Graphic design invoice templates for when the logo is approved and the money is not.
Two free graphic design invoice templates: a standard invoice for freelancers and a VAT invoice for registered studios. Each line names the actual design work, so the client’s finance team never asks what “creative services” means. Below them, what UK rules say every invoice must include and how to handle logo ownership on the final invoice.
Two graphic design invoice templates
Name every deliverable. “Logo, 3 routes, 2 rounds of changes” gets paid. “Design work” gets a query.
Standard invoice
INVOICE Invoice number: [INV0058] Invoice date: [date] Date of supply: [date the final files were delivered] From: [Your name or studio name] [Address] [Email] To: [Client company] [Address] Purchase order: [PO number, if used] Project: [Brand identity for Client Ltd] [Discovery and brief workshop] ........ £[000] [Logo design: 3 initial routes, 2 rounds of changes on the chosen route] ........ £[000] [Colour palette and type system] ........ £[000] [Brand guidelines, 12 pages] ........ £[000] [Final file pack: SVG, EPS, PNG, PDF] ........ £[000] [Copyright assignment of the final logo, on full payment] ........ £[000] Total: £[0,000] Less deposit received on [date]: £[000] Balance due: £[0,000] Payment due by: [date] Pay to: [account name], sort code [00 00 00], account [00000000], reference [INV0058] Or pay online: [payment link] Final source files and the copyright assignment are released when the balance is paid.
VAT invoice
VAT INVOICE Invoice number: [INV0059] Invoice date: [date] Tax point (date of supply): [date] From: [Registered name], trading as [studio name] [Registered address] VAT registration number: [GB 123 4567 89] To: [Client company], [address] Description / quantity / unit price / VAT rate / amount excl. VAT [Social media templates] / [10] / £[00] / 20% / £[000] [Extra round of changes, per hour] / [3] / £[00] / 20% / £[000] Total excluding VAT: £[000] VAT at 20%: £[000] Total including VAT: £[000] Payment due by: [date] Bank: [details], reference [INV0059]
These templates are a practical starting point, not legal or tax advice. If a job is large or unusual, have a solicitor or accountant check the wording.
What a UK invoice must include
Under UK rules every invoice needs a unique invoice number, your name or business name and address, your client’s name and address, a clear description of what you are charging for, the date you supplied the work, the invoice date, the amounts, any VAT, and the total owed (GOV.UK: what an invoice must include). Sole traders using a business name add an address where legal documents can reach them. Limited companies use the full name on the certificate of incorporation.
Once you and your client are both VAT registered, you must send a VAT invoice. On top of the basics it shows your VAT registration number, the tax point, the VAT rate and the amount excluding VAT for each line, and the total VAT in pounds. For a supply of £250 or less, and only if the client agrees, a simplified VAT invoice is allowed (HMRC VAT Notice 700, section 16). Registration becomes compulsory once your taxable turnover passes £90,000 in a rolling 12 months; the UK VAT threshold checker shows where you stand.
Billing for logo ownership
Clients usually assume they own the logo the moment they like it. Legally they do not. UK law makes the designer the first owner of copyright unless you agree otherwise in writing (GOV.UK: ownership of copyright works), and a transfer of copyright only works if it is in writing and signed (Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, section 90).
So put ownership on the invoice as its own line, released on full payment, and send a signed assignment with the final files. The client gets certainty, you get paid, and nobody has an awkward conversation two years later about a rebrand.
Deposits, sign off and late payers
Design money often comes in two pieces: a deposit to start and the balance at sign off. Write the split into your graphic design contract and mirror it on every invoice.
Your clients are almost always businesses, so the late payment rules apply. If you did not agree a payment date, payment is late 30 days after they receive the invoice or the work, whichever is later, and you can claim interest at 8% above the Bank of England base rate plus a fixed £40, £70 or £100 depending on the size of the debt (GOV.UK: late commercial payments).
Skip the spreadsheet
Veyra builds these invoices for you: numbered invoices, deposits and payment plans, VAT on each line once you switch it on, your studio's currency, and a payment link so clients pay by card, PayPal or bank transfer. The invoice sits on the same project as the contract and the proofs.
See the graphic designer CRM, or work out your prices first with the graphic design pricing guide.
Questions people ask
What should a graphic design invoice include?
A unique invoice number, your name and address, the client’s name and address, a clear description of each piece of design work, the date you delivered it, the invoice date, the amounts, any VAT and the total. Add payment terms, bank details and, for logos, when ownership transfers.
Should I take a deposit for design work?
Most designers do, often a share up front with the balance at sign off. Agree it in your contract first, then send a deposit invoice so the money and the start date are both on record.
When should a client own the logo I design?
Only once they have paid in full and you have both signed a written assignment. In the UK a transfer of copyright only works if it is in writing and signed, so an invoice line alone does not transfer it.
Do graphic designers charge VAT?
Only once VAT registered. Registration becomes compulsory once your taxable turnover passes £90,000 in a rolling 12 months.