When a credit sale is made, the cash from the sale is not received immediately. Instead, the customer receives the goods or services and will then pay at a later date. It is therefore necessary to have a record, and a reminder, of the fact that the customer owes the money for the goods or services sold. This evidence is created in the form of a sales invoice.
A sales invoice is also an official document for external bodies, such as the tax authority (HM Revenue and Customs in the UK). There are certain legal requirements that a sales invoice must comply with, particularly with regard to sales tax.
When a sales invoice is prepared, it is usually produced in multiple copies. The top copy or main copy is sent to the customer. The remaining copies remain with the seller. The seller can use these copies for a variety of purposes:
Records are not only essential for tax purposes, but also other governing bodies and local authorities may require a business to maintain certain records. In the UK, businesses need to keep all invoices (as well as quotations, order forms, credit notes, delivery notes, till rolls, banking records and other documents) for six years in case they are requested. Outside the UK, the details of which records must be retained, and for how long, may differ.
In some cases, the sales invoice will be sent out to the customer with the goods or with the person providing the service, so that the customer receives the invoice with the goods or immediately the service is provided. However, it is more usual for goods to be sent to a customer with a delivery note (that the customer may be asked to sign as confirmation of receipt) and for the sales invoice to be sent out separately. This will always be the case if the goods are delivered to the customer's warehouse, and for the invoice to be sent to the accounts or buying department, which may be in different locations.
When an invoice is for provision of a service, the invoice is usually sent to the customer after the service has been provided. For example, if an accountant sends an invoice to a client for the time spent preparing monthly accounts, this invoice cannot be issued until the work is complete and the time charges are known.
In some cases, an invoice may be issued before the goods or services are provided. For example, in most forms of rental agreement, such as the hire of a car, an invoice is sent to the customer either in advance or at the start of the rental or hire period.
One important point is to determine the contract price to be invoiced in exchange for goods or services provided. This could be based upon, for example, a price list, or previous dealings with the customer or normal business practice. Part of this process includes assessing whether a customer will take up the offer of early settlement discount. Consequently, the income receivable will be variable, depending upon whether the customer takes up the early settlement discount offer (a lower amount is receivable) or does not pay promptly (the full amount is receivable). This issue was considered in Chapter 4 and will be revisited in this chapter.
Most of the essential contents of a sales invoice were covered in Chapter 2. However, there are also some further specific contents that an invoice must contain if the business is registered for sales tax or is a registered company.
Refer to the specimen sales invoice which follows explanation of the key invoice details as follows:
This is the name and address to which the invoice should be sent (the 'invoice address').
This shows the customer who the invoice is from, and contact details in the event of having any queries. The invoice may include some pre-printed payment instructions on the back. In the absence of any other such instructions, this information also shows the customer who to make the payment to and where to send it.
Every invoice is given a number. The invoice number must be unique to the invoice so that the invoice can be specifically identified. When sales invoices are produced, they are numbered sequentially. This means that, when preparing sales invoices, and aware that the most recent invoice was numbered 47733, the next sales invoice will be numbered 47734, and so on.
The invoice date is important for accounting purposes, because it indicates the accounting period in which the sale has occurred. The date is also useful as a reference point for when the invoice should be paid. The invoice date is often the same date as the delivery date, particularly when the delivery note and invoice are both generated by computer at the same time.
The customer account number or reference is used internally by the business. Each credit customer (or 'account customer') has a unique account number or reference, in the form of a code. Customer account code numbers are used to update the receivables' ledger accounts of each credit customer.
This information allows both the business and its customers to see details of what is being sold and the price to be paid. Sometimes, this part of the invoice gives a general description of the goods or service. Sometimes, as in the example following, the goods or services are itemised in detail, and may show the inventory item code number and description, the quantity sold and the price per unit. The total amount payable for each item, if they are priced separately, is also shown. (If there is no discount to calculate, the total payable for an item is simply the quantity supplied in units multiplied by the price per unit.)
Trade discounts are not always shown on an invoice. Discounts were discussed in chapter 4 and will be revisited in this chapter.
The total invoice value must be shown because this is the amount the customer is being asked to pay. When sales tax is included in the invoice, it is essential to show separately: the total payable excluding sales tax, the sales tax payable, the total payable including sales tax.
