Invoice template for trades: what to include and a free invoice maker

Free invoice and receipt maker

Fill in the job, add a line for each thing you're charging for, and it adds it up, does the VAT, reverse charge or CIS, and flags anything missing or likely to get queried. Print it or save it as a PDF from the print screen, or copy it into Word or Google Docs. Everything stays in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.

The checker spots common problems; it can't see your job or your VAT position. Read the invoice through and check the figures before you send it. If you're unsure about VAT or CIS on a job, ask your accountant or HMRC.

What a UK invoice must include

This is gov.uk's list, with what it means for a trades job. If you're VAT registered there's more (see VAT invoices).

Not on gov.uk's list, but they decide how fast you're paid: a due date ("Payment due by 4 November 2026"), how to pay (bank details with the invoice number as the reference), and a name and number to call with questions. If no payment date was agreed, the customer must pay within 30 days of getting the invoice or the work (gov.uk).

Sole trader, partnership or limited company

VAT invoices: what changes once you're registered

If you're not VAT registered, don't add VAT, and write "Not VAT registered" on the invoice so nobody wonders. You must register if your taxable turnover goes over £90,000 in a rolling 12 months (gov.uk).

Once you are registered, you must give a VAT invoice to VAT-registered customers, and in practice to anyone who asks. HMRC's list (VAT Notice 700, 16.3) adds to the basics:

• a sequential number
• the time of supply (tax point), and the issue date if different
• your VAT registration number (and the name and address you're registered under, if you invoice under a trading name)
• for each line: the quantity or extent of the work, the VAT rate, and the amount excluding VAT; and the unit price where the work is countable (an hourly or day rate)
• the total excluding VAT, the total VAT in sterling, and any cash discount rate offered

For a job of £250 or less including VAT you can give a simpler VAT invoice if the customer agrees (16.6.1). Send VAT invoices within 30 days of the tax point (16.2.3). Most domestic trades work is at the standard 20%. Some energy-saving installations in homes are zero-rated until 31 March 2027 (notice 708/6), so check the notice before you charge VAT on a heat pump, insulation or solar job.

The construction reverse charge (VAT-registered subcontractors)

If you're VAT registered and do construction work for a contractor who is VAT and CIS registered, the domestic reverse charge usually applies: you don't charge VAT, and the contractor pays it to HMRC instead. It covers most building work, including installing heating, plumbing, electrics and drainage, and painting and decorating.

It doesn't apply to homeowners or other customers who aren't VAT and CIS registered, or to an end user (a business that isn't selling the work on, such as a shop having its own premises refitted) who has told you so in writing. Then you charge VAT as normal.

On the invoice, HMRC's technical guide says to:

• show everything a normal VAT invoice needs
• add a note that the reverse charge applies and the customer accounts for the VAT, using the words "reverse charge". HMRC's examples: "Customer to pay the VAT to HMRC", "VAT Act 1994 Section 55A applies" or "S55A VATA 94 applies"
• state the amount of VAT due under the reverse charge (or the rate, if your software can't show the amount), but don't add it to what the customer pays you

The invoice maker does all three when you pick "Reverse charge", and warns if you pick it for a homeowner.

CIS deductions on an invoice

Under the Construction Industry Scheme, the contractor takes a deduction from what they pay you and sends it to HMRC as an advance on your tax and National Insurance (gov.uk):

The deduction comes off labour only. It isn't taken from VAT, materials you paid for, plant hired for the job, or consumables. So list materials as separate lines and keep the receipts: the contractor can ask for them, and will estimate the materials if you can't show them.

A worked example: a VAT-registered plumber, registered for CIS, does three days' first fix for a contractor at £220 a day and supplied £184.50 of copper and fittings.

   Labour, first fix plumbing, 3 days (3 x £220.00)  £660.00
   Copper pipe and fittings                          £184.50
   Subtotal (excluding VAT)                          £844.50
   VAT                                               £0.00
   TOTAL                                             £844.50
   Reverse charge: customer to pay the VAT to HMRC. VAT Act 1994 Section 55A applies.
   VAT due under the reverse charge: £168.90 at 20%.

