Freelance invoice template (UK)

Freelancers in the UK usually invoice companies: agencies, start-ups, marketing teams. Their accounts departments look for a few things before they pay — a proper invoice number, their purchase order number, your VAT details if you're registered, and bank details they can set up once. This template has all of them.

The sample is a VAT-registered copywriter billing a Manchester agency, but it works just as well if you're not VAT registered: choose Not VAT registered and the VAT disappears. Fill it in online and download a PDF. No account needed. It opens in the free UK invoice generator, ready to fill in.

What's on this template

• Your name and trading name, address and email.
• Your VAT number (only if you're registered).
• The client company and the person or team to send it to.
• Invoice number, date, due date and the client's PO number.
• Each deliverable on its own line, with quantity and price.
• VAT per rate and the total, when you charge VAT.
• Bank details for a UK transfer.

Example line items

Break a project into the pieces the client agreed to. If a project is billed in stages, say which stage this invoice covers ("Stage 2 of 3: design").

VAT for freelancers

You must register for VAT once your VAT-taxable turnover passes £90,000 in a rolling 12 months. Once registered, your invoice must show your VAT number, the tax point, the VAT rate and net amount per line, and the total VAT in sterling — see what a VAT invoice must include.

Working for clients abroad changes things: services to a business client outside the UK are generally outside the scope of UK VAT, so you don't add VAT. See invoicing overseas clients for the wording and currency rules.

Payment terms and late payment

Agree terms before you start, ideally in writing, and put the due date on the invoice. If a business client pays late, you can claim statutory interest at 8% above the Bank of England base rate plus fixed compensation, and the template's late payment clause says so. See late payment interest.

Invoicing in stages

Larger projects are often billed in stages: a deposit to start, a payment at a milestone and the balance on delivery. Say which stage each invoice covers and how much of the total it is ("Stage 2 of 3, 40%"), so the client's accounts team can match it to the purchase order. A deposit invoice is followed by a final invoice that shows the deposit as already paid.

Getting set up as a supplier

Many companies need you on their supplier list before they can pay: a supplier form, your bank details on headed paper, and sometimes a W-8BEN form for US clients. Ask for this at the start of a project rather than when the first invoice is due. Once you're set up, use the same name and bank details every time; a change of account name triggers new checks and delays.

Expenses

If you've agreed to recharge costs such as stock images, fonts or travel, put each on its own line with a short description. If you're VAT registered, expenses you recharge as part of your service carry VAT at the same rate as your fee. Keep the receipts in case the client asks to see them.

Making it easy to pay

Bank transfer is the default in the UK: print the account name exactly as your bank holds it, the sort code (20-00-00) and the 8-digit account number, and ask customers to use the invoice number as the payment reference so you can match the money when it arrives. If you take card payments, add a payment link alongside the bank details. A short "Thank you for your business" in the notes costs nothing and reads better than a bare demand for payment.

Common mistakes

• No PO number, so the invoice sits in the client's queue.
• One vague line ("Copywriting — October") instead of the agreed deliverables.
• VAT charged to an overseas business client when the service is outside the scope.
• Chasing without a due date on the invoice.