The settlement terms state when the invoice should be paid. These terms are usually agreed when the customer makes an order, but it is certainly worth repeating the terms on the invoice as well. Sometimes, a percentage discount (known as a settlement discount) is given if the invoice is paid earlier than when payment would normally be due.
When a business is registered for sales tax, it is given a unique registration number (by HM Revenue and Customs in the UK). This number must be shown on the invoice.
The tax point on an invoice is the date when a transaction is deemed to have taken place for sales tax purposes. It enables the tax on the transaction to be recorded in the correct accounting period. Normally, the tax point is the invoice date.
742 St Anne's Way
York Y05 4NP
Telephone: 01904 27635
SALES INVOICE
Sales Tax Reg. No. 751 9516 853
(c) Invoice No.
23100
(d, k) Date/Tax Point:
24 June 20X4
(a) Customer
J Forrester Wholesale Supplies Ltd
Unit 798
Oakhampton Industrial Estate
Bristol BS27 4JW
(e) Account: JF217
(g) Order No: E10741
| (f) Item No. | Description | Quantity | Item value Per unit | Discount | Total $ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17340 | A5 Lever Arch File | 500 | £2.00 | 20% | 850.00 |
| 106912 | A4 2 Hole Ring Binder | 2,000 | £1.75 | 15% | 2,800.00 |
(i) Terms: 5% settlement discount for payment within 10 days, otherwise net 30 days
Some specific words may be used in the settlement terms at the foot of a sales invoice and it may be useful to know the meaning of the following three terms.
If settlement is stated as 'net 30 days' this means that, in the absence of an offer of any settlement discount, the invoice should be paid within 30 days of the invoice date. Similarly, 'net 60 days' means that the invoice should be paid within 60 days of the invoice date. It is normal business practice to use '30 days', '60 days' or '90 days' as meaning '1 month' '2 months' or '3 months' respectively.
The term 'E & OE', appears on an invoice, it refers to 'errors and omissions excepted'. This means that the seller reserves the right to amend any error that is subsequently identified on the invoice.
A sales invoice may include the term 'ex works'. This means that the price quoted does not include the cost of delivery of the goods. The customer will therefore have to pay for the delivery of the goods separately, perhaps to a haulage firm that makes the delivery.
A credit note is effectively the opposite of a sales invoice. It is a document issued to a customer stating that they no longer owe money for certain items.
A credit note will be required in the following circumstances when an invoice has already been sent out to the customer:
In each case it is necessary to issue a credit note to the customer to reverse or correct the relevant part of the original invoice. This is done instead of cancelling the original invoice and issuing a replacement.
To the seller, the credit note is a credit note issued for 'sales returns'. To the customer, the credit note is a credit note received for 'purchases returns'.
It is usual practice to send out the top copy of the credit note to the customer and to use any remaining copies for filing, accounting, and control and reference purposes.
If a customer is issued with a credit note, it may be reasonable to suppose that the customer is dissatisfied in some way. In order to regain the customer's goodwill, it is important to issue the credit note as soon as possible, to show that the matter has been dealt with promptly.
The information required on a credit note is very similar to the information on a sales invoice, although there are some differences. An example of a credit note is given below:
47/49 Mill Lane
Manchester M23 6AZ
Telephone: 0161 872 3641
CREDIT NOTE
Sales Tax Reg. No. 486 4598 220
(b) Credit Note No.
23100
Date/Tax Point:
24 June 20X4
(a) Customer
J Forrester Wholesale Supplies Ltd
Unit 798 Oakhampton Industrial Estate
Bristol BS27 4JW
(c) Account: 216340
Original Invoice No: 21391
| Item No. | Description | Quantity | Item value | Discount | Total $ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ST095 | A4 Copier Paper Green | 20 reams | £5.40 per ream | 10% | 97.20 |
Reason for credit note: Goods returned as damaged in transit
The words 'credit note' are displayed prominently on the document, to avoid confusion with an invoice.
Instead of an invoice number, there is a unique credit note number. Like sales invoices, credit notes issued are numbered sequentially.
A reference should be provided to the original invoice number to which the credit note relates.
A reason for the credit note being sent out should be included.
Otherwise, credit notes and sales invoices have a similar appearance. To avoid confusion between the two, credit notes may be printed on different coloured paper from sales invoices.