using the template

Match the client's paperwork. Larger clients often need a purchase order (PO) number on the invoice, or their accounts team won't pay it. Ask before you start.
Show how the price was built. For a freelance invoice, list your day rate or hourly rate and the number of days or hours, or name the project milestone you are billing for.
Send it to the right person. Ask who pays invoices. It is often an accounts inbox, not the person you worked with.
Keep the numbering going. Use one sequence across all your clients, not a new one for each.
Don't add VAT unless you're registered. You can't charge VAT if you are not VAT-registered, so leave it off entirely.

Sole trader or limited company: whose details go on it

Sole traders put their own name on the invoice. If you trade under a business name, such as "Bright Spark Electrical", you must show your own name as well as the business name, plus an address where legal documents can be delivered to you.

Limited companies must show the full company name exactly as it appears on the certificate of incorporation. If you choose to name any directors on your invoices, you must name all of them. Company law also requires your registered number, the part of the UK the company is registered in (such as England and Wales) and your registered office address on business letters, order forms and your website, so most companies put the same details on their invoices to stay covered.

If you freelance through your own limited company, the invoice comes from the company, not from you personally, and payment goes into the company's bank account.

VAT invoices: the extra details

You must register for VAT if your VAT-taxable turnover goes over £90,000 in any rolling 12-month period, and you can register voluntarily below that. Once registered, you charge VAT on your taxable sales, and most invoices to VAT-registered customers must be full VAT invoices showing:

a unique, sequential invoice number
your name, address and VAT registration number
the customer's name and address
the invoice date and the tax point (time of supply), if it is different from the invoice date
a description of each item, with the quantity and the price excluding VAT
the VAT rate for each item
the total excluding VAT, any discount and the total VAT charged

The standard rate of VAT is 20%, with a reduced rate of 5% and a zero rate for some goods and services. Issue a VAT invoice within 30 days of the date of supply, or of payment if the customer pays in advance. Retailers can give a simplified VAT invoice with fewer details when the total, including VAT, is £250 or less.

To turn the template into a VAT invoice, add these lines:

``` VAT registration number: [your VAT number] Tax point: [17 October 2026]

DESCRIPTION QTY UNIT PRICE VAT RATE NET VAT [Website build] 1 £[1,500.00] 20% £[1,500.00] £[300.00] [Hosting, 12 months] 1 £[120.00] 20% £[120.00] £[24.00]

Total excluding VAT: £[1,620.00] Total VAT: £[324.00] TOTAL DUE: £[1,944.00] ```

A pro forma invoice, sent to ask for payment before you supply anything, is not a valid VAT invoice. Mark it "This is not a VAT invoice" and send a proper one once the supply takes place.

Payment terms: how to get paid on time

Agree your payment terms before you start, ideally in writing. An email confirming the price and "payment within 30 days of invoice" is enough. Fourteen and 30 days are both common.

If you and a business client never agreed a payment date, the law sets a default: payment is due 30 days after the client receives your invoice or the goods or services, whichever is later. Businesses can agree longer terms, but a payment period of more than 60 days between businesses is only allowed if it is expressly agreed and not grossly unfair to you.

A few habits make a real difference:

Invoice straight away, on the day the work is finished or the milestone is reached.
Put the due date on the invoice, not just "30 days". People act on dates.
Ask for a deposit or staged payments on bigger jobs, so you are never owed a large sum.
Chase politely and on schedule. A friendly reminder a few days before the due date, another on the day and a firmer one a week later.

When a business client pays late

Under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, when another business pays you late you can claim:

Statutory interest at 8% above the Bank of England base rate. The base rate used is the one in force on 31 December (for debts that became overdue between 1 January and 30 June) or 30 June (for debts that became overdue between 1 July and 31 December). Daily interest is the debt, multiplied by 8% plus that base rate, divided by 365.
Fixed compensation for the cost of recovering the debt: £40 for debts under £1,000, £70 for debts of £1,000 to £9,999.99 and £100 for debts of £10,000 or more.

These rights apply between businesses, including the public sector, but not to sales to consumers. If your contract sets its own late payment interest, that applies instead, as long as it is a fair remedy. Telling clients on your invoice that you charge statutory interest on late payments is often enough to stop the problem.

If a client still won't pay, send a final letter before action. After that you can make a court claim online through GOV.UK; Money Claim Online covers England and Wales, and Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own simple procedures for small claims.

How long to keep your invoices

Keep a copy of every invoice you send and every receipt or bill you pay. Your records back up your tax return, and HMRC can ask to see them.

Sole traders must keep records for at least five years after the 31 January submission deadline for the tax year they relate to. For example, invoices from the 2025/26 tax year go on a return due by 31 January 2027, so keep them until at least 31 January 2032.
Limited companies usually keep records for six years from the end of the financial year they relate to.
VAT-registered businesses must keep VAT records for at least six years.

If you are in Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, which started in April 2026 for sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000, you must keep digital records and send quarterly updates using compatible software. Many accounting apps include invoicing, which saves typing everything twice. Our guide to how tax works in the UK explains income tax and National Insurance if you also have a job.

Quote, pro forma, invoice or receipt?

Quote or estimate: the price before you start. A quote is usually a fixed price; an estimate is a best guess.
Pro forma invoice: a request for payment before you supply anything.
Invoice: a request for payment for work done or goods supplied.
Receipt: confirmation that you have been paid.

For more on finding clients, setting rates and staying on the right side of HMRC, see our guide to freelance work in the UK. If you enjoy the numbers side of running a business, bookkeeping is a career in its own right, and many bookkeepers work freelance themselves.

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