Guides for getting paid.
Short, plain guides on invoices, tax and money coming in, for businesses anywhere.
A hardware shop moves to the composition scheme. The title changes, the GST lines disappear, and one required sentence appears. Tax · 6 min read
Bill of supply: when you issue one instead of a tax invoice
Composition dealers and sellers of exempt goods or services do not issue tax invoices. What a bill of supply is, what it must show, the wording it carries, and the mixed case.
One code, two digits at a time. Small businesses show the first four on B2B invoices, larger ones six. Tax · 6 min read
HSN and SAC codes on invoices: what they are and how many digits
What HSN and SAC codes are, how many digits your invoices need for your turnover, how to find the right code, and where the codes end up in GSTR-1.
A consultant in Pune bills ₹1,00,000 to three clients. Same state, another state, another country: three different tax lines. Tax · 7 min read
CGST and SGST or IGST? Place of supply, with examples
Which GST to charge depends on one thing: whether the place of supply is in your state. How to find it for goods and services, the exceptions, and what to do if you charged the wrong one.
The same invoice to a registered business and to a consumer. Most fields stay. The buyer's block is what changes. Tax · 7 min read
GST tax invoice in India: every field it needs, B2B and B2C
The fields Rule 46 asks for on a GST tax invoice, what changes when the buyer is registered or not, when to issue it, and how many copies to make.
The invoice does not change. What changes is your judgement that it will be paid, and then the write-off in your books. Bookkeeping · 7 min read
When an invoice will never be paid: writing off a bad debt
How to tell when an unpaid invoice has become a bad debt, what to try first, how a write-off works in your books, why it is not the same as a credit note, and the tax relief many countries allow, in general terms.
The invoice stays paid and unchanged. A credit note takes back the returned part, and the refund is recorded against it. Bookkeeping · 6 min read
Refunding a paid invoice, in full or in part
A customer has paid and now some or all of the money goes back. How to record it properly: a credit note against the invoice, the tax that comes back with it, returning the money, and the records to keep.
The wrong invoice is cancelled, not removed. It keeps its number in the list, and the replacement takes the next one. Bookkeeping · 6 min read
Cancelling an invoice: why you should never just delete it
An invoice sent by mistake or to the wrong customer should be cancelled, not deleted. What cancelling (voiding) means, when to cancel and when to issue a credit note instead, what to tell the customer, and what changes once it has been paid or reported for tax.
The client says they have paid. Check the bank first, then confirm in one message: the amount, the invoice it closes, and thanks. Getting paid · 5 min read
Thanking a client for payment: when, how, and messages to copy
A short thank-you after a payment confirms it arrived, closes the invoice for both of you and makes the next one easier. When to send it, what to put in it, receipts, and sample messages for full, part and late payments.
A logo, one colour and a line in your own voice. The figures stay exactly where an accounts team expects them. Basics · 6 min read
Branding your invoice: logo, colour and wording that help you get paid
What branding on an invoice is for: being recognised and trusted at a glance. Where the logo goes, how much colour, the wording that sounds like you, and the design choices that slow payment down.
The generator's work ends at the download. Every question after that is yours to answer by hand. Switching · 6 min read
Free online invoice generators: what they do, and what they leave to you
A free invoice generator turns a form into a PDF in a minute. What it usually does not do: keep your records, number your invoices, track who has paid or remind anyone. When one is all you need, and what to check before you type in your customers' details.
The same four invoices. In the sheet, a number is used twice and nobody is sure who paid. In software, each one has a status. Switching · 6 min read
Invoice template or invoice software? When each one is fine
A Word, Excel or Google Docs template is enough for some businesses and a slow leak for others. A plain test for which you are, how to run a template safely if you keep it, and what software takes off your hands.
On the doorstep after the job: pick the customer, add the line, issue it, and send it from your own phone. Openn Invoice · 6 min read
How to make and send an invoice from your phone
Invoice from the job, not from the desk: making an invoice on a phone in Openn Invoice, sending it from your own WhatsApp or email, recording the payment with a photo, and what to set up once on a computer first.