Invoice Format UAE: Simple Invoice Template for Businesses Without VAT

An invoice is the document you send a customer to ask for payment. If your UAE business is not registered for VAT, you issue a simple commercial invoice: it has no TRN, no VAT and no “Tax Invoice” heading, because only a VAT-registered business can issue a tax invoice. Below is a simple invoice format you can adapt, what it should include, and the point at which you have to switch to a tax invoice.

When a simple invoice is the right one

Use it when your business is not registered for VAT. The Federal Tax Authority states that only registrants have a Tax Registration Number, and therefore only registrants can issue tax invoices. The rule also works the other way: anyone who issues a tax invoice for an amount of tax, or receives an amount as tax, must pay that amount to the FTA (Article 65 of the VAT law). So an unregistered business should not add VAT to its invoices or call them tax invoices.

Once you register for VAT, every taxable supply needs a tax invoice with the 12 fields set by law, laid out in our tax invoice format. To check whether you have to register, use the VAT registration threshold checker.

What a simple invoice should include

• the word “Invoice” and a unique invoice number;
• the invoice date, the due date and the payment terms;
• your business name, address and contact details, and your trade licence number if you want to show it;
• the customer’s name and address;
• a description of the goods or services, with quantity and unit price;
• the total amount due in AED and the accepted payment methods.

Invoice format (template)

Adapt this layout:

INVOICE
[Your Business Name]
[Address, Phone, Email]

Invoice No: [0001] | Date: [DD/MM/YYYY] | Due: [DD/MM/YYYY]

Bill to: [Customer Name, Address]

Description | Qty | Unit price (AED) | Amount (AED)
[Item 1] | [1] | [x] | [x]
[Item 2] | [2] | [x] | [x]

Total due: AED [x]

Payment details: [bank account or method] | Terms: [for example, payment within 30 days]

Tips for getting paid on time

Number your invoices in sequence, state the payment terms and a due date, and send the invoice as soon as the work is delivered. Be specific about what was delivered and how to pay, because that is what prevents disputes. Keep copies of every invoice you issue as part of your business records.

Related

If you are VAT-registered, follow the tax invoice format and VAT invoice template. For the registration process, see the UAE VAT registration guide.