How to invoice as a self-employed carer

What every invoice must include

There's no legally required format for a sole trader invoice, but a professional invoice always includes:

• Your name (or trading name) and address
• The client's name and address
• A unique invoice number — a simple running sequence like 001, 002, 003 is fine
• The invoice date and the payment due date
• A clear description of the work — for example 'Personal care visits, 1–14 June 2026: 12 visits × 1 hour @ £22/hour'
• The total amount due
• Your bank details or a payment link so the client can pay you

Number your invoices and keep every copy

HMRC expects a complete, sequential record of your sales. Gaps in invoice numbers raise questions, so never reuse or skip a number — if you make a mistake, issue a credit note or a corrected invoice rather than deleting the original.

Keep copies of every invoice you send, paid or not, for at least 5 years after the 31 January filing deadline for that tax year.

When to send invoices

Most self-employed carers invoice weekly or monthly in arrears — after the visits have happened. Monthly invoicing is less admin; weekly invoicing keeps your cash flow healthier and means a non-payer costs you at most one week's work.

Whatever you choose, agree it in writing in your contract before the first visit, and send invoices on the same day each time. Clients pay faster when the invoice arrives like clockwork.

Set a payment due date — and mean it

Always state a due date: 7 or 14 days from the invoice date is normal. 'Payable on receipt' sounds strict but actually gives no deadline at all.

Make paying easy. A bank transfer with the invoice number as the reference is standard; a pay-by-bank link on the invoice itself removes the last bit of friction. Care-Solo invoices include a pay link and let you record who pays for the client — the client themselves, a family member or a council direct payment.

When a client pays late

Start gentle and escalate slowly: a friendly reminder the day after the due date, a firmer note after a week, and a phone call after two. Most late payments are forgetfulness, not refusal.

If late payment becomes a pattern, move that client to payment in advance or weekly invoicing, and refer to the late-payment clause in your contract. As a last resort you can charge statutory interest on overdue invoices, but in care work a calm conversation almost always works better than legal threats.

Invoices and your tax return

Your invoices are the income side of your Self Assessment. At the end of the tax year you need a total of everything you invoiced and received, matched against your expenses. Care-Solo's My Finances page keeps your invoices, expenses and mileage together and exports them ready for your return — no shoebox of receipts in January.