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What to put on an invoice in the UK

By Steve Metcalfe, founder of Vixir · Facts checked 27 October 2026

An invoice is a request for payment. It also has to carry certain details by law, and getting them right means fewer questions from customers and fewer late payments. Here is what GOV.UK says must be on it, in plain English.

The checklist for every invoice

Every invoice you send must show:

  1. A unique invoice number. Each one different, usually in order (1001, 1002, 1003).
  2. Your business name, address and contact details.
  3. The customer’s name and address.
  4. A clear description of what you’re charging for. “Replace kitchen tap, supply and fit” beats “Work done”.
  5. The date the work was done or the goods supplied (the supply date).
  6. The date of the invoice.
  7. The amount being charged.
  8. VAT, if it applies.
  9. The total amount owed.

That’s the legal minimum. Most people also add payment terms (“Payment due within 14 days”) and how to pay (bank details or a pay link), because an invoice that’s easy to pay gets paid sooner.

If you’re a sole trader

Put your own name on the invoice, and your business name if you trade under one. If you do use a business name, you must also give an address where legal documents can be sent to you.

So “Sam Taylor, trading as Taylor Plumbing” with an address is fine.

If you’re a limited company

Use the full registered company name as it appears at Companies House. If you list any of your directors’ names on the invoice, you have to list all of them.

If you’re VAT registered

When you and your customer are both VAT registered, you must send a proper VAT invoice. On top of the checklist above, that means showing your VAT registration number and the VAT charged. If you’re not VAT registered, you can’t charge VAT, so leave it off.

Common mistakes

  • Reusing or skipping numbers. Keep them in one sequence so you and your accountant can find every invoice.
  • A vague description. If a customer can’t tell what they’re paying for, they put off paying.
  • No due date. Without one, the customer decides when “soon” is.
  • Charging VAT when you’re not registered. You can’t.

What I do

I never write an invoice by hand now. In Vixir the invoice number goes up by itself, my details and the customer’s address are filled in, and the lines come straight from the quote the customer already agreed. Most invoices take me less than a minute, sent from the van.

Source: GOV.UK, Invoicing and taking payment from customers. This guide is general information, not tax advice.