Why UK and Australian Businesses Need Tax-Compliant Invoices

Businesses in the United Kingdom and Australia are required by law to issue invoices that meet specific tax formatting standards. UK businesses must include VAT (Value Added Tax) details on every invoice, and Australian businesses must issue a document titled "Tax Invoice" that includes GST (Goods and Services Tax) details and an Australian Business Number (ABN). Your CRM lets you configure your tax settings once in Sales Settings so that every invoice you send automatically includes the correct fields for your country — saving you from manually formatting each invoice and reducing the risk of non-compliance.

What UK VAT and AUS GST Invoices Include

When you set your Tax ID Type to VAT or GST in Sales Settings, your CRM automatically formats every invoice with the required fields for that tax type. The required fields for each tax type are listed below.

UK VAT invoices include: your business Tax ID Number, the billing date (the date the invoice was issued), VAT amount per line item, and your legal business name.

AUS GST invoices include: the document title "Tax Invoice" (not "Invoice"), your Australian Business Number (ABN), the billing date (the date the invoice was issued), GST amount per line item, a subtext line stating "Total Price includes GST," and your legal business name.

How to Set Up VAT or GST Tax Invoices in Your CRM

To configure your invoice settings for UK VAT or AUS GST compliance, follow these steps in order. Complete all steps before sending your first tax-compliant invoice.

1. Click your profile icon in the upper-right corner of your CRM dashboard, then click Settings from the dropdown menu that appears.

   The screenshot below shows the profile icon dropdown menu open with the Settings option visible. The profile icon is located in the upper-right corner of the dashboard, and Settings appears as one of the selectable options in the dropdown.

   

2. Inside Settings, click Sales Settings.

   The screenshot below shows the Settings page with the Sales Settings option visible. Sales Settings is listed as a section within the Settings page and contains the currency, tax ID type, and payment processing configuration options.

   

3. Inside Sales Settings, confirm that your currency is set to the correct value for your country. Set the currency to GBP for United Kingdom accounts or AUD for Australian accounts.

   The screenshot below shows the currency selection field inside Sales Settings. The field displays a dropdown for selecting the account currency and must be set to GBP or AUD before configuring the Tax ID Type.

   

4. Set the Tax ID Type to the correct value for your country. Select VAT for United Kingdom accounts or GST for Australian accounts.

   The screenshot below shows the Tax ID Type field inside Sales Settings with the dropdown options visible. The dropdown displays VAT and GST as the available tax type options.

   

5. Enter your Tax ID number in the Tax ID field. For UK accounts, enter your VAT registration number. For Australian accounts, enter your ABN (Australian Business Number). After entering your Tax ID number, click Update Currency Settings to save your configuration.

   The screenshot below shows the Tax ID number input field and the Update Currency Settings button inside Sales Settings. The input field accepts the VAT registration number for UK accounts or the ABN for Australian accounts. The Update Currency Settings button appears below the Tax ID field and must be clicked to save the changes.

   

6. Before leaving the Sales Settings page, click Payment Processing and confirm that your account is connected to a payment processor. A payment processor must be configured before you can collect payments on invoices.

7. Create a tax rate that matches your VAT or GST rate and apply it to the products on your invoices. For step-by-step instructions on creating a tax rate, see how to create a tax in your CRM.

8. Once your tax settings and payment processor are configured, create and send invoices as you normally would. For step-by-step instructions, see how to create an invoice in your CRM. Note that some required compliance fields may not appear in the invoice editing view — these fields will appear correctly on the preview, public-facing, and sent versions of the invoice.