What every invoice must include
GOV.UK lists what an invoice must show:
- A unique identification number.
- Your business name, address and contact details.
- The name and address of the customer you are invoicing.
- A clear description of what you are charging for.
- The date the service was provided (the supply date) and the invoice date.
- The amount charged, the VAT amount if applicable, and the total owed.
If you trade through a limited company, use the company's full registered name as it appears on its certificate of incorporation. If you show any directors' names, you must show them all. If you and your customer are both VAT registered, you need a full VAT invoice.
Billing day rates and mileage
Most construction freelancers bill by the day. List the days or weeks worked, the project or site, the day rate and the total. If you work on several projects for the same contractor, keep them as separate lines or separate invoices, depending on what the contractor's accounts team prefers.
Add mileage or expenses only where your agreement allows. HMRC's approved mileage rate for cars and vans is 45p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in a tax year and 25p after that, and many freelancers use it as their recharge rate.
VAT and the reverse charge
If you are VAT registered, add VAT at the correct rate unless the construction domestic reverse charge applies. If it does, do not charge VAT. Instead, add wording that makes clear the reverse charge applies. See our reverse charge guide for when that is.
Payment terms and getting paid
- Agree payment terms before you start, and put them on every invoice (for example, 30 days from the invoice date).
- Invoice promptly, ideally weekly or monthly in line with the contractor's payment cycle.
- Send to the right person: many contractors need a purchase order number or a named approver.
- Track what is overdue and send a statement before chasing by phone.
Under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, businesses can usually claim statutory interest and compensation on late payments from other businesses. Check GOV.UK for how it works before you use it.
Keep records
Keep a copy of every invoice, credit note and payment. You need them for your tax return or company accounts, and they make it easy to answer questions from a contractor's accounts team.
3lanse keeps your clients, projects, days, mileage and invoices together, numbers invoices for you and flags anything overdue.
This guide is general information for UK freelancers, checked against the official sources below on the review date. It is not tax, legal or financial advice. Rules change, so check the sources or speak to a qualified adviser about your own situation.