   CIS: labour £660.00, materials £184.50
   Less CIS deduction at 20% of labour               -£132.00
   AMOUNT DUE                                        £712.50

The contractor pays £712.50 and must give you a payment and deduction statement within 14 days of the end of each tax month. Keep every statement: the £132 counts towards your tax and National Insurance on your Self Assessment return (your bookkeeper or accountant will want them).

Deposits, stage payments and getting paid on time

• Deposit already paid? Show the full job on the final invoice, then "Less deposit paid", then the amount due. The customer sees the whole price and what's left.
• Stage payments: one invoice per stage, each with its own number, saying which stage it's for ("Stage 2 of 3: first fix complete"). Tie stages to things the customer can see.
• Payment terms: match what your quote said. Homeowners: on completion or within 7 days is common. Businesses: 30 days is usual. For business customers, terms over 60 days only count if they were expressly agreed and aren't grossly unfair to you (Late Payment Act, s.4).
• Make paying easy: bank details on the invoice, the invoice number as the reference, and a short message with it saying the amount and due date. The invoice maker writes that message.
• Still not paid? Business customers owe statutory interest at 8% over Bank Rate plus £40–£100 compensation once it's late; homeowners only owe interest if your terms said so. Our late payment calculator works it out and writes the chaser.

Invoice numbers, mistakes, receipts and how long to keep them

• Numbering: one sequence, no gaps, never reused. A prefix is fine (INV-0042, or 2026-042). Starting at INV-0001 is fine too; nobody can tell.
• Got it wrong? Don't edit an invoice you've sent. Issue a credit note cancelling it (or the wrong part), then a new invoice with a new number. That keeps your numbers and your VAT records straight.
• Invoice or receipt? An invoice asks for payment; a receipt confirms it. If they pay on the day, give a receipt with the same details marked "Paid in full", the date and how they paid (pick "A receipt" in the maker).
• Keep copies of every invoice you send. Sole traders: at least 5 years after the 31 January deadline for that tax year (gov.uk). VAT records: at least 6 years. A folder of PDFs, named by invoice number, is enough.

Plain invoice template to copy

If you'd rather fill in a template in Word, Google Docs or your notes app, copy this. Delete the lines that don't apply (VAT, CIS, company details).

[Your business name]  ([Your name] trading as [business name], if sole trader)
[Your address]
[Phone] · [Email]
VAT reg. no. [GB123456789]                (only if VAT registered)

INVOICE  No. [INV-0001]    Date: [date sent]    Work done: [date or dates]
Bill to: [Customer name], [customer address]
Job address: [if different]
Your quote: [Q-0001]

[The job in one line]

   [Labour, 1 day]                        £[000.00]
   [Materials: what, how many]            £[000.00]
   [Other: skip, hire, call-out]          £[000.00]
   TOTAL                                  £[000.00]
   No VAT: we're not VAT registered.      (or: Subtotal / VAT at 20% / TOTAL)
   Less deposit paid                      -£[000.00]
   AMOUNT DUE                             £[000.00]

Payment due: by [date] ([7] days).
How to pay: bank transfer to [account name], sort code [00-00-00], account [00000000].
Please use [INV-0001] as the reference.

[Company name] Ltd. Registered in England and Wales, company no. [00000000].
Registered office: [address].                       (limited companies only)

Using ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude for invoices

AI is handy for turning a job sheet or a voice note into tidy invoice lines. It's risky with numbers: it can add up wrong, invent a VAT figure, or apply the reverse charge to a homeowner. So give it your figures, tell it not to work out tax itself, and check the totals (or paste the lines into the maker above).

Turn my job notes into invoice lines for a UK trades invoice.
One line each: description | amount (or quantity x price). Mark each line labour or materials.
Use only my figures. Do NOT add VAT, CIS or totals, and don't invent prices: if a price is missing, write [?].
Make each description specific enough that the customer knows what they're paying for.

Notes: [paste job notes or voice-note transcript]
Prices: [day rate, materials with costs, other]

Leave the customer's address and phone out of the chat; add them in the maker or your template.

FAQ