A sales invoice relates to the business’s sales order (and the customer’s purchase order). An invoice is raised when a credit sale is made and the goods have been despatched.
The invoice is a request for payment but it is also used for other purposes, too. For this reason, several copies of an invoice are used within the business, in addition to the “top copy” that is sent to the customer.
Most invoices are numbered uniquely in order to keep track of them. Information usually shown on an invoice includes:
- name and address of the seller and purchaser
- date of the sale
- description of the goods/services
- quantitiy and unit price of what has been sold
- trade discounts (if any)
- total amount of the invoice
- VAT details
- date that payment is due and any other terms of sale.
The Happy Accountant 