Every UK invoice needs a unique identification number, your business name, address and contact details, your customer's name and address, a description of what you're charging for, the supply date, the invoice date, the amounts charged, any VAT and the total owed. Sole traders, limited companies and VAT-registered businesses each add a few details on top.
In this article
The short version
- Nine details are required on every UK invoice, whether or not you're VAT registered.
- The supply date is separate from the invoice date and both must be shown.
- Sole traders add their own name; limited companies use their full registered name.
- Name one director and you must name them all.
- Any business can use a simplified VAT invoice for supplies of £250 or less.
The details every invoice needs
GOV.UK sets out the minimum for any invoice, whether or not you're VAT registered:
- a unique identification number
- your business name, address and contact details
- your customer's name and address
- a clear description of what you're charging for
- the supply date, meaning when you provided the goods or did the work
- the invoice date
- the amount or amounts being charged
- the VAT amount, if VAT applies
- the total amount owed
Most of these look after themselves, but three are worth a second look before you send.
The supply date is a separate field from the invoice date. If you invoice on 3 April for work you finished on 28 March, both dates go on the invoice. It's required even if you aren't VAT registered, so check your invoice template has a place for it.
The identification number has to be unique. You can number however you like, but if you restart at 001 for each client, or each January without a year prefix, you end up with two invoices carrying the same number, and a payment that quotes it could belong to either.
Your customer's name should be the business you're contracting with. An invoice addressed to a trading name or a parent company can sit in a larger customer's accounts team while somebody works out which entity owes it.
What sole traders and limited companies add
| If you're | Add |
|---|---|
| A sole trader | Your own name, any business name you trade under, and an address where legal documents can be delivered to you if you use a business name |
| A limited company | Your full company name exactly as it appears on your certificate of incorporation |
You don't have to name your directors on an invoice. If you name one, though, you have to name all of them, so many companies leave them off.
The invoicing rules don't ask for your company registration number or registered office address. Company law does require them on your business letters, order forms and website, so many companies print them on invoices as well, and it saves a customer looking them up when they set you up as a supplier.
What changes if you're VAT registered
When you and your customer are both VAT registered, you need to issue a VAT invoice, normally within 30 days of the supply. On top of the standard details, a full VAT invoice shows:
- your VAT registration number
- a sequential invoice number, from one or more series
- the time of supply, which is the tax point, and the date of issue if it's different
- for each line, the quantity, the unit price, the VAT rate and the amount excluding VAT
- the total excluding VAT and the rate of any cash discount you offer
- the total VAT, in sterling
Where the reverse charge or a margin scheme applies, the invoice has to say so.
For a supply of £250 or less including VAT, you can use a simplified VAT invoice instead. It shows your name, address and VAT number, the time of supply, a description, and the total including VAT with the VAT rate, and it can't include exempt supplies. Above £250 you need a full VAT invoice, or a modified one that shows VAT-inclusive amounts.
If you aren't VAT registered, leave VAT off completely. You can't charge it, or show it on an invoice, until you're registered.
Details that help you get paid
None of these are legal requirements, but each one removes a reason for your invoice to sit in someone's queue:
- your payment terms written as a date, such as "Due 14 November 2026", so nobody has to work out when 30 days runs out
- the purchase order number or reference your customer gave you, because many finance teams hold back invoices that don't quote it
- a named contact at the customer, with the shared accounts inbox copied in if they ask for that
- a way to pay straight from the invoice, such as a payment link, as well as your bank details
- a line saying that statutory interest applies to late payment on business invoices
The payment link tends to make the biggest difference to the person paying. Bank details ask them to open their banking app, add you as a payee and type the reference correctly, while a link lets them pay in a few taps with the reference already attached.
If your invoices come out of Xero or QuickBooks, Adfin imports them and sends each one with a payment link by email, SMS or WhatsApp, so your customer can pay by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or pay by bank from one page. Its AI Customer Agents then follow up on anything unpaid, on the schedule you set and from your own email domain.
Common questions
Is the supply date the same as the invoice date? Not always. The supply date is when you delivered the goods or did the work, the invoice date is when you issued the invoice, and both have to be shown.
Do I have to put my company registration number on an invoice? The invoicing rules don't require it, but your full registered company name must be there. Many companies add the number anyway, since it's required on their business letters and website.
Do I need to name my directors on an invoice? No. If you name one director, you must name them all.
Does an invoice have to be a PDF? No, there's no required format at the moment. From April 2029 the government has said VAT invoices will have to be sent as structured e-invoices.
Can I send an invoice without being VAT registered? Yes. Include the standard details with no VAT line, and don't show or charge VAT until you're registered.
Do I have to include my bank details? It isn't a legal requirement, but your customer needs some way to pay. Bank details plus a payment link gives them a choice.
Sources
- GOV.UK - Invoicing and taking payment from customers: invoices, what they must include (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.gov.uk/invoicing-and-taking-payment-from-customers/invoices-what-they-must-include
- HMRC - Record keeping (VAT Notice 700/21) (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.gov.uk/guidance/record-keeping-for-vat-notice-70021
- legislation.gov.uk - The Company, Limited Liability Partnership and Business (Names and Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2015 (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/17/contents
- HM Treasury - Budget 2025 (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/budget-2025-document/budget-2025-html
- Adfin - Adding invoices to Adfin (accurate as of October 2026) https://support.adfin.com/en/articles/15073148-adding-invoices-to-adfin
