Both the invoice and the receipt voucher may be similar in terms of form because they are related to payments, and both are issued by the seller to the consumer, but in fact there are fundamental differences between them, and the most important of these differences is that the invoice is issued by the seller as a request for payment from the consumer, while thereceipt voucher is issued by the seller to the consumer as proof that the consumer has made the payment. To learn more about the differences between the invoice and the receipt, it is necessary to address the definition of each of them and clarify their contents, and this is what we will address during this article.
What is the invoice?
The invoice is a document that the seller issues to the buyer, whether it is for goods or services, as a request for payment. Invoices are issued after the customer or buyer obtains the goods or services. At the level of accounting operations, the invoices for accountants constitute a measure of outstanding payments or accounts receivable, and this helps them to organize the flow of cash as the invoices allow them to anticipate the time of obtaining cash.
What are the components of an invoice?
When issuing an invoice, it must contain the following components or information:
- Company information, which includes the company’s name, address, phone number, and website, if available.
- Customer information, which includes the name of the customer or group of customers if they are a group or the name of the company or organization that made the purchase, address, telephone number, postal address, and e-mail.
- The date is where the date of issue of the invoice is mentioned in addition to the last due date for the payment of the invoice.
- Invoice number, as each invoice must have a sequential number to facilitate tracking.
- A list of goods or services, in which all goods or services provided are mentioned in detail in terms of number, price per unit, and total price.
- Additional expenses, if sales taxes are applied, or if the customer is charged with additional expenses such as transportation, should be mentioned separately from the list of goods or services.
- A letter to the customer, and this is optional so that a short thank-you letter can be written for his dealings with the company.
What is an receipt voucher? And what are its components?
The receipt voucher is a document issued by the seller after the buyer pays the value of the goods or services he obtained, and it is issued after the invoices. However, the sale has taken place, and it is worth mentioning that the receipt voucher contains components or information that are very similar to the invoice with a slight difference. The following is the most important information contained in the receivable voucher:
- Company information, which includes its name, address, and phone number.
- The date of issuance of the bond must be identical to the date of payment.
- Detailed list of goods or services provided with quantities and prices
- Additional costs, if any, are listed separately.
- The total amount paid and the method of payment, whether in cash or via payment cards, It is worth noting that the total amount paid must match the invoice value in the event that an invoice was issued before the receipt voucher.
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