Invoice
The Invoice module is used to create, manage, and post customer invoices within the ERP system. It captures billable products and services from completed Deliveries, calculates the final payable amount, generates accounting entries, and initiates the accounts receivable process.
An Invoice is generally created by referencing a completed Sales Order and Delivery Note, ensuring that only delivered goods or services are billed. Once posted, the invoice becomes an official financial document and can be tracked through payment until it is fully settled.
Purpose
The Invoice module enables your organisation to:
- Generate customer invoices from completed deliveries.
- Create different invoice types such as Tax Invoice, Proforma Invoice, Credit Note, Debit Note, and Export Invoice.
- Calculate invoice amounts, taxes, and discounts.
- Generate accounting entries automatically.
- Post invoices to the Accounts Receivable ledger.
- Track invoice payment status.
- Support payment matching and receivables management.
- Maintain complete invoice history for auditing and reporting.
Navigation
Sales → Invoice
Key Features
The Invoice module provides the following capabilities:
- Invoice creation from Sales Orders and Delivery Notes
- Automatic population of delivered items
- Multiple invoice types
- Pricing and tax calculation
- Accounting entry preview
- Invoice posting
- Accounts Receivable integration
- Payment status tracking
- Invoice PDF generation
- Customer email distribution
- Search, filter, and invoice history
Screen Overview
The Invoice screen enables authorised users to create customer invoices by selecting completed deliveries, reviewing billable items, validating pricing and accounting information, and posting the invoice to accounting.
The Invoice transaction is organised into multiple sections.
| Section | Description |
|---|---|
| Invoice Information | Captures invoice details such as Invoice Number, Billing Type, Invoice Date, Posting Date, Due Date, Currency, and Invoice Status. |
| Invoicing Party | Stores customer, billing party, payer, billing address, and tax registration details. |
| Organisation Details | Stores business unit, sales office, finance information, and organisational details. |
| Pricing Information | Displays invoice pricing, discounts, taxes, freight charges, and total payable amount. |
| Accounting Entries | Displays draft journal entries and accounting impact before posting the invoice. |
| Other Information | Stores remarks, references, attachments, and additional invoice details. |
Data Model
The Invoice module uses a header-and-line structure. The Invoice Header stores customer, billing, financial, and accounting information, while invoice line items contain the products or services being billed based on completed deliveries.
Invoice Header
The Invoice Header stores the overall billing information and is uniquely identified by a system-generated Invoice Number. Information from the Sales Order, Delivery Note, and Customer Master is automatically populated when reference documents are selected.
Information Stored
| Category | Information |
|---|---|
| Invoice Identification | Invoice Number, Billing Type, Invoice Status |
| Reference Documents | Sales Order, Delivery Note, GI/Material Document |
| Customer Information | Customer Name, Customer ID, Bill-To Party, Payer |
| Billing Information | Invoice Date, Posting Date, Due Date, Currency, Invoice Priority |
| Tax Information | VAT / Tax Registration Number |
| Organisation Details | Business Unit, Finance Organisation, Sales Office |
| Audit Information | Created By, Created Date, Updated By, Updated Date |
Invoice Line Items
Each Invoice contains one or more line items representing the delivered products or services that are being billed.
Each line stores:
- Product information
- Delivered quantity
- Billing quantity
- Unit price
- Discounts
- Taxes
- Freight charges
- Net amount
- Total invoice value
Invoice values are calculated automatically based on the linked Sales Order, Delivery, pricing rules, and tax configuration.
Entity Relationship
Invoice
│
├── Sales Order
├── Delivery Note
├── Customer
├── Pricing Information
├── Accounting Entries
├── Invoice Line Items
└── Attachments
The Invoice references completed Sales Orders and Delivery Notes, generates financial postings, and serves as the source document for Accounts Receivable and payment processing.
Status Lifecycle
An Invoice progresses through the following statuses during its lifecycle:
| Status | Description |
|---|---|
| Draft | The invoice has been created and saved but has not yet been posted. |
| Posted | The invoice has been posted to accounting and Accounts Receivable documents have been generated. |
| Partially Paid | Partial payment has been received against the invoice. |
| Paid | The invoice has been fully settled by the customer. |
| Overdue | The payment due date has passed and the invoice remains unpaid. |
| Cancelled | The invoice has been cancelled and is no longer valid. |
How It Works
The Invoice process generally follows these steps:
- Navigate to the Invoice module.
- Create a new Invoice.
- Select the reference Sales Order and completed Delivery Note.
- Review the automatically populated billable line items.
- Complete the Invoice Information, Invoicing Party, Organisation Details, and Other Information sections.
- Review the Pricing Information and Accounting Entries.
- Save the invoice, which is initially created with a Draft status.
- Open the invoice and click Post Invoice.
- The system generates the Accounts Receivable document and accounting journal entries.
- The invoice status changes to Posted.
- The invoice PDF is generated and can be sent to the customer’s accounts email.
- Payment receipts update the invoice status to Partially Paid or Paid automatically.
Business Benefits
Using the Invoice module helps organisations to:
- Automate customer billing.
- Reduce manual invoicing errors.
- Improve financial accuracy.
- Generate accounting entries automatically.
- Strengthen Accounts Receivable management.
- Improve payment tracking.
- Maintain complete financial audit trails.
- Accelerate the order-to-cash process.
Best Practices
- Generate invoices only from completed deliveries.
- Verify billing and customer information before posting.
- Review pricing, discounts, taxes, and freight charges before saving.
- Validate accounting entries before posting the invoice.
- Post invoices only after final verification, as posting creates accounting documents.
- Send invoices promptly to customers to reduce payment delays.
- Monitor overdue invoices regularly and follow up on outstanding payments.
- Maintain complete reference links between Sales Orders, Deliveries, and Invoices for full document traceability.
Next Steps
The Invoice module includes the following functional areas, each documented separately in the User Guide:
- Invoice List
- Create Invoice
- Edit Invoice
- View Invoice
- Pricing Information
- Accounting Entries
- Post Invoice
- Payment Status Tracking
Each section explains its purpose, available fields, and the steps required to create, review, post, and manage customer invoices within GEMS ERP.