June 1, 2022
What are the requirements for an invoice?
As a business owner, you regularly send invoices to your customers. Of course, you want the invoice to be clear for the customer so that they immediately pay the invoice. In addition, the tax authorities have established a number of legal requirements for invoices. It is especially important for your customer that your invoices meet these standard requirements for an invoice. Otherwise, your customer may not be able to reclaim the paid VAT and you want to prevent that. Therefore, always check whether your invoices meet the following standard requirements for an invoice:
- The full name of you and your customer
State the legal name. You may also use your trade name if it is registered with the Kamer van Koophanderl (KvK) along with the address and place of residence. In the case of fiscal units, it is customary for the name of the unit that has provided the service to be stated on the invoice.
- The full address of you and your customer
Here, you must state the address where the company is actually located. A post office box number is insufficient.
- Your VAT identification number
The VAT identification number has the following structure: country code NL, 9 digits, B, 2 digits. For example, NL000000000B05. In the case of fiscal units, state the VAT identification number of the unit that provides the service. If the VAT is shifted to the customer, the customer's VAT identification number must also be stated on the invoice.
- If you are registered with the Kamer van Koophandel: your kamer van Koophandel number
- Invoice date
This is the date on which the invoice was sent to the customer
- Invoice number
It is useful to use consecutive numbers. This provides an overview and prevents a missing invoice in the administration. Each invoice number must be unique and may therefore only appear once.
- If you supply goods; how many and what kind of goods you have supplied
For example, 5 kilograms of apples or 20 loaves of bread.
- If you supply services; what kind of services you have provided and the extent of the services.
For example, 1 massage for 1 hour or painting the wall for 30 minutes.
- Delivery date (The date on which the goods or services were delivered) or the date of an advance payment
- The amount you are charging excluding VAT
For goods/services with different VAT rates, separate amounts must be stated on the invoice.
- The VAT rate applicable to the goods or service delivered
- The amount of VAT to be paid
Make sure that your invoice meets all of these requirements. Furthermore, there are a number of exceptions regarding invoice requirements. We have another article about these exceptions in our knowledgebase.
