To receive payment for goods and services, an individual entrepreneur by bank transfer needs to issue invoices to his customers. To do this, you need to know how to draw up this document, what should be indicated in it, who should sign the invoice and in what ways to provide it to the payer.

General billing rules

Invoices are issued for payment both on the basis of contracts and without them. The finished document can be sent by e-mail or handed over personally to the buyer. The document invoice does not have a legal format, that is, you develop it yourself in any text editor with tables.

For its design, you can use a letterhead or a blank sheet, this is also not regulated anywhere. And you can also use online portals (for example, the My Business or Elba services) or accounting programs that simplify this process. The most common of them is the software of the 1C company.

Video: how to bill using the app

Mandatory elements of an invoice

In order for your counterparty to be able to pay the invoice, the following data must be indicated in it:

• IP name.
• TIN of the entrepreneur.
• Bank account details (account number, correspondent account number, BIC, TIN, KPP, form of ownership and name of the bank).
• Form of ownership and name or full name of the customer (depending on whether it is a legal entity or an individual).
• Serial number of the invoice (in ascending order in the registration log) and the date of its issuance.
• Name of goods/services for the supply/performance of which an invoice is issued.
• The number of goods or services.
• Unit price and total cost.
• Dedicated VAT (if the individual entrepreneur works on a general basis) or an indication of its absence.
• IP signature and seal (if any).

This is what your invoice might look like, although full buyer details are completely optional.

You can download invoice forms from the links: .docx, .xlsx.

Some nuances for accounts from IP

Clients of an entrepreneur can be both organizations and individuals. Companies and individual entrepreneurs pay invoices issued either from their current account or in cash through the cashier. For individual entrepreneurs, it is also possible to pay from their personal / card accounts.

There are other features that you should be aware of when invoicing:

• The entrepreneur has the right to work without a seal, so it is enough to personally sign or send a facsimile.
• The signature of the chief accountant is not needed if he is not in the state.
• There is no need to register legal addresses, since they do not participate in the payment transaction.
• If an entrepreneur uses special tax regimes, for example, the simplified tax system, then after the total amount, “Without VAT” should be indicated, otherwise VAT should be calculated and entered on the invoice as a separate line.

Nowadays, it is very easy to create invoices for payment from individual entrepreneurs, even for a beginner. To do this, you do not need to receive any special education or have experience as an accountant - you only need a computer (smartphone) and the Internet at hand.

In order for the buyer to pay for the goods in a non-cash way, he needs, in particular, information about the bank details of the seller, data identifying the seller (name of organization, TIN, KPP), information about the cost of the goods, its name. An invoice for payment is a document that contains all the necessary details for paying by bank transfer. Thus, issuing an invoice for payment is a message to the buyer of the details for payment, as well as the fact of expecting payment from him.

Typically, an invoice for payment is issued on the basis of primary accounting documents. For example, we are talking about a supply contract with payment by bank transfer. In addition to the supply agreement, settlement documents, primary documents, transport and shipping documents are drawn up. Also, if the seller is a value added tax payer, an invoice must be issued to the buyer. In order for the buyer to be able to correctly pay the seller for the purchased goods by bank transfer, it is necessary to issue an invoice for payment. It is not provided for by law to provide the buyer with documents confirming the fact of receipt of payment to the settlement account of the seller organization.

Invoicing can cause difficulties, since the unified form of this document is not approved by law and in fact it is developed by the company independently. Meanwhile, it should be borne in mind that if invoicing is used by the parties, then the organization that draws up the invoice is responsible for its design and content.

In which case it may be necessary to reissue an invoice for payment? If the invoice is issued improperly, the accounting department simply will not accept it for payment, and the buyer will ask to reissue the document - to issue an invoice for payment, taking into account the comments. The reason for re-issuing an invoice may be incorrect indication of details, indication of incomplete information (for example, they forgot to indicate the current account number), etc. In what other situation can a supplier receive a message: “we ask you to issue an invoice for payment”? There are situations when it is necessary to redirect the invoice for payment to another person (it must be remembered that if the obligation to pay for one legal entity is taken by another legal entity, this must be documented - for example, by an additional agreement).

