Credit Invoices
The credit invoice is the document you use to record a sale to a customer who will pay later: it creates the receivable balance, moves inventory, generates the accounting entry and, where your country requires it, the corresponding fiscal document. It's the sales document used most often day to day.
What is it and what is it for?
Each credit invoice records what you sold to a customer, under which payment terms and at what price. When you save it, the system deducts the inventory of the items sold, generates the accounting entry in the general ledger (if your company uses the Accounting module) and adds the amount to the customer's outstanding balance.
It doesn't always start from scratch: you can generate it from a quote, a sales order, a dispatch or one or more service orders, and the system automatically copies the customer, the items still pending to be billed and the data from the source document.
Screens in this area
| Screen | What it does |
|---|---|
| Invoice list | Lists all invoices with filters by customer, subsidiary, location, sales rep, customer class, item, document number, reference and fiscal document (NCF). You can customize the visible columns and save your layout. It includes the All, Pending to print and, if your company uses electronic invoicing, Pending to sign variants, which filter the same table without reloading the page. From here you create, delete, open the reports or send invoices to batch printing. With Xchange, a filter shows only what's pending to send and a button sends several in bulk. |
| Create / Edit | The invoice form: general data, the items table with taxes and discounts, shipping/billing addresses and, depending on your setup, tabs for billable expenses, service orders, multiple sales reps and installments. It also lets you duplicate an existing invoice and customize the form. |
| Details | The same invoice in read-only mode, with the outstanding balance, the activity history and the action buttons: print, duplicate, void, generate a payment or credit memo, send by email or WhatsApp, and the electronic invoicing operations when applicable. |
| The printable format of the invoice, in its default layout or in any custom template your company created under HTML Templates. | |
| Batch print | Generates the PDF of several invoices at once, filtered by number range, date, customer, item, sales rep or location, using one of the available custom templates. |
How to record an invoice step by step
- Open the list and click New. You need the "add" level of the invoices permission; if you don't see the button, ask your administrator for access. You can also start the invoice from a quote, a sales order, a dispatch or a service order by opening the matching button on those documents.
- Select the customer. The system proposes its currency, payment terms, fiscal sequence and saved addresses.
- Add the items or services. Enter quantity, price, tax and, if applicable, discount. If the invoice comes from a sales order or a dispatch, you can pick from the items still pending to be billed instead of typing them manually.
- Review the shipping and billing addresses on their tab if they differ from the customer's default addresses.
- Fill in the fiscal data when your country uses fiscal documents: the sequence used to number the invoice.
- Save. The system validates inventory, taxes and the customer's available credit before confirming the invoice. Once saved, you can print it, email it or generate the matching payment.
Key fields
| Field | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Customer | Who is being sold to. Determines currency, payment terms, fiscal sequence and default available credit. |
| Document date | The invoice's accounting date; together with the payment term it defines its due date. |
| Payment terms | Defines when the invoice is due. It cannot be a cash term on a credit invoice. |
| Currency and exchange rate | The document's currency and its rate against the local currency; must be greater than zero. |
| Items | Each line specifies item or service, quantity, unit, price, tax, discount and, depending on your setup, division, lot, serial number, bin/location or warranty. |
| Sales rep | The salesperson responsible for the sale; it can be split across several reps if your company uses multiple sales reps. |
| Subsidiary / Location | Where the inventory ships from and which subsidiary the document belongs to for accounting purposes. |
| Fiscal sequence (NCF) | Which type of fiscal document numbers the invoice. Only visible in countries that use fiscal documents; the number cannot repeat or change once saved. |
| Source document | The quote, sales order, dispatch or service order the invoice comes from, if applicable. |
| Reference and notes | Free-form information to identify or annotate details of the document. |
| Attached files | Supporting documents (for example, the customer's purchase order), subject to the contracted edition's limit. |
Validations when saving
- Active customer with available credit. If the invoice exceeds the customer's credit limit, or the customer has overdue invoices, the system warns or blocks the save depending on your setup.
- Non-empty item list, with no lines at zero price or quantity.
- Non-negative price and discount within a valid percentage.
- Exchange rate greater than zero when the invoice is in a foreign currency.
- Location consistent with the subsidiary and available for sales.
- Payment term other than cash; cash sales use the sales receipt, not the credit invoice.
- Unique fiscal document (NCF) and automatic numbering configured, when your country requires it.
- Billed quantities no greater than the pending ones when the invoice comes from a sales order or a service order.
- Lot, serial number, unit of measure or bin required depending on how each item is configured.
- Only one default shipping address and one default billing address.
Managing the document
From the details of a saved invoice, depending on your permissions, you can:
- Void it, indicating a cancellation reason; a voided invoice can no longer be edited.
- Delete it, if it doesn't yet have an electronically signed fiscal document.
- Duplicate it to create a new invoice from its data.
- Generate related documents: a payment (cash receipt), a credit memo, a dispatch guide (in Ecuador) or a return authorization (RMA), when the matching module is active.
- Print, email or share a public link to the invoice, including via WhatsApp.
- View and record the associated accounting entry, if your company uses the Accounting module.
- Mark it as pending delivery or delivered, if your company uses the warehouse management (WMS) module.
- Change its process status, if your company has custom transaction statuses enabled.
Additional features based on your setup
- Electronic invoicing: if your company has it active, the invoice can be electronically signed and the list shows the tab for documents pending to sign.
- Batch printing: available on the Enterprise plan and for Partner-type users.
- New invoice from file: lets you create an invoice from an image or PDF, automatically extracting the customer, items and amounts using artificial intelligence; enabled per company.
- Installments: if your company bills in installments, a tab appears to define the number and dates of the installments.
- Multiple sales reps: splits a single invoice across several sales reps, each with its own amount.
- Divisions, billable expenses and service orders: additional tabs that only appear if your company has those modules or features active.
- Tax retentions: if your company has a retention regime configured, retention columns are added per line or per document.
- Warranty: per-item warranty units and days columns, available with the matching module.
- Sales territory: customer and transaction territory filters and fields, if your company uses them.
- Payment link and send via AdmCloud: features that let you generate an online payment link or send the invoice directly to a customer who also uses AdmCloud; enabled per company.
Availability and permissions
- Access is controlled with the "Invoices" permission of the user group, with separate levels to browse, add, edit, delete, void and reprint.
- Changing prices or the description of the lines requires the specific "Change prices" and "Change description" invoice permissions.
- Changing the invoice's sales rep requires a separate edit permission, distinct from the general invoices permission.
- With subsidiaries enabled, each invoice is tied to a subsidiary and filters by it on lists and reports.
- The fiscal sequence / NCF fields only appear if your country uses fiscal documents.
Tips and common mistakes
Invoice directly from the sales order or the dispatch. This saves you from retyping the items and lets the system enforce that you don't bill more than what was already dispatched or authorized to sell.
A voided or electronically signed invoice cannot be edited or deleted. If you need to correct a mistake after voiding or signing, generate a credit memo or a new invoice instead.
Did the customer exceed its credit limit or have overdue invoices? The system warns you when saving; review the customer's balance before forcing the sale, or collect the overdue amount first.
The invoice number (NCF) cannot be changed once saved. Double-check the correct fiscal sequence before saving if your country uses fiscal documents.