How to Invoice as a Freelance Singer UK (With Free Template)

A practical guide to when to invoice, what to include, how to handle agency commission — and how to actually get paid faster. By Lillie Kerman, vocalist and Gigflow co-creator.

The gig was brilliant. You sang your heart out, drove home at midnight, and fell into bed buzzing. The next morning you meant to send an invoice. Then life happened — another gig, a rehearsal, a whole week — and suddenly it's been three weeks and you still haven't sent it.

I've been that singer. Most of us have.

Invoicing isn't difficult, but nobody ever sat us down and explained it properly — especially the bits that are specific to performing. When do you invoice the agency? When do you invoice the client? What goes on it? How do you handle commission? What's an invoice number, and do you actually need one?

This guide answers all of it. No accountant-speak, no generic advice written for consultants. Just the practical stuff that works for gigging performers in the UK.

When to send an invoice — and when you don't need to

Agency gigs

If you've been booked through an agency, then most of the time, the agency is your client — not the venue. You invoice them, not the hotel or the wedding couple. The agency collects the fee from the end client, deducts their commission, and pays you what's left (or pays the gross and invoices you separately for commission — more on that below).

The golden rule: send your invoice the morning after the gig. Not a week later. Not when you remember. The morning after. Here's why this matters more than most people realise: the fresher your performance is in the booker's mind, the faster your invoice gets processed. Once it's buried in an inbox under three other bookings, it becomes admin — and admin gets deprioritised.

The timing reality
If your agency invoices the client on your behalf, you could be waiting 4–8 weeks after the gig before that money reaches you. The clock starts when they receive your invoice — not when you perform.

For direct bookings — a wedding couple who found you on Instagram, a corporate client who came through your website — you invoice the client directly. You're still the one issuing the invoice. Same timing principle applies: send it the morning after, or even the night of the gig if you're organised.

Cash on the night

Cash gigs still need recording even if there's no invoice to send. Log it in your gig tracker as paid on the night — it counts as income for Self Assessment and you'll want the record. If HMRC ever asks, 'I forgot about those' isn't an answer.

What to include on a singer's invoice

A valid UK invoice for a self-employed performer should include all of the following:

• Your full name and address (or business name if you have one)

• The word 'Invoice' — clearly at the top

• A unique invoice number (sequential — more on this below)

• The invoice date

• The gig date and venue name

• A description of the service — e.g. 'Live vocal performance, Saturday 1st March 2026'

• The fee amount (gross, before any commission deduction)

• Payment terms — e.g. 'Payment due within 30 days'

• Your bank details: account name, sort code, account number

A note on VAT

Unless you're registered for VAT (which requires earnings over £90,000 — most gigging performers aren't there yet), you don't charge VAT and don't need to mention it. If you are VAT-registered, you'll also need to add your VAT number and the VAT amount separately. When in doubt, check with your accountant.

Invoice numbering — why it matters

HMRC requires you to use sequential invoice numbers. That just means each invoice should be numbered in order: INV-001, INV-002, INV-003, and so on. You can use any prefix you like (your initials, 'GIG', whatever makes sense to you), but the numbers must run in order and never repeat.

This isn't just a bureaucratic box-tick. If you're ever audited, HMRC will check that your invoice numbers are sequential. Gaps or duplicates raise questions. Keep it simple and consistent from the start.

Gigflow handles this automatically
Every invoice you send through Gigflow gets a sequential number with your custom prefix — so you never have to think about it. INV-001, INV-002... it counts for you.

Free singer invoice template

Rather than build one from scratch, use the Gigflow singer invoice template — it's formatted specifically for performer gigs, with fields for gig date, venue, agency, set time, and your bank details. It works for both agency invoices and direct bookings.

→ Free download: Singer Invoice Template — make a copy in Google Docs. No sign-up required. It's a clean, professional design that you can save, duplicate, and customise for every gig.

Or if you want to skip the template entirely and just send invoices directly from your phone, that's what Gigflow's one-tap invoicing is built for — the app pre-fills everything from your gig details and fires it off in under 10 seconds.

How to handle agency commissions on your invoice

This is where most singers get confused — and where the rules genuinely vary depending on which agency you work with.

Model 1: The agency deducts commission before paying you

The most common setup. The agency books you for, say, £400. They deduct their commission — let's say 15%, which is £60 — and pay you £340.

In this case, you invoice the agency for the full £400. The commission is their cut, not yours to calculate on the invoice. Your invoice just shows the agreed gross fee. The agency's records handle the rest.

