What are the different types of invoices? Learn to tell them apart

What types of invoices are there?

For you who want to invoice your customers , discover the different types of invoices and their particularities, to know in which specific cases to use them.

Down payment invoice, credit note invoice, debt invoice or proforma invoice, this article provides an overview of the existing types of invoicing, and offers you an example of a standard invoice to download! 

Definition of an invoice

What is a customer or supplier invoice? In a few words, it is an accounting and commercial document linked to a commercial action, listing the services and goods sold.

The different types of invoices

The deposit invoice

A deposit invoice occurs when part of the final amount is paid prior to the delivery of goods or the performance of a service.

This advance must appear on the final invoice when the latter is issued.

The credit note

The credit note allows you to cancel or correct an invoice that has already been issued.

The document makes it possible to recognize the debt addressed to a client and to correct the amounts recorded in the company’s accounts.

The invoice must

The debt invoice is nothing other than the document attesting to the claim of the seller on the buyer after a sale transaction, ie the amount that the buyer owes to the seller. In the medical field, optimizing your billing process is crucial to ensure timely and accurate payment from clients.

Interim billing

This is an invoice for provisions or a deposit that is sent several times a year to the customer in order to spread out the payment of an annual consumption or a large sum.

The adjustment invoice

A regularisation invoice is established, as a general rule, following the reading of an index of a metre or for the levelling of a consumption which exceeds the provisions on load.

The closing invoice

The closing invoice puts an end to a consumption period and closes a contract between a service provider or a supplier and a customer.

The proforma invoice

A proforma invoice is a provisional estimate that takes the form of an invoice. It is used to give an indication of prices and general conditions of sale. This “provisional invoice” is a document sent for information purposes, but has no legal or accounting value.

The actual bill

This invoice is the final document which is established after the performance of the service or the delivery of a good.

How is an invoice presented?

What information is required on an invoice?

A simple invoice is just not a document: it also has legal value.

To hold an official character, it must respect certain obligations. Thus, it must include the term “invoice” to be identified as such, and a number of mandatory legal notices.

Work Smarter by Appvizer

Trends and advice, to be more efficient at work, in your mailbox.

Example of a standard invoice

Do you want to use a ready-to-use document? We offer two invoice templates , one version with VAT, the other without VAT, to download for free:

Invoice in full compliance

Since January 1, 2018, the law has forced companies subject to VAT to use approved VAT anti-fraud software to process their invoices. Here is a selection of tools for invoicing in compliance and with simplicity:

• ClicFacture : online invoicing tool dedicated to the self-employed, craftsmen and auto entrepreneurs.
• Refrens: Invoice Generator – Free Online Bill Maker
  
• Henriri : free invoicing software for TPE.
  
• EBP Gestion Commerciale automates the editing of personalized invoices in the image of your VSE or SME.
  
• Factomos : electronic invoicing solution adapted to SMEs.
  
• QuickBooks Invoicing : Leading quoting and invoicing software for small businesses.
  
• Sage 50 Compta & Invoicing  : the complete commercial management and accounting solution for VSEs and SMEs, whose expertise has been recognized for more than 30 years.

These tools include the creation of different types of invoices and allow, among other things, to manage deposits, credit notes and quotes.

These tools include: 

• the creation of different types of invoices,
• the management of deposits, credit notes and quotes.

Do not hesitate to equip yourself with a software solution to establish each type of invoice according to its specificity and meet your daily obligations in terms of invoicing.

Read More: Dispute Resolved Reported by Grantor