Creating Sales Invoices
Creating a sales invoice is obviously an important part of any business. In order for the process to be as easy and simple as possible a few minutes spent setting up customer and sales item details in advance is well spent. If an entity is not registered for VAT, then there will be no references to VAT in the displayed screens, also therefore ignore references to VAT in the guide below.
Creating Sales Invoices in Summary
- Ensure details of the customer to be invoiced are set up or
- Create customer details as the sales invoice is created
- Set up Sales items to be invoiced
- Set up Document configurations
- If the organisation is using Branch (Funds for Not for Profit)and/or activity analysis, set up branches and activities
- Create the Invoice Transaction
- Print and send to the customer or email the Invoice
Customer details
Customer details are entered via the Sales menu.
Sales - Customers - Add
Enter details in the Add Customer screen. More Information is available in the Setting up a Customer topic. New customer details may also entered during the Add Invoice process.
Sales Items
Sales Item Information is also set up via the Sales menu.
Sales - Sales Items - Add
Enter details in the Sales Item Maintenance Screen. More Information is available in the Setting up a Sales Items topic.
Document Settings
Document setting are configured via the Control menu.
Control - Document Settings
Specify the requirements of what and where information is to be printed, including uploading a logo for printing. Note a user can also specify whether a remittance slip is printed with the invoice as well as whether an Invoice Factors details are included.
Branches, Funds and Activities
Branch, Funds and Activities Information is also set up via the Control menu.
Control - Branches and Activities - Add Branch/Activity
Control - Funds and Activities - Add Fund/Activity
Creating an Invoice
Creating an Invoice is accessed via the Sales menu.
Sales - Add Invoice
A two-tabbed screen is presented.
Invoice Tab
Select the Customer from the dropdown list or + button to enter the details for a new one. Make sure that a duplicate customer is not being created.
If the invoice needs to show a ship-to location address (rather than the main customer address) select it from the Ship To dropdown. Note, ship-to details are entered in Customer Maintenance via the Lists menu.
Enter the Customers purchase order number in the PO Number field if you have one. Use of this reference may speed up the payment of your invoice. Leave blank if not required.
Terms will default to any terms entered when the customer was set up. You may amend is necessary. Note it is possible to create an Invoice as paid using an item from the Terms dropdown list, see more details below.
The invoice number in the Invoice# field is added automatically as the next in the series and will show once the invoice has been created. It may be amend if necessary.
The Invoice Date defaults to to-days date, this to can be amended. This date is the transaction date for recording. If the Tax Point of the transaction for VAT purposes is different, enter the correct date in the Tax point field. Leave the field blank if not used.
The Message field can be used to place a comment on the face of the invoice. Leave blank if not used. The Memo field can be used to enter free format descriptive text that will appear on certain reports. It can be left blank.
Select the printed Invoice Style by leaving the default or choosing from the drop down list.
The line items that make up the Invoice value now need to be added. A line item is a number of units of a Sales Item extended by the unit value to give the total invoiced amount.
ADD ITEM accesses the line item input. Select the Item from the drop-down. Default values, if they exist, for Rate (Unit sales price) and VAT Rate (If VAT registered) are displayed. These defaults may be overridden. Enter any Additional Item Text (This will be printed on the Invoice) and then enter the Quantity for the sales item. Liberty Accounts will extend the values and summarises them.
SAVE ITEM button confirms the entry. Clicking ADD ITEM button on each occasion allows user to enter further Line items. UNDO ITEM cancels the current line item data.
Analysis Tab
The analysis tab allows for further details to be added for recording if the business is using the Branches, Funds, Activities or the P11D features. If these features are not in use, nothing needs to be added in the analysis tab.
Select an appropriate Branch, Fund or Activity if this invoice is to be analysed to a branch.
When all line items have been entered and analysis selected as required clicking SUBMIT button posts the transaction. A confirmation statement displays in a grey line just beneath the main menu area. A new Create Invoice screen also draws to allow for creating the next invoice.
In the confirmation line the Invoice Number is displayed;
clicking the print 
icon
prints the invoice. The invoice is created in a pdf format so that it may be printed
for posting as well saved on the local computer.
Clicking the Mail icon will send
an email with the invoice attached to the email address associated with the Customer (In Customer Maintenance).
Hint, the email address will display if the mouse pointer hovers over the icon.
If no valid email address has been entered then
the icon will display.
Bulk Printing and / or emailing
For situations where a large number of invoices and credit notes need to be printed or emailed, a bulk print and/or email facility exists. Simply go to the Sales menu.
Sales - Invoices and Credit Notes
Select the documents to be printed or emailed and click the BULK PRINT or BULK MAIL button.
Print Invoice as a Despatch Note
Once an Invoice has been created, it is possible to print a version as a despatch note (with no financial values displayed).
Tick the 'Print Invoice As Despatch Note' box as shown in the above invoice listing and
click on the icon
adjacent to the relevant invoice to produce a despatch note version
of the invoice as a pdf, or email it by clicking
the Mail icon.
To create an extract file for BACS/online banking purposes
From the Reports menu go to Customer Open Invoices.
Reports - Customers - Open Invoices
Click on All or the Customer required. Select a From Date (the default is today) this enables a user to pick up a batch of invoices for output. Select the appropriate output File Format and the Originating Account from the list. Click on GENERATE button to create the export file.
Foreign Currency Invoice
If the selected Customer has been set up to be invoiced in a foreign currency then the screen display also has a box for an exchange rate to be entered.
When the Customer is selected in the drop down an appropriate exchange rate for the invoice date populates the Exchange Rate field. Note daily rates are taken from a relevant external source, if the user prefers a different rate (perhaps forward contracts are in place) then overwrite the system provided rate. Accounting standards require that the sales transaction for accounting purposes are translated in to sterling (GBP) at the exchange rate in operation on the date on which the transaction occurred or at a contracted rate if one exists.
The invoice and statement documents are denominated and displayed in the currency selected for the customer. The accounting entry is converted to sterling at the exchange rate entered. All internal accounting and reports will display the sterling amount.
The receive payments screen, whilst expected to receive a sterling amount, does show both the currency and sterling amounts.
Editing an Invoice Transaction
Any time after an invoice has been created it can be edited, stored and reprinted. Please be sure that the changes are necessary particularly if the invoice has already been sent to the customer, or has already been paid by the customer. If an invoice has been paid or included in a VAT return then the details of the Invoice may only be viewed they cannot be changed or the invoice deleted. Although the Review Transactions function allows changes to sales accounts codes and analysis used. Likewise if an invoice is dated in a closed financial year it also cannot be changed.
Edit an invoice via the Sales menu.
Sales - Invoices and Credit Notes
Locate the relevant Invoice and click on EDIT button. The full Create Invoice screen (see above) is displayed with the current data. Edit the data as necessary.
Alternatively, Locate an invoice in a Customer Account via Customer Accounts under the Accounts menu.
Accounts - Customers - VIEW Customer
Creating an Invoice as Paid
Complete all the details as usual except in the Terms dropdown scroll down and select Paid in Full. A new dropdown box, Deposit to, appears allowing the user to select which bank account the receipt is being deposited to.
Note if NO Deposit to Account is selected then the receipt will not be posted and the invoice will be treated as normal and a subsequent receipt transaction will be necessary.
On SUBMIT the transaction posts the invoice and the receipt at the some time. Both transactions can be viewed and, if not bank or VAT reconciled, edited as normal. Please note that it is possible to treat a part paid invoice as paid by amending the Terms drop-down to Paid in Full and selecting a bank account, however this is not recommended as, particularly for entities using Cash based VAT schemes, this may distort the dates.