Friday comes, the firm says “send me an invoice” — and nobody ever showed you how. Here's exactly what goes on a self-employed construction invoice, and the free tool that builds it from your logged days.
Your full name (or business name), address, phone, email. Add your UTR if you have it — contractors like seeing it for CIS verification.
The company name you're invoicing, the invoice date, and the period it covers (e.g. Mon 15 – Fri 19 September).
Any consistent format works: INV-001, INV-002… or date-based like INV-260919. Never repeat a number.
Best practice for day rates: one line per day — date, site, day or half day, rate. It matches the contractor's own records and gets paid faster.
Show your gross total, then “CIS deduction (20%) to be withheld by contractor − £X”, then the net amount payable. Showing it avoids the Friday phone argument.
Bank name, sort code, account number, and a payment reference (your name). Add payment terms if agreed — e.g. 7 or 14 days.
Most self-employed CIS workers are NOT VAT-registered (registration is only required over £90,000 turnover) — so no VAT line on your invoice at all. If you ARE VAT-registered, construction services to VAT-registered contractors usually fall under the domestic reverse charge — talk to your accountant before adding VAT.
If you log your days in Graftum Pocket (2 seconds a day), the app builds this exact invoice for any week: lines per day, subtotal, the CIS 20% shown, your bank details — a clean PDF ready for WhatsApp or email. Free forever.
Make my invoice in Pocket — freeIt's not legally required on your invoice — the contractor calculates and withholds it anyway — but showing it is best practice: both sides agree the net figure before payday, and your paperwork matches theirs.
Weekly, the same day every week (usually Friday), covering that week's days. Regular, predictable invoices get paid on time; random ones get “lost”.
Your dated invoice plus your day records are exactly the evidence that wins. See our free guide on what to do when you're not paid — step by step, up to small claims.
General information, checked September 2026 — not tax or legal advice. Official sources: gov.uk.