5. Invoices

Your invoices should show the following details:

• Your trading name and, if you run a registered company, your company number.
• Your address and other contact details, such as phone number, fax and email address.
• The date the invoice was issued.
• An invoice number. You can use any numbering system you want but it is a good idea to have one that allows you to identify the client, month and year each invoice relates to. HMRC usually requires some sort of sequentially numbered system so it is easy to see if invoices have been omitted.
• The date the work refers to. This will usually be the date a project is finished and delivered to the client, unless you have an agreement to be paid in advance.

• Details of the work carried out. If you are being paid by the day or by the word, then put the total number of days or words and the rate of pay.
• Details of any costs or disbursements you are recharging to the client. Some clients may be happy for you to bill them for any costs incurred on their behalf, such as phone calls or travel. Others may expect you to shoulder these costs within your fee. (For simplicity’s sake, I normally include phone calls and other basic costs in my fee, but recharge larger expenses such as taxi or train fares.)
• The total amount due.
• Your terms. Most clients will expect 30 days and are unlikely to pay any earlier, but sticking to these terms at least gives you a good excuse to chase accounts departments that you fear may be delaying payment.
• If you are VAT registered, you need to include your VAT number on each invoice. You also need to show a subtotal of all fees and costs, then the VAT due on the subtotal, which, for copywriting services, will be at the standard rate of 17.5 per cent at the time of writing.

You may also want to include mention of any prompt payment discounts (see ‘Managing cash flow’ below) and your bank account details, for clients that pay electronically through the Banks Automated Clearing System (BACS). An example of an invoice is shown in Figure 3. You will be able to get others in leaflets from your local HMRC office.