Issue an invoice for payment (we will give a sample invoice for payment at the end of the article), despite the fact that in fact they are not mandatory documents, in practice it is a common situation. It is advisable to approve a certain template for invoicing, that is, to approve a sample of the document itself, the rules (sequence) for entering data into the document so that the content of the invoice does not change from contract to contract and from contractor to contractor.

How to properly invoice for payment?

The invoice for payment may be issued on company letterhead, but this is not required. The company has the right to determine independently what the form for issuing an invoice for payment for services will be, adhering to the general rules for processing outgoing documents.

How to bill correctly? As an external document, the invoice must contain certain details so that the buyer can correctly pay the invoice.

The document header usually contains the name of the document, the document number and the date it was issued. The following are the detailed details of the seller (supplier):

• Full name;
• Company address;
• TIN and KPP;
• Current account number;
• Corresponding account number;

Then, in order to issue an invoice (form below), you must fill in the data of the buyer (customer):

• Full name of the company;
• The address;
• TIN/KPP;

• Contact details: phone number, fax, e-mail address.

In addition to the details of the parties, the main information in the invoice is the list of goods and services for which the supplier intends to receive payment. How to issue an invoice and correctly indicate the goods for which the supplier expects payment? Information about the product or services provided is usually presented in the form of a table consisting of the following columns:

• Serial number;
• Name of the goods, description of the services provided - what is paid for by the invoice;
• Unit of measurement (if the invoice is issued for payment for the services provided, a dash can be put in this column);
• Quantity;
• Price for one unit of measurement;
• The total cost of the product (that is, the price per unit of measurement multiplied by the quantity of the product);

Under the table, the total cost that the buyer must pay is summarized, VAT can be allocated and the amount including VAT. If the seller is a VAT payer, then he must charge VAT on the amount of goods sold. Accordingly, VAT must also be indicated in a separate line in the invoice. If the invoice is issued without VAT, then it is indicated on the invoice - “Without VAT”.

The invoice for payment is certified by the signatures of the head and accountant with mandatory decoding. Stamping is optional.

(form variant No. 1)

You can place a logo in the header of the invoice and there is a column with VAT in the list of goods and services.

• The header contains a logo, the name of the organization, PSRN, TIN, KPP, as well as the address of the organization with an index are filled in. Additionally, telephone and fax numbers are indicated.
• Under the header is the full name of the organization.
• Then the details of the Seller and the Buyer are indicated. The seller's details must contain the name of the organization, address, TIN, KPP, PSRN, current or personal account, bank name, BIC and correspondent account. Additionally, you can specify the phone, fax, e-mail and website of the company.
• The details of the Buyer can be filled in completely by analogy with the details of the Seller.
• The account number is indicated in accordance with the accounting policy of the organization. This can be a simple serial number (from the beginning of the year) or a special compound account number. Indicates the date of the invoice.
• Under the number and date of the invoice, on the right, a short generalized name of the goods or services in the invoice is indicated. For example, "computer components", "laptop", "repair of office equipment", "production of printing products".
• The table lists goods and services, cost, quantity, unit of measure, VAT.
• After the product, you can specify important features of the invoice, for example, "product delivery time", "invoice payment due date", etc.
• At the end of the invoice, you must specify the head of the organization and the chief accountant. Signing and sealing is optional, but many companies require the invoice to be signed and stamped.

(form variant No. 2)

This form is simplified and is used by default in many accounting programs.

