Free invoice template UK

A worked invoice that shows every figure a UK customer and an accountant needs. The VAT breakdown, the CIS deduction where it applies, the payment reference and the bank block. This is what the app's own document builder prints.

All names and addresses below are invented examples. They are marked as examples so no real person or firm is named.

Check: Subtotal £2,000.00 plus VAT £400.00 equals Total £2,400.00. Labour £1,400.00 at 20 percent CIS is £280.00. Materials £600.00 are outside CIS. Payable after CIS is £2,120.00. With no payments yet, Paid to date is £0.00 and Balance is £2,400.00 before CIS, with payable £2,120.00 shown in the CIS block.

This specimen is what the app's document builder produces. The header, columns, line table, totals, payment and bank blocks come from the builder. The CIS block appears when the job is marked as CIS work and the customer is a CIS contractor. If your customer is not a CIS contractor, the invoice prints without that block.

What to put on an invoice

A UK invoice needs these fields:

• Your business name and address. Include phone and email.
• A unique invoice number
• The invoice date and the due date
• The client name and address. Include the site where work was done.
• The job title
• Each line with description plus quantity and unit price and amount
• Subtotal. Then VAT rate and VAT amount where you charge VAT. Then total and amount paid and balance.
• VAT number if you are VAT registered
• Payment terms and how to pay. Use the invoice number as the reference.
• Bank details with account name and sort code and account number

The app fills the payment reference from the invoice number so the bank payment can be matched without typing.

What the law says

Three sets of rules sit behind this paper. This section names the actual requirement, not a summary.

• VAT invoice rules. Gov.uk on VAT record keeping says a VAT invoice must show a unique invoice number, your name and address, your VAT number, the customer name and address, the date of supply, the invoice date, a description of the goods or services, quantity and price per unit, VAT rate and VAT amount per item, total without VAT, total VAT and the total. A simplified invoice may be used under £250 including VAT. You must issue a VAT invoice within 30 days of supply where you are VAT registered. Read the full list on gov.uk on VAT invoices.
• CIS deduction rules. Gov.uk on CIS says a contractor deducts 20 percent from a registered subcontractor's labour, 30 percent if not registered, 0 percent if the subcontractor has gross payment status. The deduction is on labour only. Materials and VAT are never deducted. The contractor must give the subcontractor a payment and deduction statement within 14 days of the end of the tax month, and the tax month runs from the 6th to the 5th. This template shows the CIS block exactly that way: labour £1,400.00, materials £600.00 outside, rate 20 percent, deducted £280.00, payable £2,120.00.
• Late payment rules. Gov.uk on late commercial payments says a business can charge statutory interest at 8 percent above the Bank of England base rate where no fixed rate is agreed, plus fixed debt recovery costs. Those rights come from the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. A term on the invoice should state the due date and that late payment may carry interest.

This is general information, not legal advice.

How to use it

Copy the structure that fits. Keep the invoice number as the payment reference. Send the PDF from the app and the bank block goes with it. If your customer is a CIS contractor and you are a subcontractor, mark the customer as a CIS contractor before you raise the bill so the CIS block is written into that bill's snapshot. The snapshot is written at raise time and does not change if you later edit the customer.

Questions

When does the CIS block appear?

When CIS is switched on in Settings, you are a subbie or both, and the customer is marked as a CIS contractor. Labour lines are taken as labour, all other lines as materials, the rate is yours, and the deduction and tax month are written into that invoice at the time you raise it.

Is the CIS deduction taken off materials?

No. CIS is on labour only. Materials are outside the deduction and VAT is also outside. That is why the specimen shows labour £1,400.00 deducted and materials £600.00 not deducted. VAT £400.00 is on the full subtotal and payable after CIS is £2,120.00.

What if I am not VAT registered?

Then no VAT row is shown. The app only shows VAT when the business has a VAT number in Settings and the amount of VAT on the invoice is above zero. The rest of the invoice stays the same.

What is the payment reference?

The invoice number. The bank block repeats it as Reference: INV-2041. The customer puts that reference on the bank transfer so you can match the payment to the invoice without asking.

Sources

VAT and CIS rules read on gov.uk on 24 October 2026.

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