An invoice is basically a bill you send to someone for the amount they owe you for payment of fees.

Most invoices should include:

• Invoice number – a reference number made up by you so you can track the payment more easily
• Date of invoice
• Description and date/s of work
• National Insurance number and UTR
• How you would like to be paid – usually by cheque or bank transfer (also called BACS)
• Information needed to make a payment, like your bank account details
• Contact address and telephone number
• Any other relevant information, like your VAT or company registration number if you have one
• Terms of payment – how long after the invoice date you require payment; a standard is 30 days after the invoice date

You can charge interest on unpaid invoices to encourage organisations to pay promptly if you are self-employed – if an organisation does not pay your invoice within your payment terms, send a new invoice with interest added.  It’s a good idea to include in your invoices that you will charge interest on late payments to ensure payments are received on time.

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