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Invoices
A product invoice is used as an example, and is brought up from the
Sales
tab of the Navigator, by clicking the Invoice icon. You can also get there by clicking
Activities|Create Invoices. The
service and professional invoices differ in
that they do not use some of the fields and
columns. Customized invoices would have
more fields, if you set them up.
Customer:Job
is selected from the short form customer list, by clicking the down arrow. Alternatively, enter Control-L to open the full customer list. In this case, selection requires highlighting the customer name, and clicking Use. This is the first of many entities brought in from the Building Blocks chapter.
A “Job” has many
characteristics of an additional
customer. When payments come in, each
one goes to only one job. The job
prints in the Project
field of the invoice. Jobs (beginning with version 4.0) may be joined on one customer’s statement.
0ne Time Customer
can be set up as an ‘umbrella” name for non-recurring customers. The actual customer
name can be entered in the Memo field of the invoice. “0ne” is spelled with a numeral zero (0) which causes it
to alphabetize at the top of the list.
lass,
if used in your XE "class:invoice" accounting plan, may be entered in the header, and will apply to each income transaction in the invoice. If the invoice is customized to add a class column, the class in the header will
be the default class for each line item, but may be changed.
Custom Template
allows selection of a customized invoice template, if any have been set up (Chapter 17,)
beginning with QuickBooks 5. The template concept divides invoice generation into two processes. The
template determines which information is presented, and where. Data entry fills in the information for each
invoice, or other form.
Date
should be inspected on every window or box where it appears. If a previous date is used on a
transaction where entry is long after the fact, this date may be a default on the next form used. The “sticky”
date is handy, but sometimes is a bother. Dates are, in one sense, from a list, specifically the list of 36,525
days which can be used in QuickBooks for Windows or Macintosh (1928 through 2027.)
Invoice Number
increments XE "invoice number" automatically, but is reset if you manually enter a number.
The largest incrementing number is 999,999,999 (don’t use commas.) One user actually found that
960000400 would increment, but not 9600000400, the 96 part being the year.
Letters can be used in invoice numbers, and numbers to the right will increment, with qualifications. Left zeroes
are not remembered. The number following 97West0004 is 97West5. Something like 97West1004 would be
needed.
Memo
(below the invoice) is a free text field, and the content appears in the A/R Register. In reports, this
memo may be retrieved with the Accounts Receivable end of the transaction. It will not appear with the
transactions in the line items.
Bill to
(and on the Product Invoice) Ship to
come from information entered in the customer record, but may
be changed here. If either is changed here, QuickBooks will challenge you when the invoice is recorded. The
decision is, does the customer have a new address, or is the change for this invoice only.
PO Number
is intended for the customer’s purchase order number, and is a text field of eleven characters.
Terms and
Due Date
may be selected from the list of terms, where the visible text is cosmetic. The numbers
behind the text control what happens. The list of terms may be edited under
Lists|Other Lists|Terms.
QuickBooks 5 allows fractional percentage discounts. The usual terms for any customer may be set up by
editing the customer from the customer list. Discounts may be adjusted when payment is received.
Rep
displays initials from the list of employees. Some reports can be sorted by “Rep,” as a basis for crediting
employees with sales.
Ship Date
The default is the invoice date.
FOB
means XE "FOB" Free on Board, and usually refers to the place where title passes and from which the
buyer pays freight. FOB
is a text field, and QuickBooks will not recognize any significance to the content. This
a legal term, with many complexities in the UCC and case law, and all the opportunities for problems that a
legal term implies.
Item
is the name of the item in the Item List. The item name must be displayed, but printing is optional
(depending on type of invoice.) The item brings along the sales income account, and, if applicable, expense or
COGS and perhaps inventory accounts.
