I am self-employed and just started a business. Is it a legal requirement to produce an invoice and receipt for my clients? Will HMRC expect to see these next year when I file my SA? Thanks, Mark
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2Without invoices how will clients know when payment is due? – Scott Jan 30 '19 at 11:11
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They are told via an email what is due. – Mark Williams Jan 30 '19 at 13:34
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1Invoice and receipts can be emails. – Scott Jan 30 '19 at 18:24
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An invoice should indicate what is owed, and for what. If you want to prove they owe you money, an invoice is a typical first step, no matter what country you're in. Even if you just use a free Invoice template (for example, through Microsoft Excel), it at least gives you a record of what payments to be expecting.
As you get to larger companies, they won't pay just based on an email - they'll want an invoice to pass through to their Accounts Payable department.
(IANAL) It is not a legal requirement to create an invoice or receipt, but doing so shows you're a serious entrepreneur who knows how to run a business. When I invoice, it gets sent as a PDF to their email, detailing what work I did and how much I expect, along with terms of payment. Then, when I get paid, I email them the invoice with the payment amount added, so they can see they owe nothing after. Optionally, I could email a receipt, but I feel that with the amount of work I do, attaching the payment amount to existing invoices makes it easiest for any accounting department to see why money went to me.
Canadian Luke
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Many thanks indeed, I am only a small one man band and have had it confirmed with HMRC that an invoice or receipt is not required, However I do agree it comes across more professional. – Mark Williams Jan 31 '19 at 16:42
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Not producing and later declaring the invoices is a fraud, you hide your revenues.
But your customers will demand one as they need to justify their expenses.