QuickBooks - Invoices vs Sales Receipts - What's the Difference?
By Jennifer A. Thieme
Invoices and Sales Receipts are not quite the same thing in QuickBooks. Although they both record sales information, that is where their similarity ends. Here is a breakdown of what each does.
Invoices
With Invoices you have more flexibility than with Sales Receipts:
• Estimates or Sales Orders are easily converted to Invoices with a click of the mouse
• With Invoices, all customer sales information is recorded in the Customer:Job list
• Customers may owe the business money when Invoices are used
• Customer payment information is entered as a separate step on a separate screen
Sales Receipts
Sales Receipts are a little more rigid, but are certainly appropriate in many circumstances:
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• Although you may use Estimates and Sales Orders, they cannot be electronically converted to Sales Receipts
• With Sales Receipts, QuickBooks cannot track if the customers owe the business
• Sales history is not tracked in the Customer:Job list when Sales Receipts are used
• Customers' payment information is entered into the Sales Receipt screen, at the time the sale is recorded
Which to Use - 3 Tips
1. As a general rule, businesses that can use Sales Receipts can also use Invoices. The reverse is not necessarily true - if your business should use Invoices, it should not use Sales Receipts.
2. Use Invoices if you need to use Estimates or Sales Orders, or you want to allow your customers to pay at a later date than the date of the sale.
3. Use Sales Receipts if you don't need to track each indivudual customer's sales history, and if you always receive the customer's payment at the time of the sale.
Jennifer A. Thieme is a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor who loves to help people with QuickBooks. She brings unique insight, clear instructions, and over ten years of experience to all of her QuickBooks articles. Owner of Solid Rock Accounting Services, Jennifer's clients enjoy these same benefits on a personal and regular basis. You can too - visit http://www.jenniferthieme.com and contact Jennifer today.