What must be on an invoice? - That’s how it’s going to be correct

What you need:

• Billing Details

If you are a commercial or freelance worker and want to make a claim, you need to write an invoice. Only when the invoice is issued do you make your claim due and can request payment from your customer. It is important to pay close attention to what must be on an invoice.

What you have to consider

• The invoice recipient can possibly claim the invoice amount for tax purposes as business expenses or business expenses. However, he can only do this if you have drawn up a proper and tax-deductible invoice.
• The tax office only recognizes the invoice as such if it takes certain formal requirements into account. Since there is a lot of abuse in practice with invoices, especially with sales tax amounts the legislature endeavors to specify the formal requirements for invoices in such a way that suspicious cases stand out.
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This is an essential part of the content of an invoice

• The invoice includes your company name, your name and the name and address of the recipient of the invoice.
• Mark your invoice with a consecutive invoice number. Make sure that your bookkeeping is complete and that an invoice number follows the preceding numerically.


Invoices without a tax number - you should pay attention to this

An invoice without a tax number is worthless. You disregard the requirements of ...

• There must be an invoice date on your invoice.
• Describe the goods or services you have provided as precisely as possible.
• Describe the performance time in which you worked for your customer.
• State the invoice amount. For individual services, state the individual prices from which the total price results. The amounts are initially to be presented as net amounts.
• Unless you make use of the small business regulation, show the sales tax so that the gross amount is calculated from the net amounts together with the sales tax.
• as freelancer (Doctor, lawyer, architect, tax advisor) you have to observe certain requirements of your fee schedule, specify the fee codes and the fee facts.

With small business regulation without sales tax

• If you use the small business regulation, you are not allowed to show the sales tax, but calculate the net amounts directly as gross amounts. Then you must expressly point out to the recipient that you are using the small business regulation and that you are not reporting any sales tax in accordance with Section 19 UStG.
• State a due date if your invoice is due later, deviating from the invoice date, and specify the period (payable immediately, within 14 days, no later than the 7th 11. 2012), in which you expect payment from your customer and he has to pay in order to avoid the consequences of default.

What else should be written on it

• You must provide your income tax number in connection with your personal data.
• If you have a sales tax identification number and show the sales tax, please also state this.
• Name your bank details, a voluntary information.
• Sign the invoice yourself.
• If possible, send the invoice to your customer by post and avoid emails or faxes.