How to Invoice as a Freelancer in the UK

Wondering how to invoice as a freelancer in the UK? If you’ve just started to work as a UK freelancer, figuring out how to get paid is a big deal. But it doesn’t have to be too tricky.

Use this guide on invoicing as a freelancer to understand legal requirements and best practices, including how to fill an invoice as a freelancer, and how to get paid from overseas securely.

To help with this, we’ll also introduce Wise Business as a smart and straightforward way to get paid in 9 major global currencies, with low fees¹ and the mid-market exchange rate whenever you need to convert from one currency to another.

💡Learn more about Wise Business

How to invoice as a freelancer in the UK?

You’ll need to be able to create a freelance work invoice as soon as you’ve completed your first job as a freelance worker in the UK. You can do this in a couple of different ways - creating and completing your invoice manually, or using a dedicated invoicing tool to make the process straightforward and intuitive.

Both options have their own pros and cons, so you’ll need to consider what’s important to you, to decide which works best. However, whether you want to go it alone and create your own invoice, or use a template or tool to do the heavy lifting for you, you’ll need to include some mandatory and some practical detail. More on that next.

How to fill an invoice as a freelancer

If you’re writing your own invoice, you might find using a template is easiest as most of the fields will be included already - you just need to customise to your specific needs. Don’t forget to include practical details like how to get paid, and when you expect payment to be made - straightening out your payment terms in advance can help avoid a lot of stress later.

The UK government also advise that you include the following information in your invoice²:

• a unique identification number
• your name, address and contact information
• the company name and address of the customer you’re invoicing
• a clear description of what you’re charging for
• the date the goods or service were provided (supply date)
• the date of the invoice
• the amount(s) being charged
• VAT amount if applicable³
• the total amount owed

You’ll not usually have to register for VAT when you first start invoicing clients as a UK freelancer. It’s only mandatory to be VAT registered if your turnover is above a threshold - 85,000 GBP annually at the time of writing. However, you can choose to register for VAT before you hit this income level if you’d prefer.

Invoice as a private person in the UK

Freelancers that don't have a registered business in the UK still have the option of invoicing customers as a private person. You’ll need to include all the information listed above to make sure your client can pay you easily and on time.

If you’re not sure whether or not to set up a UK business to cover your freelance work, it’s worth learning a bit more about the pros and cons of each option.

Setting up a business can offer some benefits as it limits your personal liability and makes it mandatory to split out your personal and business finances. However, you’ll need to understand business reporting requirements and tax implications, to weigh up if it’s right for you.

Learn more about how to register a business in the UK here

How to invoice international customers as a freelancer

When invoicing international customers, UK freelancers need to create easy to use and professional invoices which cover all the information listed out above, plus:

• the currency in which you’re charging your client
• which payment methods are acceptable
• whether or not VAT or any other local taxes in the client’s country are needed

It’s important to think about how to get paid most conveniently, and what your customer will prefer in terms of making payments. If you’re being paid in a foreign currency which will be received to a GBP bank account, you may find you have to pay a fee for the incoming foreign payment. This means less profit.

As an alternative, you can offer clients the option to pay in their home currency, and receive the payment without conversion, to a multi-currency account from a service like Wise Business. This gives you the option to convert to GBP when the rates look good, or to hold your balance in foreign currencies, to spend or send money to others later.

Learn more about Wise Business
multi-currency account 🌎

Receive Euros or US dollars as a local with Wise Business

If you need to invoice clients overseas, choose Wise Business to get paid like a local into a Wise account, from 30+ countries, in 9 different global currencies.

Open a Wise Business account online or with just your phone, to hold and exchange 40+ currencies, and access currency exchange which uses the mid-market exchange rate and low, transparent fees from 0.43%¹.

Use your local bank details for 9 currencies to allow overseas clients to pay you in their home currency, including US, Australian, New Zealand, Singapore and Canadian dollars, Euros and Hungarian forint. That’s easier for them - and in many cases, free for you too. There’s just a small fee to pay if you receive USD by wire, but if you’re getting paid in US dollars, you can still ask your client to send money by ACH to receive it with no Wise fee to pay.

Plus, you can also use the Wise request payment feature to make it even easier for your client to pay you, in the currency you both prefer. See how Wise Business can help you expand, today.

Get started with Wise Business 🚀

How to get paid as a freelancer in the UK?

Freelancers in the UK can get paid by invoicing customers and clients directly, or through freelance platforms if that’s how they’ve found the client in the first place.

Working through a freelance platform or marketplace has the advantage that the platform can help manage the payment process - but you’ll pay a slice of your income to the platform as a fee for the support. If you’re invoicing directly yourself, it’s important to include all the details required for the customer to pay you promptly, and to avoid any misunderstandings or disputes.

Be sure to add payment terms, due dates and methods into your invoice, including a note on what happens if your money doesn’t arrive as expected. There’s lots more helpful information about how to get paid as a freelancer in the UK here.

With more and more people in the UK working as freelancers now, understanding how to invoice as a freelance worker is crucial. Use this guide as an outline to creating professional, compliant and impactful invoices - and get Wise Business to receive payments in 8 foreign currencies: perfect if you’re working with clients and customers overseas.

Sources uses in this article:

1. Pricing/fees: Please see Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise Fees & Pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information
2. UK government advice - what an invoice must include
3. UK government advice - VAT

Sources last checked September 12, 2023