Your invoices should be as good as your work

In order for an invoice to be complete and free of errors, you must include these 10 elements.

1. Your invoice numbers must be sequential; make sure your invoice contains the correct invoice number.
2. Your details; the exact name of your company, address, Handelsregisternummer or trade register number (if applicable) and your tax number – in most cases the VAT number.
3. Your customer’s data  name, address and VAT number (if available)
4. dThe date on which you send your invoice and the date on which the goods were delivered or the service was provided.
5. A description of the products delivered or the service provided.
6. The unit price and the number (this can also be an hourly rate).
7. The final price without sales tax.
8. The correct VAT rate  for the goods or services on the invoice (either 0%, 7% or 19%).
9. If you are exempt from VAT, you must state the legally valid reasons for this on the invoice and refer to the applicable European or national law.
10. The final invoice amount, including sales tax.

As a rule, the German sales tax law does not apply to transactions with customers who are based abroad. For transactions within the European Union, sometimes called “intra-community deliveries”, VAT must be paid in the country where the recipient of the service is operating. This process is known as “reverse charge”. Despite the somewhat confusing name, this means that the VAT liability is reversed. Therefore, you must apply a VAT rate of 0% on your invoice and document on your invoice that you have used the reverse charge process.

The payment process is ultimately the most important aspect of invoicing. We generally advise freelancers not to be shy and request a confirmation of receipt for the invoice once it has been sent to the client. When it comes to payment reminders, we do not recommend waiting for the customer to forget the invoice. As a general rule, a payment reminder should be sent 10 days after the invoice's payment deadline. In order to avoid late payments and other complications, we recommend open and transparent communication when issuing the invoice, as well as ensuring you have a clear agreement upfront about the services to be included and how much will be charged for them.

References to legal texts are used to justify certain practices by mentioning the relevant legal texts. In the case of invoices, for example, this is necessary if a VAT rate of 0% has been applied because the recipient is based outside Germany. In this case, if the customer is located in another European country, the application of the reverse charge process must be noted on the invoice.

Accountable helps you to organize your invoices in an easy and uncomplicated way. You can also link your bank account to Accountable to keep up-to-date with your payments. In the desktop version as well as in the app you have a real-time overview of your current and upcoming expenses.