A UK invoice has to carry a unique invoice number, the date, your business name and address, the customer’s name and address, a plain description of the work, the amount, the VAT with your VAT number if you are registered, when payment is due and how to pay. If a contractor pays you under CIS, labour and materials are shown separately and the deduction is on the labour. Fill in the builder below and download the finished invoice as a PDF. Free, no sign-up.
What a construction invoice has to carry
An invoice is the document that turns work into money, and the one the customer’s accountant, HMRC or a small-claims judge will read if it ever comes to that. Every line on it is there to remove a reason not to pay.
| Line | Why it is on there |
|---|---|
| A unique invoice number | HMRC expects a sequence with no gaps. It is also how you both refer to it when you chase. |
| The date, and the date it is due | “Due on receipt”, 7, 14 or 30 days. A due date is what makes a reminder fair rather than a nag. |
| Your business name, address, phone and email | So it stands as a proper demand for payment, and so they can find you to pay you. |
| The customer’s name and address | Site address and billing address differ on rentals and jobs paid for by a relative; put the one the money comes from. |
| What the work was, in plain words | “Rear garden wall taken down and rebuilt to 1.8 m, new coping, path made good.” It matches the quote they said yes to. |
| Materials and labour as separate lines | Customers pay a number they can see the parts of. Under CIS the split is not optional: the deduction is on labour only. |
| VAT, with your VAT number | A VAT-registered business must print its VAT number and show the net, the VAT and the total. Not registered? Say so. |
| How to pay | Account name, sort code and account number on the invoice itself. Every extra step between reading it and paying it costs you days. |
| Any deposit already paid | Show the full price, the deposit received and the balance. It stops the “I thought I’d paid that” call. |
Payment terms that get you paid
Write the due date on the invoice, not in the covering text. Fourteen days is normal for domestic work; on receipt is normal for a small repair you have just finished in front of them. Put your bank details on the document, because an invoice that says “call for bank details” waits for the call. On anything over a week’s work, invoice in stages tied to visible milestones, so no single invoice is big enough to be put off.
CIS on your invoice
If a contractor pays you for construction work, the Construction Industry Scheme applies. The contractor deducts 20% from your labour if you are registered with HMRC as a subcontractor, 30% if you are not, and nothing from materials, plant hire or VAT. Your invoice should show labour and materials as separate lines so the deduction is worked out on the right figure, and it helps to print the deduction and the amount due after it, which is what the builder below does when you switch CIS on. The deducted tax is paid to HMRC on your behalf and counts towards your bill at the end of the year.
VAT on an invoice
Registered? The invoice must carry your VAT number, the rate and the VAT amount, and most building work is 20%. Working for a VAT-registered contractor under CIS usually means the domestic reverse charge applies: you add no VAT, and the invoice says the customer accounts for it to HMRC. Not registered? A line saying so saves the customer asking, and stops them expecting a VAT invoice that never comes.
When it goes quiet
A reminder on the day it falls due, friendly and short. A firmer one a week later that names the date and the amount. Business customers owe you statutory interest under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998: 8% above the Bank of England base rate, plus a fixed sum for the cost of chasing, and you do not have to have said so on the invoice. Consumers do not; with them, be clear and be persistent. There is a full guide to chasing unpaid invoices without falling out with anyone.
Or stop typing invoices altogether
Every field in the builder above is a field you typed. TradePA does the typing from what you say. “Invoice Mrs Patel two thousand two hundred for the garden wall, due in fourteen days” comes back as the document you just built, with your logo, your bank details and a Pay button on it. In the app the accepted quote becomes the invoice in one step, it goes by text, WhatsApp or email, and when it goes overdue your PA writes the reminder for you to send. How invoices work in TradePA, and the free construction quote template if the job is still at the quoting stage. Two weeks free, no card, £10 a month after.
