Not including Rates and Hours on Invoice

[stonehead]

Evening All,

After having gone perm for sometime, I will begin contracting again via agency. (Hourly Rate - Private Sector)

As I am getting my LTD affairs in order my new accountant suggested when raising my invoice to the agency I should not include my hours worked and rate, but simply the total amount due for services provided that period. eg:, if 40 hours at £50ph, the invoice should just say:"..for services rendered... Total £2000" as the agency and client would have my timesheets and contract anyway.

His reasoning being its good practice when concerned about mr taxman and IR35 etc.
Not a concern right now but as future contracts could well be inside, I was wondering about peoples thoughts on doing this and why.

[simondolan]

Evening All,

After having gone perm for sometime, I will begin contracting again via agency. (Hourly Rate - Private Sector)

As I am getting my LTD affairs in order my new accountant suggested when raising my invoice to the agency I should not include my hours worked and rate, but simply the total amount due for services provided that period. eg:, if 40 hours at £50ph, the invoice should just say:"..for services rendered... Total £2000" as the agency and client would have my timesheets and contract anyway.

His reasoning being its good practice when concerned about mr taxman and IR35 etc.
Not a concern right now but as future contracts could well be inside, I was wondering about peoples thoughts on doing this and why.

Makes no difference. Your contract will state you are paid an hourly rate, so whatever the invoice states is irrelevant.

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

It seems a bit odd to me.

If I charge a day rate I list the day rate as the line item amount and the number of days as the quantity.

I do the same for weekly billing.

I can’t see any reason why hourly would be any different. Your IR35 status isn’t going to be determined by the wording on your invoice.

[TheFaQQer]

It seems a bit odd to me.

If I charge a day rate I list the day rate as the line item amount and the number of days as the quantity.

I do the same for weekly billing.

I can’t see any reason why hourly would be any different. Your IR35 status isn’t going to be determined by the wording on your invoice.

I agree.

One of my clients will only process invoices in a given format because their OCR isn't that good, so the format for all suppliers is mandated (unless you send in a paper copy), so I always include the details on that one.

Can't see it making any difference to anything.

[stonehead]

Yes my thoughts exactly.
I always tend to take my accountants advice on such matters but this one had me questioning how or why it would have any benifit at all.

[tarbera]

Does your agent not auto generate your invoice for you anyway - most do

[LondonManc]

Yes my thoughts exactly.
I always tend to take my accountants advice on such matters but this one had me questioning how or why it would have any benifit at all.

+1

99% I take my accountant's advice because I consider and expect it to be correct but I would agree that this seems odd.

One option if you feel more comfortable is to bill for "consultancy services provided between x/y/2017 and z/y/2017"

[Swamp Thing]

It seems a bit odd to me.

If I charge a day rate I list the day rate as the line item amount and the number of days as the quantity.

I do the same for weekly billing.

I can’t see any reason why hourly would be any different. Your IR35 status isn’t going to be determined by the wording on your invoice.

+1.
I work with procurement teams that negotiate with the large consultancies. For transparency they insist on this minimum level of invoice breakdown. So if it's OK for the large consultancies to submit invoices in this way, it'll be OK for you, don't sweat it.
HMRC won't be using invoice format as the smoking gun for in/out IR35 determinations. It'll be your contract and working practices.

[LondonManc]

+1.
I work with procurement teams that negotiate with the large consultancies. For transparency they insist on this minimum level of invoice breakdown. So if it's OK for the large consultancies to submit invoices in this way, it'll be OK for you, don't sweat it.
HMRC won't be using invoice format as the smoking gun for in/out IR35 determinations. It'll be your contract and working practices.

Thinking back to my one hourly rate contract, this is spot on when combined with my previous reply - the values showed X hours at £y/hour and then a total.

Then the VAT at the end.

[Maslins]

I'd recommend putting the dates worked on it. Can help if there's a dispute, or you lose track of what you have/haven't been paid for. Also on a more geeky level can help to see whether the year end accounts need any accrued/deferred income.