Module Customers Invoices

= Introduction =

The customer invoices module can be used to manage customer invoices (create, update, delete, list) that contains several invoices lines. It's also this module you use to create payments on invoices. It provides also features to generate documents for each invoice in a format like PDF.

Suppliers invoices are managed by Module Suppliers Invoices.

= Installation =

= Configuration =

The page Invoice configuration explains you how to setup the invoice module.

= Create invoice =

There is no complete accountancy into Dolibarr. So you must stll have an accountancy software or use services of an accounter.

However, Dolibar can build for you customers invoices for all customers you have created before (see Module Third Parties).

You can create an invoice directly from a customer record, or from a command enclosed in the state "accepted", or from a service contract.

Types of bills

If you create an invoice from a customer record, you can choose 4 types of invoices:

This is a standard bill. There are no prerequisites. A replacement bill can redo an invoice on which there would be mistakes and that nothing would have been done (before any payment). We can create only one replacement invoice for each invoice. When you create a replacement invoice R, you choose the invoice F you want to replace. Once R is created, it is no more possible to do actions on F even if invoice status of F has not changed. If the replacement invoice R is deleted, the bill F resume its original condition and lifecycle of the invoice F can resume. If the replacement invoice R is validated, the bill status of F goes automatically to abandoned. The cycle of life continues on the invoice R. You can create several credit notes for an invoice. A credit note is an invoice used to correct (reduce) standard invoice. Amount of a credit note can be payed back, or you can convert it into a discount to reduce amount of customer for a future other standard invoice. You can create as many invoice deposit you want. They will be then used to reduce amount of other invoices.
 * The "standard invoice"
 * The "replacement invoice"
 * The "credit note"
 * The "invoice deposit"

Procedure

Once an invoice created (in draft mode), you must include, in the bill, products or services already defined in Dolibarr or you directly enter the title, the rate of VAT, the unit price. For each line of the invoice you also set an amount and possibly a relative discount (percentage).

Once the invoice is ready you need to confirm it. Note this operation is irreversible.

When you post the invoice, an invoice number is assigned according to the numbering scheme you have chosen in the configuration of Invoice module.

If an error is detected after validating the invoice, it will either make a replacement invoice or make a credit note.

= Reduce total amount/remain amount to pay = It is possible to reduce the total and / or the balance amount to pay a bill, but it should make a distinction between discount and a reduction, although the two terms are somewhat amalgamated in places).

Reduction
A 'reduction' is a relative reduction (percentage) of the selling price of one or more products or services detailed in the invoice. This reduction should be set line by line while editing the invoice and be between 0% and 100% (the discount percentage is then replaced by the words available.

Discount
A 'discount' is a reduction of the total invoice price. It can be defined in two ways depending on whether or not combined with another bill, that is to say, a payment already received or not.

Discount associated with payment already received
Bills and have bills payment, awarded payments already received, can be converted into future  reduction (incidentally we note the blurring of discount and reduced ). In this case the reduction, once assigned to the current invoice via the section Rebates, is mentioned in the bottom of the document as a reference to the advance payments in question, which are so obviously the amount total bill to specify the balance due. This discount is NOT mentioned as a line in the invoice detail.

Not associated with a payment already received delivery
It is also possible to define a discount that is not related to a payment already received. In this case, go to the customer record, customer tab, and define or fixed discounts (amount) or relative (percentage) attributed to that customer, and why (commercial gesture compensation due to late delivery, etc.). Once the rebates granted to the customer, they will be available when editing any bill the customer, under the heading discounts to the top. Unlike consecutive discounts for payments already received, they will be referred to as negative lines in the detail of the bill, and thus reduce the total amount thereof, before deducting payments may already collected. But these discounts are NOT associated with an invoice or have a deposit.

Summary
So there are three possibilities to reduce the price of an invoice:
 * assign a reduction percentage on certain products / services detailed in the invoice, which will effectively define a total amount lower than normally expected.


 * assign the customer overall discount, is not associated with or have an invoice payment, which will be added as a line of negative amount will reduce the ' total amount ' of the invoice.


 * Use a 'credit note or deposit' transformed into future reductions that advance payments have been received, thereby reducing the 'balance payable' but not the total amount of bill.

= PDF generation, printing = When a document is generated, it is generated according to the design chosen from a list selected in the Home Screen - Configuration - Modules - Invoice.

If you want the PDF to include bank account number or address for check payment (or both), this is what to do: You can now regenerate your invoice, you will see the bank number or address to use for check payment.
 * 1) Activate module Bank/Cash.
 * 2) Create the bank account for your company.
 * 3) Setup up Module Customers Invoices by going into menu Setup - Modules - Customers invoices then select into area "Payment modes", the account created at step 2, or address to use for check payments, and validate by clicking on "Modify" button..

= Enter payments = Payments can be done only on validated invoices.

If a credit note is available, you can use it to reduce the remain to pay.

= Close invoice = An invoice can be validated definitively classified in the state:
 * Paid (If the sum of payments is greater than or equal to the amount claimed).
 * Partially paid (If the sum of payments is greater than 0 but strictly less than the amount claimed).
 * Abandoned (If no payment has occurred).

= Export invoice = Dolibarr provide a generic tool to export your invoices data. For this, you must use the Export assistant you can find in menu Tools - New export (if Module Exports has been enabled).

See page Module Exports for more informations.

= Pre-defined invoices = In Dolibarr a bill designated as pre-defined is simply an invoice which we will reuse most of the data to issue additional invoices based on this information, thereby saving time to create a new invoice.

In the case of the implementation of contracts, invoices can be predefined set, corresponding to the recurring elements of the contract. This is very interesting. The only downside, the period specified for each element of the resulting bill covers the entire period of contract. It should relate to the billing month.

= Use case examples =