How hard is it to create a sales invoice?

Ok you would think this would be a relatively simple task but it is something that new businesses get wrong quite often. It’s not the first time I have come across an invoice which someone has charged vat and there is no vat number on the invoice. A nice way to get an extra 20% on your turnover, shame it is illegal. Here is what your sales invoice should have on to help keep your bookkeeping records compliant:

Your business name.
Your Address.
An invoice number (numbers should run consecutively keep it simple and don’t over complicate it).
Invoice date or tax point date.
Due date (not compulsory but should help with enforcing with late payers).
Name of the business/person you are invoicing and their address.
Details of what you are selling, services or products.
Amount of the invoice.
Payment details. Bank account and sort code details and who cheques should be paid to (again not compulsory but you want to make it as easy as possible to get paid).

Vat registered businesses
As well as all the above items you must add these items to it:
Vat number.
The charge of your service/product, net of vat, the total amount of vat due and then the total due (net plus vat).

Limited Companies
You must have your company number on the invoice.
You must have your registered office address on the invoice.

That just about covers it. Who would have thought there would be so many details that you need.

There are different rules if you have a point of sale business but never the less you should have something in place to record your sales, whether it be a till or duplicate book.

• Tip 1 If you are a Limited Company all your emails, marketing literature, and website should have your company number and registered office on them.
• Tip 2 Put payment details on your invoice, but also add the payment details to your month end statement, as some businesses just pay on statements. (I don’t recommend paying on a statement if they have not been vouched to the actual invoices, as suppliers can accidently add other businesses purchases to your account)
• Tip 3 Invoice numbering. Keep it simple you don’t need a fancy numbering system. If you don’t want your customers knowing you are a new business start at number 500 and go from there.
• Tip 4 Excel or word invoice templates are cheap, but just go out and buy an invoicing cloud solution, if you are not using bookkeeping software. I have seen many examples of people deleting invoices, over writing previous invoices, typing wrong dates and duplicating the invoice number. These programs are easy to use and you will also get monthly graphs of your turnover etc. I have recommended Invoice2go to some of my clients and they loved using it because it was quick and simple to use.