How to get paid as a freelancer in the UK

A UK invoice needs enough detail for your client to know who is asking for money, what for, and how much. At a minimum include: your name or business name, your address, your client's name and address, a unique invoice number, the date of the invoice, a clear description of the work or goods supplied, and the amount due. If you are registered for VAT you must also show your VAT number and the VAT charged; if you are not, leave VAT off entirely.

Number invoices in a sequence you never reuse, so each one can be traced later. It also helps to add the date the work was done, your payment terms and how the client can pay. The government's guidance on invoicing and taking payment sets out the full rules, including extra requirements for limited companies.

Payment terms tell a client when you expect to be paid. Agree them before you start the work, put them in writing, and repeat them on every invoice — for example “payment due within 14 days of the invoice date”. Common choices are payment on receipt, 14 days or 30 days. Shorter terms suit small one-off jobs; larger clients often have their own terms and payment runs, so ask about them early.

Put an actual due date on the invoice rather than only a number of days, so there is no argument about when it became late. For bigger or longer projects, consider asking for a deposit up front or billing in stages, which keeps money coming in and limits what you are owed at any one time. Whatever you choose, make paying you easy: include your bank details or a link the client can pay by card in a few taps.

Bank transfer is usually free to receive, which makes it the cheapest option. The catch is effort: the client has to copy your account details correctly, and you have to match each payment to an invoice yourself. Card payments cost a fee but are quicker for the client, work from a phone, and are recorded against the right invoice automatically.

Many freelancers offer both. With Paytide, a card payment on a £250.00 invoice costs Paytide's £2.50 plus Stripe's fee of about £3.95 for a standard UK card, so you keep about £243.55. Paytide's 1% is on top of Stripe's fee, so it costs more than using Stripe directly; see our fees for any amount. If you are not sure how card links work, read what a payment link is.

If your client is a business, usually yes. Under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 you can claim statutory interest on a late business-to-business payment at 8% above the Bank of England base rate, unless your contract sets a different rate. You can also claim fixed compensation for the cost of recovering the debt: £40 for a debt under £1,000, £70 for £1,000 to £9,999.99, and £100 for £10,000 or more.

These rights apply to business customers, not to members of the public. Many freelancers never use them, but mentioning them in your terms can encourage prompt payment. The government's page on late commercial payments explains how to work out the interest and what to do if a client still does not pay.

Start by assuming it was missed rather than refused. A short, friendly note on the day after the due date — the invoice number, the amount, the due date and how to pay — resolves most late payments. Make paying effortless by including the link or bank details again, so the client can pay from the email itself.

If there is no reply after a week, follow up more firmly and ask whether there is a problem with the invoice. Keep every message in writing and stay factual. If a business client still does not pay, you can refer to your statutory right to interest before considering a formal letter or the small claims process. Paytide sends one polite automatic reminder to your client when an invoice with their email address goes overdue, so the first nudge happens even when you are busy.

As a self-employed person you need records of all your business income and expenses to complete your Self Assessment tax return. Keep a copy of every invoice you send, a record of each payment received and when, and receipts for business costs. HMRC generally expects sole traders to keep records for at least five years after the 31 January submission deadline of the relevant tax year.

A simple spreadsheet works, as does accounting software. Whatever you use, note which invoice each payment relates to and keep payment-provider fees as a separate expense, since what lands in your bank is the payment less those fees. Paytide keeps a history of every payment, refund and fee in your dashboard and lets you export it as a CSV, including a layout that bookkeeping tools like Xero and QuickBooks can import. If you are comparing ways to take payment, our PayPal.me alternatives comparison sets out the fees side by side.