Description
is copied in with the item, but may be edited here. For long descriptions, QuickBooks 5
provides an automatic line wrap, or new lines can be started with the
Enter key. Only the Tab
key will move out of this field; the Enter
key will not do it. In earlier versions, manual line wrap is needed, with several
strokes of the Tab key. See the TIP at the end of this section.
Qty,
when blank, has a default of one. Negative quantities may be entered, but not a negative total invoice, in
Windows or Mac versions. That requires a credit memo. (In the DOS versions, there is no separate credit
memo. A negative invoice is used.)
Rate
is the unit price, and is also a default copied in with the item.
Amount
is the extension, the product of quantity times unit price. The equality will be maintained; changing
either Rate or Amount forces a change in the other.
Customer Message
is selected from a list of customer messages. If a new message is typed in, it must be
added to the list. If a message is later changed, it will be changed automatically in the record of every invoice in
which it is used.
Taxcolumn shows a
T
if the item is taxable. There is no option to suppress display of the
T.
Taxbox (at the bottom) shows a default entry of the sales tax item selected as the principal sales tax under
Preferences|Sales Tax,
but another may be picked from the list. This will not appear if you have indicated
that you do not collect sales tax, in the same preference. The rate displayed is as set up in the sales tax item,
and can’t be changed here. Some states require reporting location of tax-exempt customers, so this should be
accurate on all sales. Sales tax is covered in Chapter 10.
Tax amount
is calculated from the total of taxable items, times the rate.
NOTE
A tax item group
may be used, in which case the state and local taxes will be calculated separately, each
rounded to the nearest cent. The tax amount will be the sum of the rounded amounts. It will not necessarily be
the total rate times the taxable total.
Total
shows the total amount of the invoice. This is usually the sum of the items. If a payment item is included,
it will reduce the total and balance due.
Balance Due
is the amount currently due on the invoice, reduced by any later payments.
OK
records the invoice, and closes the Create Invoice window.
CAUTION
Curb your mouse! The button described below will immediately kill a new invoice and discard any work done
in preparing it.
Cancel
means “Oh, forget it!” On a new invoice, it would be discarded. Editing an existing invoice, it will be
left as it was, with no changes being recorded.
Next
(on a new invoice) records the invoice, and displays a new, blank invoice form. When editing an existing
invoice, it will question you about recording changes, and then go to the next existing invoice.
Enter
closes the invoice. On a new invoice, it is the same as
Next,
but when editing an existing invoice, it
simply closes the edit and records. If
Pressing Enter moves between fields
has been selected, then Control-Enter
closes the invoice. See the TIP at the end of this section.
Prev
goes to a previously existing invoice. From a new invoice, it will record the invoice, as filled in. From an
existing invoice, it will first ask if you want to record changes, if any were made.
Pmt History
displays payments received and applied to this invoice. A payment received but not applied
can be connected through Receive Payments.
Expenses or
Time/Costs
list expenses, items, and chargeable time, in QuickBooks Pro 4 or 5. Other
versions may allow expenses only.
Change Title
allows printing of something other than
Invoice.
Preview
displays the copy that would be printed using the form selection
Blank paper (w/ drawn-in boxes.)
Print
prints the invoice, but does not record the invoice. This is handy in some situations, if you keep track of
what is done.
To be printed
makes the invoice available for printing, under
File|Print forms.
Customer is taxable
means the customer is subject to paying sales tax. If this is changed, upon recording,
you have the option to make the change permanent, or one-time only.
Invoices have been the subject of a long dissertation, for good reason. Once you get a grip on the invoice
form, the others will come easily.
TIP
The Description
field, in QuickBooks 5, added an automatic line wrap, and changed manual line wrap.
Pressing Enter
always goes to another line of description. Many users, especially old DOS hands, (the author
) have found the preference (in General
or Data Entry,) for “Pressing Enter
moves between fields.” The
description field makes a good case for not selecting this option. You can learn to “Jab the
Tab” with your
pinky. A QuickBooks seminar leader says “The
Tab key is your friend.”
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