Invoicing from Excel or Word? What e-invoicing means for you

If you type invoices in Word or Excel and you are VAT-registered, you will need a different way of invoicing your business customers before April 2029. The government has said VAT invoices must be issued "in a specified electronic format", and that invoices "in PDF or word formats" are not e-invoices. A template produces a document for a person to read; the mandate needs structured data that the customer's software can read on its own.

The good news is that you have time, and the choices are fairly simple. This guide explains why a template cannot be adapted, the three routes open to you, and what to get ready.

You are not alone

HMRC's own research shows how common template and PDF invoicing still is. In a survey of 800 small and medium-sized businesses, carried out in February and March 2025 and published in March 2026:

• 95% sent invoices by PDF or email
• 36% still sent some invoices on paper
• 5% used no accounting software at all, rising to 9% in manufacturing and construction
• only 15% sent any e-invoices

In HMRC's follow-up interviews, one small business put the main worry plainly: "If getting to know it took hours and hours, then I would struggle to put in the hours." The routes below are chosen with that in mind.

Why a template cannot become an e-invoice

An e-invoice is not a nicer-looking file. It is a data message, in the UK's case expected to travel over Peppol, which the government confirmed in June 2026 as "the core interoperability network for e-invoicing in the UK". Three things make that impossible from Word or Excel alone:

1. Format. Peppol invoices today use the Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 format, usually as UBL XML. Every field is labelled: seller VAT number, buyer, each line, VAT category, totals. See a real e-invoice XML example.
2. Validation. Each invoice is checked against business rules before it is accepted. For example, every line must carry a unit of measure code, and both buyer and seller must have an electronic address. A typing slip that a person would ignore can make the invoice fail. See common Peppol validation errors.
3. Delivery. You cannot email a Peppol invoice. It is sent through an Access Point, a certified service provider, to your customer's Access Point.

The UK's exact technical specification has not been published yet. The government is still deciding whether to adopt an existing standard or design a UK-specific one. But none of the options under discussion is a document typed by hand.

Your three routes

Route	What it is	Suits	Things to check
1. Accounting software with Peppol	You raise invoices in an online accounting package that can send over Peppol, directly or through a partner Access Point	Most VAT-registered small businesses, especially if you also want MTD for VAT records in one place	Does it send and receive over Peppol today, or only promise to? What does the plan with Peppol cost?
2. A standalone invoicing tool or portal	A web tool where you type the invoice into a form; it creates the e-invoice and sends it through an Access Point	Low volumes, or if you want to keep your existing bookkeeping	Can you export the data for your VAT records? Does it handle credit notes?
3. Your accountant or bookkeeper	They raise or send invoices for you using their own software	Very low volumes, or if they already do your books	Who is responsible if an invoice fails? How quickly can they send?

The consultation response says the government wants "low cost, easy to use e-invoicing solutions" and that it is "aware of several MTD providers focused on the small business market that are already able to provide e-invoicing services". It has not named products, and neither do we. To compare options, use our guide to checking whether software supports Peppol and the cost guide.

What you will need, whichever route you choose

Moving from a template is mostly a data job. Get these ready:

• Your own details: legal name, address and VAT number exactly as registered.
• Each customer's details: legal name, address and VAT number, if they have one.
• Each customer's Peppol ID. This is how the network finds them. See what a Peppol participant ID looks like and look customers up with our Peppol Directory lookup.
• Purchase order or buyer references your customers require. See PO and buyer references.
• Standard products or services, each with a description, price, unit (hours, items, days) and VAT rate. The software turns your VAT rate into a VAT category code.
• Payment details to show on the invoice.

A tidy customer and product list will save you more time than any feature. Our master data clean-up guide explains how.

What about your other records?

If you are VAT-registered, you are already under Making Tax Digital for VAT. If you keep VAT records in a spreadsheet and file through bridging software, read MTD bridging software and e-invoicing. Your choice of route above affects how your records join up.

Confirmed and not yet confirmed

Point	Status
VAT invoices in a specified electronic format from April 2029	Confirmed
PDF and Word invoices are not e-invoices	Confirmed policy (consultation response)
Peppol as the core network	Confirmed (June 2026)
Exact UK data standard	Not yet confirmed
A free or government-provided invoicing tool	Not announced
Financial support for small businesses	Not announced
Phasing for small businesses	Not announced. See e-invoicing myths

The implementation roadmap is due at Budget 2026 on 28 October 2026 and should add detail.

Not VAT-registered?

The mandate is about VAT invoices. The consultation response says the smallest businesses that are not required to register, and choose not to, "will not be obliged to adopt this technology". You may still choose e-invoicing if a large customer asks for it. See e-invoicing for non-VAT-registered businesses and check with our scope tool.

What to do now

1. Count your invoices. How many a month, and to how many customers? This decides which route makes sense.
2. Collect customer VAT numbers and addresses into one list.
3. Ask your accountant whether they plan to offer an e-invoicing service.
4. Shortlist one or two options and try them once the UK rules are clearer, rather than committing now.
5. Keep using your template until then. Nothing changes before the mandate starts. For a fuller plan, see the small business guide or take our readiness score.