7 Things You Need On Your Invoice

Invoices are very important to businesses because they facilitate payment. There are several ways of creating invoices. You can choose the traditional offline method or the modern online invoicing method like Letushostyou.

Whichever method you prefer, several things must be on your invoice. In this post, we will discuss the 7 most important elements that every invoice must have. Let’s dive straight in.

Elements of an invoice

Invoices are documents issued by vendors to their customers requesting for the payment of goods received or services enjoyed. You can also refer to an invoice as a “tab” or “bill” and they can be presented before or after delivery.

These days, most businesses prefer to use online invoice generators like Letushostyou. If you are going to employ this method, then you should know the elements of invoices. We will discuss 7 very important elements in this section.

Invoice Number

Asides from the amount to be paid for the goods or services, the invoice number is the next most important element. There are several ways to assign invoice numbers depending on your requirements or preferences.

Each invoice must have a unique number that acts as its identifier. This way, you can always search for it for retrieval and reference purposes on your computer. Most apps use the sequential method of numbering. However, you can use client-level numbering. This method makes use of a reference prefix related to each client followed by numbers. An example is EC001 for the customer “Entheos Consulting.”

Invoice Address

As the word address implies, this means the physical location of the issuer of the invoice. It should be the location of the business premises of the owner of the invoice. This means that even if you are operating from home, the invoice should carry your home address.

Most business owners copy the address that is on their check account or credit card as well. Finally, you can make use of your shipping address. The idea behind the invoice address is to provide the recipient with a physical location to reach you. Always ensure that these details are clear enough so that it is easy for the customer to access you.

Customer Name and Address

In this case, you will be adding the name of the recipient of the invoice and their physical address. Many vendors make mistakes when sending invoices to other businesses. They put in the name of the owner of the business because they have a personal relationship with such individuals. That’s wrong, you should always put the name of the business instead.

It is best to ask the recipient what name and address that they will like you to use on the invoice. We advise that you ensure that you vet the address so that you don’t make “copy and paste” errors. Finally, make use of an inventory management system when adding the names and addresses of clients on invoices.

Description of Goods or Services and their cost

In this section of your invoice, you should state the name of each good or service delivered. Ensure that each of these items is listed on a separate line. We advise that you add the unit number for each item. This number applies to goods and tells how many of each good was purchased.

After doing this, you should write the cost of each item described in your list. If it is more than one unit for an item, then you multiply the unit cost by the number of units purchased. Write the amount payable in the corresponding column.

Total amount payable

After you have described the goods or services invoiced and their costs, you need a “grand total.” The “total amount payable” is the grand sum of all the costs on the invoice. This tells the recipient how much you are expecting in total.

Invoice Date

Here, many people make a mistake by putting the date that they supplied the goods or delivered the service. This is wrong. It should be the date that you generated the invoice.

Payment terms

Here to state the terms that you and the customer had previously agreed on. It covers the time of payment and should sit at the bottom of the invoice.

Conclusion

Several other elements should be on your invoice like the purchase order number and date of supply. The good news is that invoice generators like Letushostyou have templates to help you out. You can check them out to make creating invoices less cumbersome.