Commercial invoices detail goods purchased, cost, and payment due date, with variations including pro forma invoices, credit notes, and commercial invoices for international sales. Standard invoices include quantity, price, payment date, order number, and seller contact information.
Commercial invoices are invoices detailing the quantity of goods purchased, the cost, and the payment due date. These documents are created by a seller and delivered to a buyer. They have some standard items common to all invoices, such as the categories mentioned above, but they also differ in many other respects. From standard invoices to pro forma invoices, credit notes, and commercial invoices, each aims to demonstrate that a customer is entitled to certain goods for many different reasons.
An ordinary invoice will follow a similar layout, whether it’s being used to sell a few pencils, a few million barrels of olive oil, or anything in between. This is considered the simplest billing document possible and provides some information needed both to inform the buyer of details and to maintain records. In addition to the standard list of quantity, price, and payment date, a standard invoice contains a unique order number, the seller’s contact information, and usually the word “invoice” somewhere in the document.
This standard template is widely used in invoicing around the world, but many times several business invoices are needed. One such variation is the commercial invoice. This is a document accompanying international sales of goods that is often created in addition to a standard invoice. The commercial invoice lists a variety of specific sales data in order to meet customs requirements for the countries involved in the sale. The purpose of these business invoices is to help officials calculate rates.
Pro forma invoices are also used in international trade. These commercial invoices simply list the sellers and buyers of goods, the price, a description of the goods and mention the intention to sell internationally. This document normally precedes an invoice to alert the appropriate customs officials of a pending international sale. A proforma invoice is not issued until both parties have agreed on the specifications, such as quantity and price.
Another type of service invoice is for returned items. Known as credit notes, these commercial invoices outline the value of the credit given to a buyer in the event of returning goods. The amount may be equal to or less than the purchase price, depending on company policy, but the equation showing how this total was created is usually found on a credit note.
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