• At the beginning of the account, a table is filled in that resembles a payment order. It contains the payment details of the Seller (payee). This is the name of the organization, TIN, KPP, current or personal account, bank name, BIC and correspondent account.
• The following is the account number that corresponds to the accounting policy of the organization. This can be a serial account number (since the beginning of the year) or a special compound number. Indicates the date of the invoice.
• Details of the Seller must be specified in full. Name of the organization, TIN, KPP, PSRN, address, current or personal account, bank name, BIC and correspondent account. You can also specify the phone, fax, e-mail and website of the company.
• The details of the Buyer are indicated in full or abbreviated. It is enough to indicate only the name of the organization.
• The table lists goods and services, cost, quantity, unit of measure.
• After the list of goods and services, you can specify the invoice details, for example, "term of payment for the goods", "terms of delivery or pickup", etc.
• At the end of the invoice, the full name of the head of the organization and the chief accountant is indicated. Signature and seal is optional, but some companies do not consider invoices without a signature and seal.

Very often, relations between individual entrepreneurs and organizations are drawn up by an invoice for payment. One of the parties issues an invoice to the client, he pays it, and then receives the paid goods or services. Today's article is for those who do not know what an invoice is and how to issue it.

I would like to note right away that invoicing and reporting is very convenient in special service.

Let's start with the fact that the invoice for payment is a document that the seller exposes to the buyer. The invoice contains the following basic information:

• Information about the seller - who issued the invoice;
• Information about the buyer - to whom this invoice is issued;
• List of goods or services, their quantity - what the buyer pays for;
• Prices for goods or services, the total amount - how much the buyer must pay;
• Details of the seller's current account - where the buyer must pay.

Essentially, the billing process goes like this:

1. A potential client contacts the seller because he wants to purchase his goods/services;
2. The seller, on the basis of the client's request, draws up an invoice for payment and sends it to the buyer;
3. The buyer pays the specified amount to the bank account of the seller;
4. The seller verifies receipt of payment and delivers the goods/provides services to the buyer.

When to invoice

Here are a few situations:

• There is a valid contract between the counterparties, but it does not contain specific amounts of goods/services, their volume and delivery/performance dates. The agreement is concluded for a long period and contains general provisions for cooperation between the two parties. As the need for goods / services, the client sends a request to the seller, and the seller issues an invoice to him according to each specific request;
• There is no contractual relationship between the parties, and the supply of goods or services must be carried out as quickly as possible. In this situation, the seller issues an invoice for payment, and the contract is drawn up later.
• An invoice for payment is also issued in the case of a one-time supply or service, when it makes no sense for the parties to sign the contract.

Thus, an invoice for payment is a document that serves as the basis for the buyer to pay the seller in order to receive goods or services from him. Please note that this is a non-cash payment, so the seller must have a bank account.

The invoice for payment does not have a unified form, it can be developed independently. The account must contain the following required details:

• The name of the legal entity (if it is an organization) or individual entrepreneur;
• TIN of the seller (for legal entities, you still need to specify the checkpoint);
• Bank details, current account number, personal account, correspondent account, bank name and BIC;
• List of goods/services;
• The total amount of the invoice excluding VAT.

And in the same place you can download examples of filling in Excel format, the screenshots of which we will give below.

Pay special attention to the allocation of VAT in the invoice for payment! If you are a legal entity or an individual entrepreneur on a general regime, then the VAT rate must be specified in the invoice form and its amount allocated. If you use the simplified tax system, then VAT is not allocated, the total amount is indicated on the invoice and an addition “Without VAT” is made.

An example of an invoice without VAT:

An example of a VAT invoice:

The account, as we have already noted, can be developed independently. It can be done in Excel or Word and use the created file as a template. The invoice can be issued both on the letterhead of the seller, and without it. To automatically generate invoices for payment, you can also use accounting programs or electronic services.

The invoice for payment must have a serial number. Their new numbering starts from the beginning of each year. You can simply number them in order (No. 1, 2, 3, 4...), or you can use special numbering, although it will still be serial (No. TT/16-1, TT/16-2...).

