What should a sole trader invoice include?

In 2026-27, a sole trader invoice needs a unique number, your name and any business name, your address, the customer's name and address, a description, the date of the work, the invoice date, the amounts and the total.

If you are VAT registered there is more to add, and if you work under the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) there are extra lines, covered in our CIS invoice guide. The rules below follow GOV.UK and HMRC's VAT notices, checked on 17 October 2026.

What every invoice must show

GOV.UK's invoicing guide lists:

• a unique identification number
• your name, address and contact details
• the name and address of the customer
• a clear description of what you are charging for
• the date the work was done or the goods supplied (the supply date)
• the date of the invoice
• the amounts being charged, and VAT if it applies
• the total amount owed

GOV.UK's overview adds that an invoice must include when the customer must pay you.

If you trade under a business name. A sole trader must show their own name and the business name, plus an address where legal documents can be delivered to you. GOV.UK says a sole trader's business name must not include "limited", "Ltd", "LLP" or "plc", and that your name and business name go on official paperwork such as invoices and letters.

A sample invoice layout

If you are VAT registered

VAT Notice 700 says you must give a VAT invoice whenever you supply standard-rated or reduced-rated work to another VAT-registered business, normally within 30 days of the tax point. A full VAT invoice adds your VAT number and the tax point. For each line it shows the quantity or hours, the VAT rate and the amount excluding VAT, then the total excluding VAT and the total VAT in sterling. It also shows the unit price, which for labour can be an hourly rate, and any cash discount offered. If you invoice under a trading name, the name and address you are registered under must appear somewhere on it.

For most building and construction work supplied to a VAT-registered business and reported under CIS, the domestic reverse charge applies. HMRC's technical guide says the invoice must show the usual VAT invoice details, carry the reference "reverse charge" with a note that the customer accounts for the VAT (HMRC's examples include "Customer to pay the VAT to HMRC"), and state the VAT due, or the rate if the amount cannot be shown, without adding the VAT to the total. Our reverse charge guide covers when it applies.

Payment terms and late payment

GOV.UK says you can set your own payment terms, and unless a date is agreed the customer must pay within 30 days of getting your invoice or the work. When another business pays late, the late payment law lets you charge statutory interest of 8% plus the Bank of England base rate, unless your contract sets a different rate, and a fixed sum once per payment:

GOV.UK says to send a new invoice if you add interest. In our reading, these rights cover business and public-sector customers, not homeowners.

A worked example

A self-employed plumber on the cash basis fixes a café's boiler and sends an invoice for £480 on 22 March 2027, with no payment date agreed. The café pays on 12 April 2027.

Under the cash basis you record income when you receive it, the same way GOV.UK's example treats a March invoice paid in April. If the café had paid late and the plumber claimed the £40 fixed sum, in our reading that £40 would be income when received too. This is an example only.

What this means for you

Your invoices are your sales records. GOV.UK says to keep them for at least 5 years after the 31 January deadline for the tax year, and VAT Notice 700/21 says VAT records are generally kept for at least 6 years. In our reading, a VAT-registered trade should keep sales invoices for the longer of the two.

If you are in Making Tax Digital (MTD), each payment you receive becomes a digital record with its amount, the date received and a category. GOV.UK says you still keep the original invoices behind those records.

Steps to set up your invoice template

1. Put your own name, any business name and an address for legal documents at the top.
2. Give every invoice its own number, following on from the last one.
3. Show the invoice date and the date the work was done, with a clear description.
4. Split labour and materials, and state your payment terms and bank details.
5. If you are VAT registered, add your VAT number, the tax point, rates and VAT totals, or reverse charge wording where it applies.
6. Record each payment on the day it arrives, matched to its invoice number.

The free MTD check shows when Making Tax Digital starts for you, and the trades section has more guides.