FREE What is the Use of an Invoice ? [ Meaning, Basic Parts, Functions ]

An invoice is an essential document in the business setting. The importance of an invoice cannot be stressed more profoundly. It is perhaps one of the firmest link of trust and transparency that binds a customer to a business owner as it clearly indicates the specific price per item being purchased by a customer.

• Sample Contractor Invoices
• Blank Invoice Templates

Before you can produce large amounts of invoices to cater to your growing numbers of customers, you must first create an invoice that suits the type of business that you are managing. Generating invoices would be a lot easier when a business has created a well-formatted invoice that has all the essential fields for the business transactions that are naturally to be expected of a particular business.

What Is a Sales Invoice?

A sales invoice is a document that a business clerk or agent would issue to a customer who has just ordered or purchased an item of product or service from a business. The main aim of issuing a sales invoice is for a business to make a formal request to a customer that he/she pay the total amount that is due for the transaction that he/she has just made.

What Are the Basic Parts of an Invoice?

• The label that says, “Invoice”
• The serial number of the invoice that serves as its unique identifier that sets it apart from other invoices
• The space for the date when an invoice is issued
• The company’s letterhead, which contains:
  • its name
  • its address
  • its contact number
  • its logo
• The space or field for your customer’s information:
  • customer’s complete name
  • address
  • contact information
• The table for the purchase:
  • the name of product or service being availed
  • the quantity
  • the price per unit
• The total amount to be paid, which includes:
  • the taxable amounts
  • the delivery fee if applicable
• The signature of the customer

Are you in the process of creating a simple invoice? It would serve to your great advantage should you refer to templates that contain the proper content and invoice format. If you want to start from scratch and totally design your own, you may start out with a blank invoice.

What Are the Functions of Invoices?

Invoices are extremely useful in the business setting for a reason. Beyond its basic purpose of formally requesting for payment, there are other benefits of issuing invoices to one’s customers. Those are the following:

• Invoices can be used as basis for the analysis of one’s business. It can provide business owners and business analysts with sufficient data regarding the buying trends of consumers.
• Invoices manifest the level of professionalism that a business is dealing with their customers. A good business reputation attracts more customers.
• Invoices are legally admissible documents that can ascertain to the fact a business has made a prior formal request for payment before taking a customer’s non-payment as a matter to be resolved by the courts.