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Sales Invoice

The Sales Invoice records the invoice issued to the customer. When posted, the system includes the transaction in accounting and tax calculations, records the customer's debt, and updates the invoicing status of related documents.

You can create an invoice:

  • from a Sales Order;
  • from a Goods Release;
  • directly, without using another document as a basis.

Invoicing, the release of goods, the provision of services, and receipt of payment are related parts of a sale, but they do not have to take place at the same time. For example, all goods in a transaction may have been released while the transaction is still awaiting invoicing, or the transaction may be fully invoiced but still awaiting payment.

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This guide explains how the Sales Invoice is used within the sales process. For instructions on creating an invoice from scratch and completing its fields, see Income Registration — Sales Invoice.

What Is It Used For?​

The Sales Invoice allows you to:

  • register the invoicing of goods and services;
  • record the customer's debt;
  • record the accounting and tax entries for the sale;
  • invoice a transaction in full or in part;
  • maintain the link to the Sales Order or Goods Release;
  • monitor amounts received and outstanding;
  • prepare the print form sent to the customer;
  • track invoice processing in Veri*Factu, SII, or TicketBAI when the corresponding functionality is enabled.

Creating a Sales Invoice​

How you create the invoice depends on how the transaction has been recorded.

Whenever a preceding document exists, it is usually more convenient to use it as the basis. This allows the system to maintain the relationship between the documents and avoids entering the sales information again.

From a Sales Order​

You can create one or more invoices from a Sales Order.

When you create a Sales Invoice from the order, the system uses the transaction information and establishes a link between the two documents. You can then check in the Sales Order how much has already been invoiced and which part remains to be invoiced.

You can invoice:

  • the entire transaction at once;
  • only some of the goods or services;
  • a specific stage of the transaction;
  • different parts of the transaction using several invoices.

If you have already created the invoice directly, you can explicitly link it to the Sales Order. This link is required for the system to include the invoice when calculating the invoicing status of the order.

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The Sales Order does not replace the Sales Invoice. The order allows you to plan and monitor the transaction, but the customer's debt and the accounting and tax entries are recorded by the invoice.

From a Goods Release​

If the company records the physical release of goods first, it can create the invoice using a Goods Release as the source document.

In this case, the invoice is created from the goods recorded in the release. This allows you to invoice the goods that have actually left the warehouse and maintain the relationship between the two documents.

This scenario is used particularly when the Use Sales Orders and Proforma Invoices option is disabled in the Purchases and Sales settings.

Depending on the company's workflow, the invoice may be issued before or after the goods release.

Directly​

To create an invoice without using another document as a basis, go to Sales → Sales Invoice and click Create.

Direct creation is suitable for simple transactions that do not require a Sales Order or prior monitoring of the goods release or service provision.

If warehouse management is not enabled, separate documents are normally not created to record the release of goods. In this case, the Sales Invoice is also used as a reference for monitoring the completion of the sale.

An invoice created directly will not update the status of a Sales Order until a relationship between the documents has been established.

Full and Partial Invoicing​

A single Sales Order can be invoiced using one invoice or several partial invoices.

To invoice a transaction partially, include only the goods, services, quantities, or amounts that correspond to that stage of the transaction. You can create further invoices later to record the remaining part.

The system compares the amount of the Sales Order with the total amount of the related invoices and displays the invoicing status.

This allows you to see whether the transaction is:

  • awaiting invoicing;
  • partially invoiced;
  • fully invoiced;
  • invoiced with differences from the order.

Before posting a new partial invoice, check the invoices that are already related to the transaction. This helps prevent the same part of the sale from being invoiced twice.

Partial invoicing and partial goods release are monitored separately. For example, all goods in a Sales Order may have been released while the order is only partially invoiced.

Goods and Services​

The role of the Sales Invoice depends on the contents of the transaction.

Goods​

If warehouse management is enabled, the physical release of goods is recorded using Goods Release documents.

The invoice may be issued before or after the goods release. For this reason, the invoicing status does not necessarily mean that the goods have already left the warehouse.

If warehouse management is not enabled, separate release documents are not created. In this case, invoicing can be used as a reference for determining the progress of the transaction.

Services​

In simple processes, issuing the invoice can be used as confirmation that the service has been provided.

When the company needs to monitor the provision of the service separately, it can use the Service Provision Control document. This allows service provision and invoicing to be recorded as separate stages.

Posting the Invoice​

While the invoice is saved but not posted, you can review and modify its details.

When you click Post or Post and Close, the system accepts the invoice for accounting and tax calculations. It also records the customer's debt and updates the statuses of the related documents.

