KitebillWhat must my invoice include? Free invoice checker
Pick where you are registered for VAT or GST, and get the list of details your invoice must show, from the official rules. Made your invoice with the free invoice generator? Press "Check it has everything it needs" there and this page ticks off what it already has.
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How to use it
- Pick the rules that apply to you. Not registered for VAT or GST? Keep "normal invoice".
- Tick the options that fit this sale (for example a reverse charge, or a UK sale of £250 or less).
- Tick each detail your invoice already shows. Coming from the invoice generator, the details it can see are ticked for you, marked "found on your invoice".
- Press "Fix it in the invoice generator" to go back with your invoice and add what is missing. Every missing detail says which field to use.
A normal invoice versus a tax invoice
| Rules | Extra details beyond a normal invoice | Official source |
|---|---|---|
| Normal invoice (UK, and good practice elsewhere) | None: invoice number, your and the client's names and addresses, description, supply date, invoice date, amounts, total owed. | GOV.UK |
| UK VAT invoice | Your VAT number, time of supply, quantity, unit price, VAT rate, amounts excluding VAT, total VAT in pounds sterling. A simplified invoice is allowed for sales of £250 or less including VAT. | HMRC VAT Notice 700/21 |
| EU VAT invoice | Sequential number, your VAT number, the customer's VAT number under the reverse charge, quantity, unit price excluding VAT, VAT rate and amount, VAT in the national currency, and "Reverse charge" or the exemption where they apply. | European Commission, VAT Directive |
| UAE tax invoice | The words "Tax Invoice", your TRN, the client's TRN if registered, unit price, quantity, tax rate, amounts in AED, the tax in AED with the exchange rate. | VAT Executive Regulation, Art. 59 |
| Australian tax invoice | Shows it is a tax invoice, your ABN, the GST amount, which items are taxable; the buyer's identity or ABN from A$1,000. | ATO |
| Indian GST tax invoice | Your GSTIN, a serial number of up to 16 characters unique for the financial year, the client's GSTIN if registered, HSN/SAC codes, taxable value, IGST or CGST + SGST rate and amount, place of supply for inter-state sales, whether reverse charge applies, your signature; for exports, the export wording and the country of destination. | CGST Rules, Rule 46 |
India: checks on your GSTIN
When you pick India, the checker also looks at the GSTIN in "Your tax ID" (and the client's, if they are registered): 15 characters, a real state code, a PAN-shaped middle, and the last character, which is a check character worked out from the other 14. A wrong check character almost always means a typo. If both GSTINs are from different states, it reminds you that the sale is usually inter-state (IGST, with the place of supply on the invoice). It can't tell whether a GSTIN is actually registered: the GST portal's taxpayer search does that.
Exporting services under a Letter of Undertaking (LUT)? Tick those options and "Fix it in the invoice generator" adds the export wording to your Notes. Inside your own state, Kitebill prints one tax line, so the checker asks for the CGST and SGST split in Notes and adds the rates for you (for example "CGST 9% + SGST 9%").
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia: e-invoicing comes first
- Pakistan: FBR requires sales tax registered persons to issue electronic invoices through its e-invoicing system, directly or through a licensed integrator, under S.R.O. 1852(I)/2025 (see also the FBR e-invoicing FAQs). A PDF invoice doesn't meet that. Not registered for sales tax? The normal invoice list applies, and the Pakistan invoice guide covers USD invoices, IBANs and Payoneer.
- Saudi Arabia: since 4 December 2021, VAT-registered businesses resident in Saudi Arabia must issue and keep invoices with a compliant e-invoicing solution, and ZATCA says invoices made with text-editing or spreadsheet software don't count. Kitebill is not such a solution; see the Saudi invoice template notes.
What Kitebill's free generator can and can't do
- Can: your tax ID, the client's tax ID, the title "Tax invoice", a date of supply, one tax rate for the whole invoice, a discount, and the tax and total in a second currency with your exchange rate. Labels in English, Arabic or Urdu.
