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How to create an invoice? It is not easy to have a clear and exhaustive answer when you start a job or when you discover the company management for the first time. What are the mandatory aspects to mention? You might ask how to submit an invoice or how to send an invoice?
Don't worry, we’ll share everything you need to know to make an invoice in due form and in compliance with proper legislation.
In this article, you’ll get the definition of an invoice, its main elements, 5 simple steps to create an invoice, best practices, and a free invoice template with professional design. Maybe you’ll even find yourself an invoicing software. After that, no more worries about invoicing; you can focus on your business and your clients!
An invoice is an accounting document issued by a supplier to request payment from the buyer. It includes the number of items, the prices, the unit price, and the total amount that customers have to pay. An invoice can also be used as a legal record to justify the transaction between a client and a supplier.
As a legal record, an invoice has to contain these important elements:
The invoice is a commercial document issued in duplicate, to be provided to the customer and kept by the product or service supplier.
Several types of invoices exist. Each invoice has a specific use:
đź’ˇ Don't worry about going to search for it, here is a free downloadable proforma invoice template for you!
The time to make an invoice comes once the sale or service is completed.
👉 For a sale of goods: the invoice is issued at the time the buyer and seller have jointly agreed on the order. In some cases, the invoice is issued at the time of delivery of the goods, which may differ from the date of the sale.
👉 For services: the invoice is issued when the service is performed. For long services, progress invoices can be issued to stagger payments, and thus the business doesn't wait until the service is completed to invoice.
In addition to the invoice reference on the header, here are all the mandatory aspects to include:
The identity of the supplier
The identity of the buyer
The description of goods or services invoiced
The amount of the invoice
Mentioning payment terms are one of the most important elements of an invoice. It includes the details about the payment such as:
You can also meet some abbreviations such as CIA (Cash In Advance), EOM (End Of Month), Net 30, etc. so make sure that you know them!
No more paper invoices that you might miss, have to rewrite, or even lose!
The easiest way is to use an invoice template that you just have to customize to fit your company.
How do you create an invoice? Appvizer offers a free invoice template for you to download below! 👇
Be professional not only in your attitude but also in the presentation of your invoice! We have prepared a free downloadable invoice template for you with a professional design. All you need to do is fill in the information and be ready to take that deal!
Free Invoice Template [PDF]
DownloadFollow these 3 easy steps to submit an invoice!
After creating your invoice, you can proceed to the approval section. This process is used to check the admissibility of your invoices, so that only "approved" invoices are admitted to the following processes within your company: invoice processing in accounting and payment initiation.
The admissibility check consists of verifying whether an invoice is addressed to your company and whether it was received as a result of an order, or a contract.
Once the invoice is approved by the accounts payable representative, the supplier will receive a confirmation mail that the invoice summary is ready to be viewed. Then they will use the supplier portal website to view the invoice summary.
At this step, they can verify if there is an error or incorrect information. If so, they still can modify it and make another demand for invoice submission.
Once everything is done correctly, the supplier can send the invoice to the client. When the client receives it, they can record it in their book. At this moment, the invoice will become a bill that they have to pay.
đź’ˇ Is an invoice a bill? Discover the difference between bill and invoice!
When the payment is made, both supplier and client will receive a confirmation mail and a receipt as proof of payment.
There are two common ways to send an invoice:
This is the traditional and the easiest way to send an invoice to your client. Use our free template and don't forget to convert it into a PDF document before sending it. Remember to mention “invoice" in the subject line and write a short message to avoid going to the spam box.
Nowadays, there is a wide range of invoicing software on the market that you can choose freely.
Whether you are a self-employed entrepreneur or a small company, invoicing software will :
Low-cost or even free invoice software simplifies your invoicing drastically. An invoicing software not only saves you time by facilitating the processing of your invoices. It also allows you to better prepare your accounting for your accountant.
🚀 We have prepared a comparison of the best invoicing software for small business such as Square, Zoho Invoice, Wave, Brightbook, etc. check it out now!
Above all, be simple! The invoice has to be as simple as possible with only essential information, especially the detail of the cost and the quantity.
Did you know that your invoices can become real marketing tools?
Invoices are one of the most important financial documents for a company, and these documents are carefully read by your customers. Take advantage of this opportunity to transform it into a tool of your marketing strategy, either via the email sending the invoice or on the invoice itself.
While many companies still operate on a 30-day payment cycle, this is not mandatory. Some SMEs now require invoices to be paid within seven business days. And keep an eye out for customers who fail to meet payment deadlines. Controlling outstanding payments is an important part of your company, so nip any bad behavior in the bud.
“Using invoicing software is too expensive”
FALSE!
Good invoicing software or an invoice generator adapted to the needs of entrepreneurs exist (and are sometimes even free), and bring several advantages:
You can check out free invoice software if you are a small business or an entrepreneur. There is a wide range of free online invoice generators with many features on the market nowadays. Some of them use Paypal, Skrill, or Google Pay as a payment transfer tool which is very convenient.
In conclusion, it’s never been easier to create an invoice if you follow our 5 simple steps: Choose the correct type of invoice, generate the invoice from a template, mention payment terms, fill in the mandatory information, and respect the invoicing deadlines. If you want to optimize the process, you can consider using invoice software.