Before posting, check in particular:

  • the invoice date and number;
  • the customer and billing address;
  • the goods and services;
  • the quantities, prices, and amounts;
  • the operation tax regime;
  • the payment terms;
  • the relationship with the Sales Order or Goods Release;
  • the information that will appear on the print form.

If the invoice already has payments or other related documents, check the consequences before cancelling the posting or modifying the invoice.

Payment Terms​

The payment terms determine how and when the customer must pay.

On the Payment Terms tab, you can specify:

  • the payment method;
  • the beneficiary bank account;
  • the prepayment percentage;
  • one or more subsequent payments;
  • the expected due date for each payment.

The terms may include full prepayment, partial prepayment, or several subsequent payments.

The payment schedule is used to calculate due dates and distribute the customer's debt. When a payment date has passed and the payment has not been registered, the corresponding amount is considered overdue.

The payment terms do not record the actual payment. They only indicate when and how it is expected to be received.

Payments and Outstanding Balance​

Payments are recorded using the corresponding documents and linked to the Sales Invoice.

The system compares the invoice amount with the related payments and calculates:

  • the amount paid;
  • the outstanding amount;
  • the payment status.

A payment may cover the entire invoice or only part of it.

When the customer pays before invoicing, the advance payment can be linked directly to the Sales Order. Later, when the invoice is issued, the payment can also be linked to it according to the procedure used by the company.

On the invoice's Payments tab, you can view the payments linked to it.

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The payment status is calculated from the documents registered in the system. A payment received in the bank account will not be taken into account until it has been registered and linked to the corresponding transaction.

To analyse outstanding and overdue debts, use the Aged Debts report, available under:

  • Sales → Reports → Aged Debts;
  • Finance → Reports → Aged Debts.

Tracking the Transaction​

To check the relationship between the invoice and the other sales documents, open the Document Structure tab.

The structure may show, among other documents:

  • the Sales Order;
  • the Goods Releases;
  • the Sales Invoices;
  • payments linked directly to the order;
  • payments linked to the invoices;
  • other documents created during the transaction.

The open document is shown in bold. You can use Show by Current Object to reorganise the structure using that document as the starting point.

This view helps you identify:

  • goods or services awaiting invoicing;
  • invoices awaiting payment;
  • advance payments that have not yet been linked to an invoice;
  • differences between the order amount and the invoiced amount;
  • documents created for different stages of the same transaction.

Proforma Invoice​

The Proforma Invoice is a separate document that can be used when the customer needs a formal document before the final invoice is issued, for example, to make an advance payment.

The Proforma Invoice:

  • does not create accounting entries;
  • does not record a debt;
  • does not replace the Sales Invoice;
  • can be created for the full amount or for part of the Sales Order.

In many transactions, it is not necessary to create a Proforma Invoice. The printed version of the Sales Order can be used to present the agreed goods, services, prices, and terms to the customer.

When it is time to record the final invoicing, create an Sales Invoice.

Corrective Invoice​

The Corrective Invoice allows you to record a correction related to a previous Sales Invoice.

The correction may affect the entire invoice or only some of its goods, services, or amounts.

A Corrective Invoice is always created from the Sales Invoice that needs to be corrected. The original invoice must be clearly identified because the correction is linked to it both in the system and for tax purposes.

Before posting it, check:

  • the invoice being corrected;
  • the reason for the correction;
  • the corrected goods, services, or amounts;
  • the calculated taxes;
  • the effect on the customer's debt and balance.

The original invoice must remain registered. The Corrective Invoice documents the correction without replacing the transaction history.

Veri*Factu​

When Veri*Factu is enabled for the company, you must check the invoice processing status in Veri*Factu in addition to its posting status.

Posting the invoice may start or prepare its processing in Veri*Factu, depending on the configuration used.

If the system displays an error, review the message before modifying the invoice or repeating the operation. Do not create another invoice solely to try sending it again, as this could duplicate the transaction.

The Veri*Factu configuration, statuses, record submission, error handling, and corrections will be explained in the dedicated Veri*Factu guide.

From the Sales Invoice, you can generate the print form that is delivered or sent to the customer.

The available options include:

  • the standard invoice form;
  • the international format in Spanish and English;
  • printing the billing period for services;
  • printing the outstanding amount.

The outstanding amount shown on the print form is calculated from the payments registered in the system.

To save the print form to your computer:

  1. Open the Sales Invoice.
  2. Click the Sales Invoice button with the printer icon.
  3. In the print form preview, click the diskette icon.
  4. Select the required format: PDF, Excel, or Word.