We issue an electronic invoice after every payment; clause 5(a) of our terms says so. Whether that invoice shows VAT you can reclaim is not published, and neither is our VAT registration number, so settle it before you book. Call 0800 2545585 and ask: "Will my invoice be a VAT invoice showing your VAT registration number and the VAT charged, made out to my business's name?" Nothing is added at checkout: the total in your quote is what you pay, and our prices include VAT. A January 2020 post on our blog listed Chipping Norton containers "Starting at just £100 +VAT"; ask on 0800 2545585 which basis applies to your quote.
When the invoice arrives
You pay first and the invoice follows. Clause 5(a) of our storage terms says: "We do not normally bill for Fees but will issue an electronic invoice following payment." The first payment is taken "on acceptance of Your order", and later payments "in advance on the invoice date for each Storage Period or other date agreed with You".
We take payments every four weeks, which is 13 payments a year, by online card payment or Direct Debit (we accept credit or debit cards, but not cash or cheques; see what payment options are there?). Expect one invoice per payment, so 13 a year, not 12 monthly ones.
Your first payment is more than rent. The quote total is the deposit, plus the first four weeks' rent, plus our contents cover if you take it. "All customers require contents protection for their stored goods": you either accept our cover or "arrange insurance at your own expense" (do I need insurance for my unit?). The deposit is taken at booking, is equal to two weeks' rent at the standard rate, and is refunded under clause 4 (less any deductions that clause allows) within 21 days of the agreement ending. Don't work out VAT from the quote total: it includes a refundable deposit and contents cover, and how VAT applies to each line is not published. How the deposit and the cover appear on the invoice is not published; if your bookkeeper needs them on separate lines, ask when you book.
What a VAT invoice has to show
Self storage of goods is taxable at the standard rate of 20% (Value Added Tax Act 1994, Schedule 9, Group 1, item 1(ka)). HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) treats the VAT invoice you receive as the main evidence for reclaiming the VAT you paid, and only a VAT-registered business can issue one. HMRC's Notice 700/21 says a VAT-registered business "must issue a VAT invoice whenever you supply standard rate or reduced rate goods or services to another VAT-registered person. Normally you must issue a VAT invoice within 30 days of the date you make the supply." A VAT-inclusive price on its own isn't enough to reclaim. A full VAT invoice shows:
| Detail | Why your bookkeeper wants it |
|---|---|
| A unique, sequential invoice number | So each invoice is counted once |
| The time of supply (tax point) and date of issue | Puts the VAT in the right return period |
| The supplier's name, address and VAT registration number | Proves the VAT was charged by a registered business |
| Your name and address | Shows the supply was made to your business |
| A description of the service | Here, the storage and the period it covers |
| The VAT rate and the amount excluding VAT | Lets the VAT be worked out and checked |
| The total VAT charged, in sterling | The figure you reclaim |
Where a charge is £250 or less including VAT, HMRC allows a simplified invoice instead. It shows the supplier's name, address and VAT registration number, the time of supply, a description, and the total including VAT with the VAT rate, rather than the VAT set out as a separate amount. Which format our invoices use is not published, so ask.
Our VAT registration number is not published. Once you have it, you can confirm it's valid, and whose it is, on GOV.UK's free Check a UK VAT number service.
Sole traders and online sellers
Ask to book the unit in your trading name if you want the invoice to show the business, since a full VAT invoice names the customer. If you keep a few personal things alongside your stock, HMRC's rule is that you can only reclaim the business share of the VAT, and you need records showing how you worked that share out.
Bookkeepers and finance teams
Check the first invoice against the table above before the first return it falls into. Save each invoice with the payment it matches: HMRC generally expects VAT records to be kept for at least six years. If a detail you need is missing, call 0800 2545585 before you file.
If you can't reclaim VAT anyway
Two cases where no invoice changes the answer:
- You aren't VAT-registered. The invoice is still your record of what the business paid, and your accountant can advise how to treat it.
- You use the VAT Flat Rate Scheme. HMRC says you can't reclaim VAT on purchases, apart from certain capital assets over £2,000.
For either, the price in your quote is your real cost.
Already storing with us?
If your storage is in a personal name and the business now pays, or you need copies of past invoices, call 0800 2545585 and ask what can be changed or re-sent.
What to ask before you book
Booking for a client, an estate or a charity? The invoice names whoever the agreement is in, so ask whether it can be in their registered name.
Call 0800 2545585 and ask:
- Will my invoice be a VAT invoice, and what is your VAT registration number?
- Will it show the VAT charged as a separate amount, or be a simplified invoice?
- Can it be made out to my business's name (or my client's, the estate's or the charity's)?
- How do the deposit and contents cover appear on the first invoice?
- Which company will the invoice come from?
We can't advise on your own VAT position, such as how much you can reclaim or how to split personal and business use. That's one for your accountant or HMRC. For whether prices include VAT, see do your storage prices include VAT?
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