When you use a number, write down the name of the customer to whom you assigned the invoice number and the amount of the invoice. Assign invoice numbers in chronological order. For example, format an invoice number generated on an invoice for a customer number 4, on June 30, , as The first series of numbers is the date, the second series of numbers is the customer number and the third series of numbers is the sequential unique identifier for the invoice.
If you generate a second invoice on that date for that customer, the invoice number will be Use any date format you choose. Alternative date formats include , and Begin invoice numbers with the customer number to give yourself a secondary way to identify an invoice as belonging to a specific customer by looking at the invoice number only.
This code is used to easily identify and track transactions, as well as avoid any duplicate payments. It can be made up of numbers, or both numbers and letters. There are several ways to generate an invoice number, which we will explain one by one as we go along. The decision is entirely up to you, depending on what feels more suitable and easy to follow.
However, there are four numbering formats businesses commonly use: sequential, chronological, by customer number, and by project number. Sequentially creating your invoice numbers means moving up numerically by one with every new invoice. You could start with 1, 2, 3, or even , , The most common sequential invoice numbering approach is to start with 9 zeros, followed by a 1.
When using accounting software, on the other hand, with every new transaction the next invoice number is automatically assigned. A way to generate longer, more detailed invoice numbers is by adding the date the invoice was created in. This is known as the chronological method. The first part of this number is the date, while the second part identifies the order number which goes up by one with every new sale.
If you want to personalize the invoice even more you can add the customer number as well. When assigning invoice numbers based on the customer number, you can choose whether or not to enter the date. In this format, the invoice ID begins with the customer number, followed by the date again, optional , and ends with the sequence number. Keep in mind that in every numbering system, the sequence number is always placed in the end. This helps you keep track of the numbering and avoid duplicates.
The last option for referencing your invoices is through the project number. This method is most suitable for businesses who take on a lot of projects, or whose project number is the most important, such as construction companies. So, you decide to switch up to the project, or customer invoice number system.
However, be careful! We suggest updating your invoice numbers only at the end of an accounting period, which corresponds to the business fiscal year. This way you avoid confusion and prevent any errors from getting made. And one of the main causes for this fee is incorrect invoice numbers. Whether the duplication happened due to a typo, spelling mistake, or human counting error, correcting it can be quite the process.
So, to fix the problem, we recommend creating a new invoice with the correct information. To prevent these errors from happening altogether, we suggest investing in accounting software that automates invoice number creation for you. Even if mistakes do occur, the software immediately pinpoints the location of the error and how to solve it. Want to learn more about the most common accounting errors and how to resolve them?
Sending out these invoices is just as fast and easy, and only takes a few clicks. Just fill in the invoice payment details and any advance deposit requests, and press Done! Deskera also lets you set up regular payment reminders, to minimize late deliveries and unpaid invoices.
With this weight off your shoulders, you can focus more on taking care of your customers rather than being the bill collector. Want to manage invoices from your phone? No problem! In a later section we will discuss several options. If you use an online invoicing software like Hiveage, you will have the option of choosing from a set of standard options, or defining your own.
The software will also take care of automatically incrementing the invoice number sequence, so that you never accidentally duplicate the number of invoices. Note that an invoice number is different from a bill number. A bill number is the total sum of money owed to your company. The sum of money on the bill comes from the total of all the invoices. For example, let's say you are doing a project that requires materials from several companies. When the job is done, you must invoice your customer for all the materials plus labor.
Each of these items can be on their own invoice, with their own invoice number. It would be more convenient to then create a single bill with all those figures, with its own number, so that the client can refer to a single document instead of multiple, separate invoices. An invoice copy is just what it sounds like: it is simply a copy of an existing invoice, used to generate the details for an identical transaction.
For example, if you have a customer who routinely purchases the same product or service, instead of creating new invoices for each purchase, you can simply create a copy of the original invoice.
Then the items purchased, quantity, price, and tax will remain the same. The following are a few tips for generating your invoicing numbers: they will make the communication between your customers and you easier and less ambiguous. There is no one size fits all approach to an invoice numbering system. This is true even if you use invoicing software. The following are some common methods you can use to assign invoice numbers. Find the one that works for you and then stick to it. Continually changing your unique invoice number methodology creates confusion for you and your customers.
The simplest way to number your invoices would be to start from 1 and increment onwards for subsequent invoices. It is a common practice to make the invoice number a few digits long, so this could appear as , , and so on.
You can also add a prefix for the invoices, to separate them from other types of documents e. The default option in Hiveage uses INV as the invoice number prefix for invoices. One option you can choose is to give each client a unique code.
For example, it may be a number like or a letter code based on the client name. Every time you are invoicing that particular client, can be the prefix in the invoice number. The first invoice number for that client could be , with the subsequent numbers being , , and so on.
Another common way to create invoice numbers is by date. This can be a straightforward way to help keep track of your invoices while also indicating when the invoices were issued. This, however, makes for long invoice numbers. You can opt to make them shorter by simply using the year as a prefix. Such a sequence might take the form of , and so on. If you do project-based work, another way to format your invoice number is to have a project code as the prefix.
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