Estimate vs invoice
Estimate vs invoice — what a UK sole trader actually sends
You price the job on the drive. That sheet is an estimate. When the work is done, you send an invoice. They are not the same document, HMRC does not treat them the same, and retyping the job into Word on Sunday is how the numbers drift.
Number both. Convert the accepted estimate in one press.
The three bits of paper, without the lecture
Estimate — your price and scope before the work. It is not a request for payment. It is not a VAT invoice. Put a validity window on it (14–30 days is common practice, not a law).
Quote / quotation — the word most customers use. If they accept a quote, they often treat the figure as fixed. If you need room to move when you open the floorboards, say estimate and write what is in and what is out.
Invoice — the ask to be paid for work you have actually supplied. If you are VAT-registered, this is the VAT document: sequential number, your name and address, theirs, a description of the work, the amount, and VAT shown separately.
QuoteCo is a document generator, not legal or tax advice. For a dispute or a grey VAT point, speak to your accountant. For the fields HMRC expects on a VAT invoice, see VAT invoices: what they must include.
Estimate or quote — which word to put on the sheet
Customers will call it a quote either way. You should still pick.
Use estimate when the job can grow — a leak that might be a washer or a new section of pipe, a consumer unit that might need the tails chasing in. Use quote when you are standing behind the number once they say yes: a like-for-like boiler swap you have done forty times, a socket on an existing ring you have already seen.
Do not send a “quote” and then invoice 30% more because the plaster came off. Price the extra, agree it, then invoice it.
What has to be on a UK invoice (and what does not)
An estimate can be short: who you are, who they are, the job, the money, VAT yes or no, how long the price stands.
An invoice, especially a VAT invoice, needs more: unique sequential number, the date, the time of supply if different, your address, their address, enough description to identify the work, net, VAT rate, VAT in sterling, gross. If you are not VAT-registered, still number the invoices. Do not print a VAT number you have not got.
An estimate number and an invoice number are two series. EST-1041 is not INV-1041. Do not recycle the estimate number and write “please pay” at the bottom.
When the job changes after you priced it
Leeds, Tuesday. Boiler swap priced on the drive as EST-1041, 20% VAT on, 25% deposit on the boiler so you can order it. The customer accepts. The deposit lands in your account — not ours.
Friday the boiler is in. Same lines, raised as an invoice in one press. Deposit already showing as paid, balance due. Extra work they asked for is a new agreed line, not a silent bump.
How QuoteCo keeps the numbers straight
One page. Live A4 as you type, on your phone. Free, no account needed to create, print or save a PDF.
Estimates and invoices are numbered separately. An accepted estimate becomes an invoice in one press. Switch 20% VAT on and it is its own line; leave it off if you are not registered. Put your bank details or your own pay link on the sheet. The client pays you. QuoteCo takes no cut, and never holds the money.
Platinum is £9 a month if you want extra designs, your logo, colour, sync, a client book, chase notes and CSV. You do not need it to get paid this week.
This is not job management, not Making Tax Digital, not a certificate scheme. It is the sheet you should have handed over before you left the drive.
Questions
Is an estimate legally the same as an invoice? No. An estimate prices the job. An invoice asks to be paid. Only the invoice is the VAT document if you are registered. This page is not legal advice.
Should I write quote or estimate on the sheet? Estimate if the price may move. Quote if you stand behind a fixed figure once they accept.
Can I send the estimate again with please pay at the bottom? Don’t. Raise a numbered invoice.
Do I need an account? No.
Does converting an estimate copy the lines? Yes. One press. Then show paid vs due.