Invoicing

Zefff

Hey everyone,

Fresh from Canada here. Registered at the tax office as self-employed (I'm giving music lessons in my flat). Trying to make things as legit as possible, so I wanted to make sure I'm not missing anything.

Regarding invoices, should I just include my name, student's name, the price, the date, and their signature? Maybe add "such&such lesson" as well.

Should I be aware of anything else as a self-employed person in Ireland?

Thanks very much!

jimmii

What sort of turnover are you expecting? There are VAT thresholds that may come in to play depending on what sort of number you are looking at. I think for services its €37.5k/year before you have to reg. Some people put their PPS number on invoices when they aren't VAT registered but I don't think its important when dealing with the public more a B2B thing.

Zefff

jimmii wrote: »

What sort of turnover are you expecting? There are VAT thresholds that may come in to play depending on what sort of number you are looking at. I think for services its €37.5k/year before you have to reg. Some people put their PPS number on invoices when they aren't VAT registered but I don't think its important when dealing with the public more a B2B thing.

Thanks for the reply. I'd be bringing in less than €37k I'd say.

jimmii

Zefff wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. I'd be bringing in less than €37k I'd say.

Looks like you're all set to go then so. Only other thing is if you are trading under anything other than just your exact name you have to register a trading name.

Zefff

jimmii wrote: »

Looks like you're all set to go then so. Only other thing is if you are trading under anything other than just your exact name you have to register a trading name.

I'm just using my full name, so I'll use that on my invoices. Thanks very much. Appreciate it.

jimmii

Zefff wrote: »

I'm just using my full name, so I'll use that on my invoices. Thanks very much. Appreciate it.

Good luck!

Gloomtastic!

As a sole trader, you need to include your PPSN on an any invoices.

Good luck to you!

Avatar MIA

You need to include your address. No need for signature.

Zefff

Avatar MIA wrote: »

You need to include your address. No need for signature.

Excellent, thanks!

So, I'll use my name (under which i'm registered), my address, PPSN, the date, lesson duration, total price, student's name and signature, give them the original copy, and all the rest is cash in the bank!

Zefff

Avatar MIA wrote: »

You need to include your address. No need for signature.

No need for their signature?

Also, does it matter which copy I keep?

Ogogo

Hi OP. You will also need to include a sequential invoice number to uniquely identify each invoice.

So to recap the requirements are,

1. The invoice date
2. Invoice number
3. Your full name and address
4. Your tax registration number
5. The name and address of the recipient of the service
6. A brief description of the quantity/service/cost supplied / this can include lesson duration etc
7. Total payable

If you are using something like a carbon copy book which is pre numbered you could precede the number with A and then when you get a new book precede this with B etc (keeping it unique). It doesnt matter which copy you keep - it would be usual to give the original to your customer.

Zefff

Ogogo wrote: »

Hi OP. You will also need to include a sequential invoice number to uniquely identify each invoice.

So to recap the requirements are,

1. The invoice date
2. Invoice number
3. Your full name and address
4. Your tax registration number
5. The name and address of the recipient of the service
6. A brief description of the quantity/service/cost supplied / this can include lesson duration etc
7. Total payable

If you are using something like a carbon copy book which is pre numbered you could precede the number with A and then when you get a new book precede this with B etc (keeping it unique). It doesnt matter which copy you keep - it would be usual to give the original to your customer.

That's a great help, thanks so much. Looks like I've been doing everything correctly apart from the fact that I haven't been asking my students to write down their address, but I guess I can start.

I am going to keep the original copy for myself because it looks a lot more official! I am using one of those little duplicate invoice books, and the carbon copy is just on a blank white page (doesn't even look like an invoice)

armabelle

jimmii wrote: »

What sort of turnover are you expecting? There are VAT thresholds that may come in to play depending on what sort of number you are looking at. I think for services its €37.5k/year before you have to reg. Some people put their PPS number on invoices when they aren't VAT registered but I don't think its important when dealing with the public more a B2B thing.

could you please explain what you mean by this? Are you saying that if you earn less than 37.5k per year you don't have to register for VAT?

mickdw

armabelle wrote: »

could you please explain what you mean by this? Are you saying that if you earn less than 37.5k per year you don't have to register for VAT?

You don't have to register for vat if under that threshold.
You may still register if you wish.

armabelle

mickdw wrote: »

You don't have to register for vat if under that threshold.
You may still register if you wish.

but how do you pay taxes? Also, how do you obtain a VAT number to put on invoices?

lostcat

armabelle wrote: »

but how do you pay taxes? Also, how do you obtain a VAT number to put on invoices?

If you aren't registered for VAT you neither charge VAT or claim it back on anything you buy for the business. You can in effect ignore it as a Tax (you just end up paying it, rolled into the cost of anything you buy). Therefore, you don't need a VAT number.

If you end up pushing close to the 37.5k Mark during the year, just dont forget to register.

armabelle

lostcat wrote: »

If you aren't registered for VAT you neither charge VAT or claim it back on anything you buy for the business. You can in effect ignore it as a Tax (you just end up paying it, rolled into the cost of anything you buy). Therefore, you don't need a VAT number.