- Can't: a different VAT rate on each line, separate CGST and SGST lines (write the split in Notes), a signature box, line amounts in a second currency, or e-invoicing. Some countries require invoices to go through a government or accredited e-invoicing system; a printed PDF is not one. India (above ₹5 crore turnover), Pakistan (sales tax registered persons) and Saudi Arabia already do, and the UAE has announced mandatory e-invoicing in phases, so check whether and when it applies to you.
- The free Kitebill app keeps your clients and invoices in your browser. On each invoice you can set the "Tax invoice" title, the client's tax ID, a date of supply, and the tax and total in a second currency — the same fields as the free generator.
Also check
- The invoice number really is the next one in your sequence: the invoice number generator works it out from your last invoice.
- Your VAT number and your client's are typed correctly: the VAT number checker checks EU and UK VAT numbers, GSTINs, ABNs, TRNs and more by their check digits.
- The bank details have no typos: the IBAN checker checks IBANs, SWIFT/BIC, routing numbers and sort codes.
- The tax arithmetic: the invoice tax and withholding calculator adds or removes VAT and shows what lands after withholding.
- Country guides: UAE invoice template, India invoice template and Pakistan invoice template.
This page is a checklist drawn from the official pages linked above, current when it was written in October 2026. It is not legal or tax advice; rules change, and your tax office has the final word.
More free tools
Questions
What must an invoice include?
In the UK, GOV.UK lists: a unique invoice number, your name or business name, address and contact details, the customer’s name and address, a clear description of what you are charging for, the date of the goods or service (supply date), the invoice date, the amount charged, VAT if applicable, and the total amount owed. Most countries ask for much the same on a normal invoice. A due date and how to pay are not on that list, but they help you get paid.
What is the difference between an invoice and a tax invoice?
A tax invoice (called a VAT invoice in the UK and EU) is the invoice a VAT- or GST-registered business gives so the buyer can reclaim the tax. It needs more details than a normal invoice: your VAT or GST number, the tax rate and amount, often the buyer’s tax number, and in the UAE and Australia the words "Tax invoice". If you are not registered, you don’t issue tax invoices and shouldn’t charge VAT or GST.
Can a UK VAT invoice be in US dollars or euros?
Yes, the prices can be in another currency, but HMRC says the total VAT must also be shown in pounds sterling. The free invoice generator can show the tax and total in a second currency with the exchange rate you used.
Do I need the client’s VAT number on the invoice?
In the EU, when the customer pays the VAT under the reverse charge (for example a business service to a company in another EU country), the invoice must show the customer’s VAT number and the words "Reverse charge". In the UAE, a VAT-registered client’s TRN must be on the tax invoice. In Australia, a tax invoice of A$1,000 or more must show the buyer’s identity or ABN.
What must a GST tax invoice in India include?
Rule 46 of the CGST Rules lists them: your name, address and GSTIN; a consecutive serial number of up to 16 characters, unique for the financial year; the date; the client’s name, address and GSTIN if registered; the HSN or SAC code; a description; the taxable value after discount; the rate and amount of IGST, or CGST and SGST/UTGST; the place of supply with the state name for inter-state supplies; whether tax is payable on reverse charge; and your signature. Exports also need the words "SUPPLY MEANT FOR EXPORT ON PAYMENT OF INTEGRATED TAX" or "... UNDER BOND OR LETTER OF UNDERTAKING WITHOUT PAYMENT OF INTEGRATED TAX", and the country of destination.
Does this cover Pakistan or Saudi Arabia?
Not as a checklist, because both now require e-invoicing for most tax-registered businesses. FBR requires sales tax registered persons in Pakistan to issue electronic invoices through its system (S.R.O. 1852(I)/2025), and ZATCA has required VAT-registered businesses in Saudi Arabia to issue invoices from a compliant e-invoicing solution since 4 December 2021. A PDF from Kitebill or any other generator is not one of those. If you are not registered, the normal invoice list is a sensible start.
Is my invoice sent anywhere?
No. When you come from the invoice generator, the invoice travels in the part of the link after the # sign, which browsers never send to a server. The page stores nothing (no cookies, no local storage) and makes no requests to other sites.