Sole trader invoice when you are not VAT-registered

What goes on a sole trader's invoice

Every invoice needs a unique identification number; your name, address and contact information; the name and address of the customer; a clear description of what you charge for; the supply date; the invoice date; the amounts charged; and the total owed (gov.uk, Invoicing and taking payment from customers).

As a sole trader, also show your name and any business name you use and, when you trade under a business name, an address where legal documents can be delivered to you. In the generator, both names fit in “Name or business”, for example “Sam Okafor, trading as Okafor Garden Care”.

No VAT line, no VAT number

The same gov.uk list asks for a VAT amount only “if applicable”. Until you are registered, leave it out: with the country set to United Kingdom and no number in “Your IDs and logo”, the generator charges none, and the total is the plain sum of your lines.

The example: a gardener's invoice

The fictitious gardener in the example bills a dental practice: four lawn visits at £35, a hedge trim at £85 and two green-waste loads at £20, so £265.00 to pay. The work ended on 30 September and the invoice is dated 2 October, so both dates are printed, the second one as “Date of supply”.

Getting paid on time

Unless you agree a payment date, your customer must pay within 30 days of getting your invoice or the goods or service (gov.uk, Invoicing: payment obligations). Choose a delay in “Payment terms”: the due date then appears under the amount to pay.

When you must register for VAT

Registration becomes compulsory when your taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000, the VAT threshold, or when you expect it to pass £90,000 in the next 30 days (gov.uk, Register for VAT, read on 12 October 2026). If you passed it over the last 12 months, register within 30 days of the end of that month. Below the threshold, you may still register voluntarily.

Taxable turnover means everything you sell that is not exempt or out of scope, zero-rated and reduced-rated sales included.

While you wait for your VAT number

Between applying and receiving the number, you cannot add VAT to your invoices, but you can raise your prices to cover the VAT you will owe HMRC from your effective date of registration; once the number arrives, you reissue those invoices showing the VAT (gov.uk). Enter the number in the generator and it moves to the standard rate: the extra details a VAT invoice needs are on the UK VAT invoice page.

Frequently asked questions