A subscription billing software can help your business handle the various kinds of invoices that you may need to send out to customers or clients, including those that handle payments, recurring invoices, and even net-terms invoices. If you’re looking for more information on the types of business invoices available, check out this helpful guide.
Here’s what you should know about five different kinds of business invoices.
Credit Invoice
This type of invoice is sent by a business to inform a customer that a charge has been made. It does not, however, request payment. That’s where a credit invoice comes in: As soon as you receive payment for an account receivable invoice, you should send off a credit invoice to your client to acknowledge that payment has been received. Both of these invoices are often just an email away from being sent.
Debit Invoice
Also known as an accounts payable invoice, a debit invoice requires that payment is made before any goods are shipped or services rendered. You’ll have to wait for payments to come in before you can complete orders, which could cause cash flow issues if you can’t wait for final payments. But remember, you also don’t want to ship and/or render services ahead of time and risk losing money on products that sit in storage.
Recurring Billing Invoice
Recurring billing is a powerful feature of agency billing software, subscription billing software and business management software. While these three services might differ in how you pay for them, they all offer recurring billing as an option. If you choose to bill on a recurring basis, you can set up your service so that it automatically bills at set intervals.
Commercial Invoices
If you’re a business that sells goods or services, it’s important to be able to invoice your customers promptly. Since accounts payable and receivable are such vital aspects of any company, it’s best to use an agency billing software or subscription billing software if possible. You should also make sure that invoices include terms and conditions specific to your industry so there is no confusion.
Utility Invoice
This type of invoice is normally sent to utility companies and government agencies. It includes basic information about your business (name, address, contact information) as well as details about what you’re being charged for. Utility invoices are simple forms that don’t require you to fill in too much detail. In most cases, if you have a commercial account with a company they will send you something similar but more detailed and customizable. If not, then a utility invoice should suffice.
Conclusion
No matter what type of business you’re in, invoicing can be confusing and complicated. Depending on your business model, there are typically three different kinds of invoices: accounts payable, agency billing software, and purchase orders. The challenge is that each has its own set of requirements for how it should be written.
SOURCE: 9 Different Kinds Of Business Invoices
