SEN tutor
invoice template

SEN tutors invoice families, schools and local authorities for specialist one-to-one tuition, assessments and progress reports. Below is a ready-made SEN tutor invoice template, with worked example lines, the VAT and payment rules that apply, and the mistakes that most often delay payment.

What goes on a SEN tutor invoice

Show sessions by date and length, assessments, reports and planning time, and the purchase order for school or council work.

Line by line: Specialist literacy tuition, 8 hours × £50.00 = £400.00; Progress report, 1 × £120.00 = £120.00. The subtotal is £520.00. The example assumes you are not VAT registered, so there is no VAT and the total due is £520.00. The figures are illustrative, not a price guide, so use your own rates.

The legal minimum is the same for every trade. GOV.UK says an invoice needs a unique number, your business name and address, the customer's name and address, a description of the work, the supply date and invoice date, the amount charged, VAT if you charge it, and the total due. This template lays each of those out for SEN tutors; for the detail, read what a UK invoice must include.

Give each invoice the next number in a single sequence and never reuse one. A cancelled invoice keeps its number and is cancelled with a credit note. If you want a format that stays tidy for years, try the invoice number generator.

How SEN tutors price their work

Specialist tuition is charged hourly at a higher rate than general tutoring, reflecting qualifications and preparation. Assessments, written reports and attendance at review meetings are priced separately, usually as fixed fees or by the hour.

Keep the pricing visible. Each line should show the quantity, the unit and the rate, so the customer can match it to the quote. To set rates that cover your costs and your tax, try the day rate calculator; for materials and stock you resell, the profit margin calculator shows the margin you really make.

Agree this before you start

Agree the programme and its goals, the number of sessions, reporting and review points, liaison time with the school and other professionals, and who is paying: the family, the school or the local authority. Councils and schools may require evidence of DBS checks, qualifications and insurance before they issue a purchase order.

When to send a SEN tutor invoice

Monthly, or termly for schools.

An invoice sent on the day tends to be paid on time; one sent weeks later tends to be paid weeks later. Email it as a PDF and keep a copy. The invoice due date calculator shows exactly when payment falls due under your terms.

VAT on SEN tutor invoices

Private tuition in school subjects is a subject ordinarily taught in schools, so an independent tutor teaching it in their own right is exempt from VAT. The exemption covers the lessons; resources and materials you sell separately can be standard-rated for a VAT-registered tutor.

Independent tutors teaching a school or university subject are exempt from VAT, so an exempt tuition invoice never shows VAT. The exemption depends on the subject and on you teaching in your own right; activity coaching can fall outside it. VAT Notice 701/30 explains where the line sits.

Registration is compulsory once taxable turnover in the last 12 months passes £90,000, or when you expect to pass it within the next 30 days. Check your position with the VAT registration checker; until then, see invoicing without a VAT number.

Who SEN tutors invoice

Parents and learners pay most tutors, but schools, agencies and councils commission sessions too. For families, a single invoice per month or per term, listing the dates, is easiest. Institutions need their order number and your details as a supplier. Keep your cancellation and missed-lesson policy in writing and refer to it on each invoice.

Local authorities often fund tuition through an education plan or alternative provision; they pay against a PO and may require DBS and qualification evidence.

Recharging costs and expenses

When you agreed to pass on costs, list them separately: mileage at an agreed rate, parking, materials or anything bought for the customer. The recharge is income and the cost is an expense, both in full. Registered businesses charge VAT on the recharge as part of their service; a true disbursement, paid as the customer's agent, is the narrow exception. Use the mileage calculator to value your business miles.

Terms, cancellations and safeguarding

Write your terms down before the first lesson: the fee, when invoices go out, the cancellation notice you need, and the notice needed to stop lessons altogether. Refer to them on each invoice so a missed-lesson charge never comes as a surprise. If you teach children, have a current DBS check and say so; schools and agencies will ask for it.

Deposits, stages and cancellations

Not usual.

Bill in advance for a block of lessons or a term, and list the dates the payment covers. A short-notice cancellation charge is reasonable when it was agreed at the start; show it separately, never folded into the lesson fee.

Payment terms for SEN tutors

Families monthly; councils on 30 days.

Between businesses, the default when nothing is agreed is 30 days from receipt of the invoice or the work, whichever comes later, and agreed terms should not normally exceed 60 days. Late business payers owe statutory interest at 8% above Bank Rate plus fixed compensation per invoice; the late payment interest calculator does the sums. Private individuals are not covered by that Act, so agree your terms with them in writing before the work starts.

Getting paid faster

Put everything the customer needs to pay on the invoice: your bank name, account name, sort code and account number, and the reference to use, normally the invoice number. Give a due date, not just "on receipt". Then follow a routine: a reminder the day after the due date, another a week later, and a firmer letter after two weeks. Most late payment is disorganisation, not refusal, and a routine fixes it. Invoice payment terms compares the common options, and the due date calculator turns them into a date.

If a customer disputes the invoice

When a customer queries an invoice, reply quickly and in writing, quote the quote or agreement, and ask them to pay the part they accept while you resolve the rest. A credit note can settle a partial dispute cleanly. Unpaid after reminders? Send a letter before action with a final date; in England and Wales, claims up to £10,000 can then go to the small claims track. Invoice disputes and small claims for an unpaid invoice have the detail.

Common SEN tutor invoicing mistakes

• Reports not charged. Written reports take hours; charge for them as agreed.
• Council work without a purchase order. Local authorities pay only against a PO; get it before the first session.
• Liaison time not recorded. Log the time spent with schools and other professionals, and invoice it where agreed.
• Leaving out the due date. "Payment due within 14 days" or a date on the invoice gives you something to chase against. Without one, business customers default to 30 days.
• Losing track of what is unpaid. Chase on the day after the due date, not a month later; the guide to chasing an unpaid invoice has the wording.

Checklist before you send it

A quick check before sending saves a chase later:

• The invoice number is the next in your sequence and has never been used.
• The customer's name and address are right, with their purchase order or reference if they use one.
• Each line shows what was done, the quantity, the unit and the rate.
• The subtotal and total add up, and VAT appears only if you are VAT registered.
• The invoice date, a due date and your bank details are on it.
• A copy is saved with your records before you press send.

Keep a copy of every invoice

Your invoices are the evidence behind the income on your tax return, so keep a copy of every one. Making Tax Digital for Income Tax makes that digital: from 6 April 2026 for qualifying income over £50,000, from April 2027 over £30,000, and from April 2028 over £20,000, with quarterly updates to HMRC. Check your start date with the MTD requirement checker.

Download the SEN tutor invoice template

Download it as a Word document for Word or Google Docs, as an Excel workbook whose totals are live formulas, or as a print-ready PDF. Prefer to fill it in on screen? The free invoice generator opens pre-filled with the example SEN tutor lines, lets you choose a template and colour, and makes a finished PDF in a minute, with nothing stored.

For the tax side of the trade, from allowable expenses to Making Tax Digital, read the self-employed SEN tutor tax guide. A TapTax account, free to start, keeps your invoices and records together and files your quarterly updates to HMRC.