If you end up pushing close to the 37.5k Mark during the year, just dont forget to register.

This is news to me. As a freelancer in Ireland I thought I was required to have a VAT number on my invoices. I also thought that I was required to pay VAT even if I earned 20k per year or less. Was I wrong?

Avatar MIA

armabelle wrote: »

This is news to me. As a freelancer in Ireland I thought I was required to have a VAT number on my invoices. I also thought that I was required to pay VAT even if I earned 20k per year or less. Was I wrong?

Not a revenue/legal requirement.

Did the business(es) you were dealing with request you register?

armabelle

Avatar MIA wrote: »

Not a revenue/legal requirement.

Did the business(es) you were dealing with request you register?

No I just thought it was required and that clients might not see me as a legit professional working "legally" in Ireland.

I called the "citizens information" office and they said that you do need to register as self-employed but you don't need to register for VAT if you are earning less than 37,500. So now the question is, what do I do now that I have registered?

Avatar MIA

armabelle wrote: »

No I just thought it was required and that clients might not see me as a legit professional working "legally" in Ireland.

I called the "citizens information" office and they said that you do need to register as self-employed but you don't need to register for VAT if you are earning less than 37,500. So now the question is, what do I do now that I have registered?

It is considered by some to be more professional.

If you've paid more VAT than you've claimed back you can contact Revenue and deregister easy enough.

armabelle

Avatar MIA wrote: »

Not a revenue/legal requirement.

are there other kinds?

Avatar MIA

armabelle wrote: »

are there other kinds?

Only the soft pressure from the likes of clients expecting the people they deal with to be VAT registered because it's deemed more professional.

By not being VAT registered you're informing people your income is below a certain threshold.

BailMeOut

very obvious but missed by many but your invoice needs to say that it is an invoice! I also add bank wire information so customers can electronically submit payment.

I have never added my PPSN to my sole trader invoices. Is this really required?

armabelle

Avatar MIA wrote: »

It is considered by some to be more professional.

If you've paid more VAT than you've claimed back you can contact Revenue and deregister easy enough.

I haven't paid any VAT...yet. I just registered a month or two ago and haven't really got going yet. So if I registered for VAT then I have to pay VAT on everything I earn just because I registered even if I earn less than 37,500 per year? Where if I didn't register I would not have to pay VAT for earnings under 37,500, is this correct?

armabelle

Avatar MIA wrote: »

Only the soft pressure from the likes of clients expecting the people they deal with to be VAT registered because it's deemed more professional.

By not being VAT registered you're informing people your income is below a certain threshold.

Yes this does make you look less professional. But can't I keep my VAT number now that I have it or should I unregister?

lostcat

armabelle wrote: »

I haven't paid any VAT...yet. I just registered a month or two ago and haven't really got going yet. So if I registered for VAT then I have to pay VAT on everything I earn just because I registered even if I earn less than 37,500 per year? Where if I didn't register I would not have to pay VAT for earnings under 37,500, is this correct?

If you are vat registered you have to charge vat on all income.

personally i have found that, if you are dealing mainly with the public as opposed to businesses, not having to charge them VAT (and making this clear to them) will cheer them up more than it will make you look unprofessional..

you will also have more competitive pricing than an equivalent business who lobs VAT onto their price.

if you deal (or hope deal) more with businesses, they are likely to be vat registered and can claim it back, so they wont care.

its easy enough to deregister for VAT, just call the relevant revenue dept and tell them (there used to be a form to fill out for this, not sure if this is still the case of if you can just do it on line now via ROS)

armabelle

lostcat wrote: »

If you are vat registered you have to charge vat on all income.

personally i have found that, if you are dealing mainly with the public as opposed to businesses, not having to charge them VAT (and making this clear to them) will cheer them up more than it will make you look unprofessional..

you will also have more competitive pricing than an equivalent business who lobs VAT onto their price.

if you deal (or hope deal) more with businesses, they are likely to be vat registered and can claim it back, so they wont care.

its easy enough to deregister for VAT, just call the relevant revenue dept and tell them (there used to be a form to fill out for this, not sure if this is still the case of if you can just do it on line now via ROS)

great, thank you!

Avatar MIA

armabelle wrote: »

But can't I keep my VAT number now that I have it

Yes you can. And if that's the case you can ignore the below.

armabelle wrote: »

I haven't paid any VAT...yet. I just registered a month or two ago and haven't really got going yet. So if I registered for VAT then I have to pay VAT on everything I earn just because I registered even if I earn less than 37,500 per year? Where if I didn't register I would not have to pay VAT for earnings under 37,500, is this correct?

You are liable to VAT from the time you register for VAT. From that time your sales invoices should include VAT.

If you didn't register you wouldn't have had to pay VAT.

If you've not traded (got going) then you still have a choice as to whether you wish to deregister for VAT.

armabelle wrote: »

or should I unregister?

If you are dealing with VAT registered businesses it's of little consequence as they will claim back the VAT you charge them.

If your clients are not VAT registered or Joe Public being VAT registered makes you more expensive, and you may - possibly - be undercut by someone not registered for VAT supplying a similar service.