4 min read
What has to be on it
- The word invoice, and a unique sequential number
- Your business name and an address where you can be contacted
- The customer's name and address
- The date of the invoice, and the date the work was done
- A clear description of the work, with the amount for each item
- The total owed, and the date it is due
- Your VAT number and the VAT breakdown, if you are registered
If you trade under a business name that is not your own name, trading disclosure rules mean your own full name and an address for service have to appear on invoices too.
Set the terms before you start
Payment terms belong in the quote, not discovered at the invoice stage. If no terms are agreed, the law assumes 30 days from the later of delivery, the invoice, or any agreed acceptance process. Thirty days is a long time to fund someone else's job out of your own account.
For anything substantial, take a deposit covering materials. You are not a bank, and a customer unwilling to pay for materials upfront is telling you something useful.
Invoice the day the job ends
The gap between finishing and invoicing is dead time that delays payment by exactly that much, and it is the easiest thing in the business to fix. Send it from the van before you drive off.
What you can charge when they are late
Between businesses, the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 entitles you to statutory interest of 8 percent plus the Bank of England base rate, running from the day payment was due.
On top of the interest you can claim a fixed sum towards recovery costs:
- Debts under £1,000: £40
- Debts of £1,000 up to £10,000: £70
- Debts over £10,000: £100
Where your reasonable recovery costs exceed the fixed sum, you can claim the difference. This applies to business customers rather than householders, but the fact it exists is often enough: a polite reminder noting your statutory right to interest moves invoices that a third chasing email will not.
Chase on a schedule, not on a mood
A reminder the day after the due date, another a week later, then a call. Consistent and unemotional works better than waiting until you are annoyed enough to say something you regret to someone who may still recommend you.