Micro-influencer marketing operating workflow for paying creators: status check, VAT invoice and payment date

What to take away

Paying creators is the stage where a workflow most often leaves gaps: no status check, no agreed date, no valid invoice, no record.
Run HMRC's CEST tool before the contract. It also shows whether the off-payroll working (IR35) rules apply.
Without an agreed payment date, a business payment is late 30 days after the invoice or delivery, under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.
A VAT invoice must carry a sequential number, the supplier's VAT registration number, a description and the VAT in sterling.
A company keeps accounting records for 6 years from the end of the last financial year they relate to.

Which five steps make up the payment stage?

The payment stage of a micro-influencer workflow has five steps. Each one leaves a document that can be found later.

Status checkthe saved CEST result, filed with the creator's contract.
Payment datewritten into the contract, with the invoice trigger.
Invoice checkamount, VAT fields and purchase order reference.
Payment runone schedule, one approver, one date.
Archiveinvoice, proof of payment and status result, filed together.

The steps before payment, intake to publication check, are laid out in the operations and delivery guide.

How do you check a creator's tax status?

Use the CEST tool, HMRC's Check Employment Status for Tax service, before the first payment. It checks whether a worker on an engagement is employed or self-employed for tax.

It can also find out if the off-payroll working (IR35) rules apply to an engagement.

The result matters because a worker's employment status determines who is responsible for working out the tax and National Insurance contributions due and paying it to HMRC. A creator working through their own company can fall under Chapter 10 of Part 2 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003. That chapter applies where, on a direct contract, the worker would be regarded as an employee of the client.

If the result says employed, do not pay the creator as a supplier. Pass the engagement to payroll or take advice, and record the date and the decision. If the result says self-employed, file it with the contract and pay on invoice.

Gather the answers from the brief and the draft contract. The commercial contracts article covers the clauses that feed them.

Why fix the payment date in the contract?

If you agree a payment date for a business transaction, it must usually be within 60 days.

If you do not agree one, the payment is late 30 days after either the invoice arrives or the service is delivered, if that is later. The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, section 4, defines the relevant 30-day period in the same way.

Late payment has a price. Statutory interest is 8% plus the Bank of England base rate for business to business transactions. You cannot claim it if the contract sets a different rate of interest.

Write the date, or the number of days after a valid invoice, into the contract. Tie it to the publication check, so the dated screenshot is filed before the payment run. The costs and budget guide shows how to set the fees these dates apply to.

What must the VAT invoice show?

A creator who is registered for VAT must issue a VAT invoice. VAT Notice 700, section 16.3, lists the details. Check these fields before approving payment:

A sequential number based on one or more series which uniquely identifies the document.
The time of supply (tax point).
The supplier's name, address and VAT registration number.
The name and address of the customer.
A description sufficient to identify the goods or services supplied.
The rate of any cash discount offered.
The total amount of VAT chargeable, expressed in sterling.

Registration is required once taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000, so most micro creators invoice without VAT. For those who do charge it, multiply a price excluding VAT by 1.2 to get the price including the standard 20% rate. Creator B in the table below is registered. Creator A is not.

Creator	Agreed fee excluding VAT	VAT-registered	Amount to pay
Creator A	£250	No	£250
Creator B	£250	Yes	£300

Creator B's £300 is £250 times 1.2. A VAT-registered brand can usually reclaim the £50. Log gifts in the same record, since a free product is part of what the creator received. The guide on whether UK micro-influencers accept free products covers when gifts replace a fee.

What goes into the payment record, and for how long?

For each creator, file the CEST result, the contract, the invoice, the proof of payment and the publication screenshot together. Record where the folder lives, and name one owner for it using the team roles breakdown.

A company must keep accounting records for 6 years from the end of the last company financial year they relate to, or longer in some cases, such as a late Company Tax Return. Creator files hold personal data, so keep them in a restricted folder and delete what the retention period no longer requires.

At the end of each wave, compare the payment schedule with the contracts. The pricing models article explains why fees differ by creator, which helps when a payment looks out of line.

Example: a 12-creator payment run

The figures are illustrative arithmetic, not a benchmark.

Fees12 creators at £250 per post is £3,000.
Of the 12, two are VAT-registeredeach adds £50, so £100 in VAT.
Cash to pay creators£3,000 plus £100 is £3,100.
Internal time for the run6 hours at £30 an hour is £180.

Checklist before each payment run

CEST result saved with the contract.
Payment date or invoice trigger written in the contract.
Invoice matches the agreed fee and purchase order.
VAT fields checked against the creator's registration.
Publication screenshot filed before approval.

Common questions

Do we need the CEST tool for every creator?

Run it for each engagement where status is not obvious from the facts. Save the result either way, because it shows what you knew when you paid.

Can we pay a creator before the post goes live?

You can, but a payment tied to the publication check gives you proof of delivery. If you pay early, record why in the payment record.

What if a creator sends no invoice?

Ask for one before paying. The invoice is the record that matches the fee, the date and any VAT line.