What is an invoice? ?
Let’s start with the most important question: what exactly is an invoice? An invoice is the bill that you as a business owner send to your customers after you have delivered your goods or services. With it, your customer knows how much he has to pay, when he has to do so, to which account he can deposit that amount and what services or products you provided.
Because you have to clearly state the word ‘invoice’ on your invoice, it is important to know that you do write invoice with a c and not faktuur with a k. While we’re on the subject, let us also let you know that it is ‘the invoice’ and not ‘the invoice’.
What types of invoices are there? 📃
Now that you know what an invoice is, you are now going to find out what types of invoices exist and when to draft which version.
1️⃣ Purchase invoice
Another name for purchase invoices is a purchase invoice. This invoice describes which goods or services you bought from your supplier, when you bought them and how much. At the bottom you will find the total amount you have to pay and by when.
2️⃣ Sales invoice
When you deliver goods or services to a customer, you draw up a sales invoice. Here you put what you have delivered to whom, how much it costs, what the total price is, when the customer has to pay and how they can pay.
Your invoice is required to contain certain information, such as an invoice number and the invoice date. Read how to prepare a correct invoice in our simple step-by-step plan.
3️⃣ Proforma invoice
With a proforma invoice you give your customer an estimate of the final price of the goods or services you will provide. You provide it to the customer after the quotation has been approved as an additional confirmation. Sometimes this invoice is required for the delivery of goods. It is not yet a request for payment, like a sales invoice, but already contains the same information.
4️⃣ Periodic or interim invoices
Are you working on a large or long-term project? Then you can ask your customer to already deposit part of the amount in the meantime. This way, you don’t have to keep advancing all the costs and you can (continue to) pay for the necessary materials or other costs.
5️⃣ Credit note
A credit note is very similar to an invoice, but works in the opposite direction. You add a credit note to waive an amount. Did you accidentally overcharge on your last invoices? Or did you accidentally prepare an invoice twice? Then put the amount your customer is no longer required to pay on the credit note, because you are not allowed to update the final invoice after it has been sent to the customer.
Tip:
Don’t lose any more time from preparing, sending and following up your invoices & quotations. With Dexxter, you do it quickly & are always 100% okay.
What are the required entries on an invoice? 🪪
Because an invoice is an official document, there are certain things you have to mention by law. We list them for you:
- your company details: name, address, contact details and vAT number
- your bank account number
- the recipient’s details: name, address, vAT number if applicable
- the word ‘invoice
- the invoice date
- invoice number
- description of the goods or services supplied
- quantity of the services provided
- the unit price and any discount
- total amount with and without VAT
- the vAT rate you apply (6%, 21%, etc.)
- the place where the invoice was issued
- when and to which account number the recipient must pay,
- any indication that the customer must add to the payment
- the judicial district to which your case belongs
How to create invoices? ✍️
So how do you get started effectively? Where do you start? You can actually create an invoice in 10 steps. The most important things to bear in mind are that you include all required information, prepare the invoice in duplicate (for yourself and for your customer) and that you prepare it in dutch.
Examples of good invoices
When you start working on your invoice, it is of course always easier to base yourself on a few examples of invoices. This way you avoid any errors on your invoice and avoid penalties and disputes or ambiguities.
Tip:
Through Dexxter’s templates, never create a wrong invoice again, try our platform for 30 days free!
How do you deal with unpaid invoices? 🤷
To avoid being left with unpaid invoices, you can question your customers to pay in advance. If you spread your services over a longer term, feel free to question interim payments so you don’t have to advance everything out of your own pocket. If everything has been clearly agreed in advance, there is less chance of something happening afterwards, such as an invoice remaining unpaid.
Send payment reminders 🔔
It may happen that your customer overlooks or loses track of your invoice, but of course you don’t want to be stuck with those unpaid invoices. That’s why you can send a payment reminder when the payment term has expired. On it, you mention the important info as on your invoice and add a new payment term within 14 days. Be sure to try to reach your customer by telephone.
If this fails, send a new payment reminder and try calling again. Is this still not working? Then you need to take further steps. You can do this in the form of a reminder and then call in the help of a collection agency.
