Monday, February 8, 2010

What is the importance of invoice in the business?

An invoice or bill is a commercial document issued by a seller to the buyer indicating the products, quantities, and agreed prices for products or services, the seller has provided the buyer. An invoice indicates the buyer must pay the seller, according to the payment terms. The buyer has a maximum amount of days to pay these goods and are sometimes offered a discount if paid before.
In the rental industry, an invoice must include a specific reference to the duration of the time being billed, so rather than quantity, price and discount the invoicing amount is based on quantity, price, discount and duration. Generally speaking each line of a rental invoice will refer to the actual hours, days, weeks, months etc being billed.
From the point of view of a seller, an invoice is a sales invoice. From the point of view of a buyer, an invoice is a purchase invoice. The document indicates the buyer and seller, but the term invoice indicates money is owed or owing. In English, the context of the term invoice is usually used to clarify its meaning, such as "We sent them an invoice" (they owe us money) or "We received an invoice from them" (we owe them money).


A commercial invoice is document used in every business transaction. It is used as a declaration provided by the person or corporation that is exporting an item across international borders. Although there is no standard format, the document must include a few specific pieces of information such as the parties involved in the shipping transaction, the goods being transported, the country of manufacture, and the harmonized codes for those goods. A commercial invoice must also include a statement certifying that the invoice is true, and a signature.

On the surface, one invoice discounting service might look the same as another, but the truth is they can differ significantly. When you start looking at the detail – the small print about minimum charges, miscellaneous fees, penalties and customer acceptance parameters, it can be difficult to see the wood for the trees.
This is where an invoice can offer an invaluable perspective – but do be aware that some brokers are tied into certain companies and unable to offer you a genuinely free choice. On the other hand, is in a position to evaluate the whole market and recommend the invoice discounting service that will be the most advantageous to your business.
Touch Financial is an independent invoice discounting broker with many years of experience. We can identify the invoice discounting arrangement that best suits your business needs.