Free invoice & quote templates for UK trades

Which one do you need?

The choice comes down to two questions: are you pricing work or billing for it, and who is paying you.

• Pricing work you have not done yet → the quote template.
• Billing a householder, and you are not VAT registered → the self-employed invoice template.
• Billing a householder, and you are VAT registered → the electrician invoice template, VAT switch on.
• Billing a contractor for construction work → the CIS invoice template, whether or not you are VAT registered.

They share a layout on purpose. A quote you have written here can be retyped into the matching invoice in a couple of minutes, and an invoice that mirrors the accepted quote line for line is an invoice that gets paid without a phone call.

Quote or invoice — when to send which

A quote comes first. It is a firm offer: this described work, for this price, valid until this date. When the customer accepts it, you have a contract on the terms you wrote down, which is why the exclusions and assumptions matter as much as the number. An estimate is the softer version — an informed guess both sides expect to move — and if you cannot price a job firmly you should call it that rather than leaving the customer to assume otherwise.

An invoicecomes after the work. It is a request for payment, and unlike a quote it has a legal minimum content. GOV.UK’s guidance on invoicing and taking payment from customers requires a unique identification number, your business name, address and contact details, the customer’s name and address, a clear description of what you are charging for, the supply date, the invoice date, the amounts charged, the VAT amount if applicable, and the total owed. Sole traders must also show their own name alongside any trading name.

In between the two, some trades send a proforma to request a deposit. That is not an invoice and should not be numbered in your invoice series — bill the deposit as a real invoice, or take it against the accepted quote.

The VAT question, answered once

You must register for VAT when your total taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000, or when you expect to exceed it in the next 30 days (GOV.UK: when to register). Until then, do not charge VAT and do not show it. GOV.UK’s VAT Notice 700/21 is explicit that only VAT-registered businesses can issue VAT invoices.

Once registered, your invoice number becomes sequential rather than merely unique, you must show your VAT number, the tax point, per-line VAT rates and the total VAT in sterling, and you normally have 30 days from the supply to issue the invoice. Keep VAT records for at least six years. Every template here handles both states from one switch, so you do not need a different document the month you register.

The CIS question, answered once

If you subcontract for a contractor on construction work, they withhold part of your payment and pass it to HMRC against your tax: 20% if you are registered under the Construction Industry Scheme and verified, 30% if not, 0% with gross payment status.

The deduction is worked out after taking away what you paid for VAT, consumable stores, fuel used other than for travelling, plant hire, manufacturing or prefabricating materials, and materials you paid for directly (GOV.UK: make deductions and pay subcontractors). What is left is labour — and that is the only figure the percentage touches.

If you are VAT registered and your contractor is too, the domestic reverse charge probably applies on top: you do not charge the VAT, they account for it, and the invoice has to carry a statement saying so. The CIS invoice template covers both together.

How to use any of these templates

1. Open the template you need and type straight over the example content.
2. Set VAT and CIS with the switches at the top — they change the document, not just the display.
3. Add or delete line items, marking each one labour or materials.
4. Check the totals block reads the way you expect.
5. Hit Print / save as PDFand choose “Save as PDF” as the destination.

Nothing is uploaded and nothing is stored, so save the PDF before you close the tab. If you would rather keep a copy to reuse, the template pack can be emailed to you.