Invoicing as a sole trader in Ireland: what goes on the document

You can invoice on the day you start. There is no company, no registration and no minimum - but there are four things the document has to carry.

Last reviewed 1 September 2026

There is no threshold to cross before you may invoice. A sole trader can raise one on the first day of trading. Four things have to be on it.

1. Who you are

Your own name, and an address where you can be reached. If you trade under a name that is not your own — anything from “Dublin Tiling” to a made-up brand — that name must be registered with the Companies Registration Office, and your own name belongs on the invoice alongside it. A customer is entitled to know who they are contracting with.

2. A number, in an unbroken sequence

Each invoice uniquely identified, and the series complete. Starting at 1 is fine. Starting at 1043 to look established is a decision you will be living with for years, and a gap in the run invites the question of what used to be in it.

3. The date, and what the money is for

The date of issue, a description of what was supplied, and the amount. Detailed enough that somebody reading it in a year — your customer’s accountant, or yours — can tell what was bought.

4. How and when to pay

Not legally required, and the reason half of invoices get paid late. Payment terms and a way to pay belong on the document. You are entitled to interest on a late commercial invoice automatically, whether or not you say so — but stating terms is what makes the later conversation ordinary rather than awkward.

What changes when you register for VAT

Below the thresholds — €42,500 for services, €85,000 for goods — you are not registered, the invoice carries no VAT, and there is no VAT number on it. Do not show a VAT amount you are not registered to charge.

Once registered, the same invoice gains your VAT number, the rate, the VAT as a separate line, and net/VAT/gross totals shown apart. Nothing else about it changes.