Model 2: The agency invoices you separately for commission

Some agencies — particularly those working with higher-earning performers — operate the other way round. They pay you the full fee (£400), then send you a separate commission invoice (£60) that you pay back to them.

Here you'll receive two pieces of paperwork: their invoice to you for commission, and your invoice to them for the full performance fee. Both need logging. The commission you pay back is a business expense you can claim on your tax return.

Tiered commission structures

A few agencies (particularly Alive Network and some larger bookers) operate tiered commission: a flat fee for gigs under a certain value, and a percentage for gigs above it. For example: £10 flat for gigs under £100, 15% for gigs over that threshold.

Your invoice is the same regardless — invoice the gross agreed fee. The tiered calculation only affects what you actually receive, not what you put on the invoice.

Track it once, know it forever
In Gigflow, you set up each agency's commission rules once. After that, every gig automatically shows you the gross fee, commission amount, and your actual take-home — no spreadsheet required.

Getting paid faster: five things that actually work

1. Send the invoice the morning after

Already covered above, but worth repeating: this single habit will do more for your cash flow than anything else on this list. Set a phone reminder before you go to sleep after a gig.

2. Include your bank details on every invoice

Obvious, but you'd be surprised. Agencies process dozens of invoices a week. If your bank details aren't on the invoice, they have to chase you — and that delays payment by days.

3. Know each agency's payment terms before you gig

Some agencies pay within 30 days. Some pay in 60. Some take 90 days as standard. Knowing this upfront stops you from chasing on day 31 when the agency's terms say day 60. It's not personal — it's their process. Ask when you first register with them.

4. Chase politely at the right time

A friendly nudge at 30 days is completely reasonable and most agencies expect it. Something like: 'Hi [name], just checking in on invoice INV-024 for the gig on [date] — can you confirm when payment is scheduled?' Clear, professional, no edge to it.

If 60 days pass without payment, send a firmer follow-up referencing the original invoice number and date. If 90 days pass, escalate to a formal late payment notice — the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Act gives you the right to charge interest on overdue invoices.

5. Track what you're owed — all of it

The thing that used to stress me most wasn't the individual invoice — it was not knowing, at any moment, how much money I was owed across five different agencies. Some had paid, some hadn't, some were late. I'd have to dig through emails to piece it together.

Tracking all outstanding invoices in one place — with their due dates and amounts — makes it obvious, fast, which ones to chase and which ones are still within terms.

Send your first invoice in 10 seconds
Gigflow pre-fills your invoice from gig details and sends it with one tap. Track what's outstanding, chase what's overdue.
→ Try Gigflow free at app.gigflow.co.uk

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to send an invoice if the agency pays automatically?

Yes — always. Even if an agency pays without being prompted, an invoice creates a paper trail for your records and HMRC. Some agencies will also request one for their own accounts. Get into the habit of issuing an invoice for every gig, paid or not.

What if I made a mistake on a sent invoice?

Don't delete or overwrite it. Issue a credit note against the original invoice, then send a corrected replacement with a new invoice number. This keeps your records clean and avoids gaps in your invoice sequence.

Can I claim agency commission as a tax expense?

It depends on how your agency works. If commission is deducted from your fee before you receive it (Model 1), it reduces your gross income — so you declare the net amount as income, not the gross. If you pay commission separately (Model 2), the commission is a business expense you can claim. Check with your accountant if you're unsure which applies — getting this wrong can affect your tax bill.

Do I need to register for VAT?

Only if your turnover exceeds the VAT threshold, which is currently £90,000. Most self-employed performers in the UK are well below this. If you do hit the threshold, you'll need to register for VAT, add VAT to your invoices, and file quarterly VAT returns.

How long should I keep invoices?

HMRC requires you to keep business records for at least five years after the Self Assessment deadline for the relevant tax year. For most performers that means keeping invoices for six or seven years in practice. Digital storage — whether in an app or cloud folder — is perfectly acceptable.

What if an agency says they never received my invoice?

This is more common than it should be. Always keep a sent copy of every invoice, and if possible use a system that logs when it was sent and to whom. When an agency claims non-receipt, you can forward it immediately with a timestamp. This is one of the practical reasons to use invoicing software rather than email attachments — there's always a record.

Related guides
How to Claim Mileage as a Self-Employed Musician UK  ·  Self-Employed Musician Tax: The Complete UK Guide  ·  Making Tax Digital for Musicians: The Plain English Guide

Gigflow is a gig management and tax app for UK freelance performers. gigflow.co.uk