What to include on an invoice: a checklist for the US, UK and India

The fields every invoice needs

Whatever country you are in, an invoice your customer can pay without questions usually has all of the following.

• The word "Invoice" and a unique invoice number.
• The date of issue and the payment due date.
• Your business name, address and contact details.
• Your customer's name and billing address.
• A description of each product or service, with quantity, rate and amount.
• The subtotal, any tax and discount shown separately, and the total due.
• The currency, if there is any chance of doubt.
• Payment terms and how to pay.

United States

US federal law does not set a required invoice format, so the checklist above covers most freelancers and small businesses. If you collect sales tax, show it as a separate line with the rate, and follow the rules of the state where the sale happens.

A PO number, if your customer gave you one, often decides whether an invoice gets paid on time. Larger companies may also ask for your W-9 before they pay.

United Kingdom: if you are not VAT registered

Use the checklist above. If you are a sole trader trading under a business name, include your own name as well. If you are a limited company, show the full registered company name.

Do not show VAT or a VAT number. You cannot charge VAT unless you are registered.

United Kingdom: a full VAT invoice

If you are VAT registered and sell to another VAT-registered business, HMRC expects a full VAT invoice. It must show:

• A unique, sequential invoice number.
• The time of supply (tax point) and the date of issue, if different.
• Your name, address and VAT registration number.
• Your customer's name and address.
• A description of the goods or services.
• For each item: the quantity, the unit price excluding VAT, the VAT rate and any discount.
• The total amount excluding VAT.
• The total amount of VAT.

United Kingdom: a simplified VAT invoice

For sales of £250 or less including VAT, you can issue a simplified VAT invoice. It needs your name, address and VAT number, the tax point, a description of what you sold, and for each VAT rate, the total including VAT and the rate charged.

India: a GST tax invoice

Rule 46 of the CGST Rules sets out what a GST tax invoice must contain. In summary:

• Your name, address and GSTIN.
• A consecutive serial number of up to 16 characters, unique for the financial year. Letters, numbers, hyphens and slashes are allowed.
• The date of issue.
• Your customer's name, address and GSTIN if they are registered.
• The HSN code for goods or the SAC code for services. The number of digits depends on your turnover.
• A description, quantity and unit of the goods or services.
• The total value, and the taxable value after any discount.
• The tax rate and amount: CGST and SGST (or UTGST) for supplies within a state, IGST for supplies between states.
• The place of supply, with the state name, for supplies between states.
• Whether tax is payable on reverse charge.
• Your signature or digital signature, or that of an authorised representative.

India: when to issue a bill of supply instead

If you are registered under the composition scheme, or what you are selling is exempt from GST, you cannot issue a tax invoice. You issue a bill of supply, which does not charge GST.

Fitting these fields into the invoice maker

The invoice maker has a tax ID field for you and your customer, and you can rename its label to "VAT No." or "GSTIN". Tax can be one rate for the whole invoice or a rate per line, and you can name it "VAT", "GST" or "IGST".

There is no separate HSN or SAC column. Add the code to the line description, for example "Web design, SAC" followed by your code. Check that the code is right for your service before you rely on it.

A note on the rules

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change, so check the official guidance for your country or ask an accountant before you rely on it.