Invoice field checklist
What Must an Invoice Include?
A practical invoice identifies the seller, customer, document number, issue and supply dates, goods or services, quantities and prices, taxes, total, currency and payment terms. Legal and tax requirements vary, so the applicable jurisdiction and transaction type must be checked before issue.
Reviewed 2026-07-29 · General information, not legal, tax or accounting advice.
| Field group | Practical information |
|---|---|
| Identity | Seller and customer legal names, addresses and contact details |
| Document | Unique invoice number, issue date and supply date where different |
| Transaction | Clear descriptions, quantities, unit prices, discounts and shipping |
| Tax | Tax IDs, taxable bases, rates, amounts and required exemption/reverse-charge wording |
| Payment | Currency, total, amount paid, balance, due date and payment method |
Start with traceability
A person who did not perform the work should be able to identify the parties, understand what was supplied and reconcile the total. Use a unique number and keep it stable through sent, paid and corrected states.
Purchase-order, contract, project or shipment references are not universal requirements, but including the identifier the customer uses can prevent processing delays.
Apply jurisdiction-specific tax rules
UK guidance lists required general invoice information and adds rules for sole traders, companies and VAT invoices. EU VAT rules require a defined set of fields for full invoices and extra wording in cases such as reverse charge, exemptions, self-billing and margin schemes.
The generator provides editable fields, not a jurisdiction decision engine. Confirm the seller’s registration, place of supply, customer status and the transaction before choosing tax wording.
Pre-send check
Match the customer name and PO, verify each line quantity and rate, calculate tax from the correct base, state the exact due date, and confirm the payment details. Save the issued copy so later receipts, reminders and credit notes can reference the same number.
Use the next tool
Continue through the invoice lifecycle
Primary sources
- Invoices — what they must include — GOV.UK
- EU VAT invoicing rules — European Commission