In the invoice, you can specify additional conditions for the provision of a service or delivery of goods, for example, the timing of their implementation.

The head and the chief accountant put their signatures on the account. If the invoice is issued by an individual entrepreneur, then only the individual entrepreneur is signed. It is recommended to print.

Then sent to the buyer for payment. The original invoice can be sent by mail or courier service, to speed up the process of work, a copy of the invoice is sent to the buyer by e-mail or fax. If the buyer agrees with the conditions specified in the invoice, then he pays for it.

Invoice (sample)

One of the rules for systematizing workflow is its unification, when standard forms are developed and used by the organization for the execution of identical, but not legally fixed in form or the presence of mandatory details of documents. Such documents also include an invoice for payment, according to which the organization independently determines the form that will be used in business document management with clients. The very same internal rules on how to fill out an invoice for payment depend on the form of the invoice that the supplier organization uses to transfer to customers-buyers. A sample invoice for payment is shown below.

Making an invoice for payment

The invoice for payment must contain all the necessary details that allow the client, upon receipt from the organization, to unambiguously identify the transaction to which the invoice relates, accept it and pay. Thus, the rules for filling out an invoice for payment should include filling in the details of the payer, recipient, delivered goods and services, amount payable, VAT, if any.

Invoice form for payment

The invoice for payment can be drawn up both on the letterhead of the enterprise, and without its use. It is advisable to develop a standard invoice form for payment at the enterprise and apply it to all customers so that any responsible employee of the organization can fill out an invoice for payment.

Completed invoice form

The universal form must contain columns for filling in the following details:

• invoice number and date of issue,
• details of the recipient-supplier;
• data of the payer-buyer;
• a list of goods, works and services for which payment is made;
• the total amount payable, the amount of VAT (if any).

The form should also provide columns for signatures from the management and accounting departments and their interpretation. Accounts in the organization must be filled out according to one sample to maintain the uniformity of documents.

Invoice Form

An organization's invoice numbering system can be simple or complex. A simple system involves consecutive numbering of accounts for each client during the calendar year. A complex numbering system is used when an organization issues a large number of invoices to each of the clients, and under several concurrent contracts. At the same time, the number of the contract, annexes to the contract, certificates of work performed, etc. can be encoded in the account number. For example, the account number is 05-14/01, where 05-14 is the contract number, and 01 is the account serial number.

The invoice date is entered by the employee who draws up the document, and, like the number, serves to identify the invoice in the document flow with the organization's clients.

Data on the buyer - name, address, KPP and TIN identify the client and, to avoid discrepancies, are filled in based on the data specified in the contract, if the client did not notify of their change. TIN contains 10 characters for legal entities, 12 characters for individual entrepreneurs, TIN of a client - an individual, as a rule, is not indicated.

The data of the supplier organization must include the same data as that of the buyer, with the additional indication of bank details for payment of the invoice. If the details of the company have changed since the last invoice was issued, it is not enough to simply fill in the invoice with the new details, the client must be notified separately of the change in bank details by an official letter.

The numbers of the current account and the correspondent account of the bank must contain 20 characters, the BIC must have 9 characters, the BIC and the name of the bank must belong to the same bank from the BIC Directory.

For the name of goods, works and services, their quantity and cost, the rules for filling out an invoice for payment should be as follows: data should not be additionally aggregated so as not to cause complaints about filling out an invoice from customers. The data indicated in the invoice must match the primary accounting documents - invoices, waybills, acts of work performed.

The total amount, the amount of VAT and the “Total payable” column must correspond to the total price of all items of goods, works, services listed in the invoice and value added tax on them. Filling in an invoice for payment indicating the total amount, not only in numbers, but also in words, is traditional for business practice, although an invoice for payment is not a payment document.

Signatures of authorized persons from the accounting department and the management of the organization certify the correctness of the invoice, the seal is affixed if it is used by the enterprise. Specifying the account executor is not mandatory, but often facilitates interaction with customers.