HOW TO WRITE AN INVOICE

Knowing how to invoice your customers/main contractor is a fundamental skill for any business and getting it wrong can be costly at tax time and wreak havoc on your accounts. Here’s what you need to know.

The basics

An invoice is a record of purchase you give to your customers as part of the process of charging them for goods and services you’ve provided. There are two ways to invoice:

• Tax invoicing: If your business is registered for GST, the invoice must include the GST amount for each specified item (good or service) for which you’re charging, along with some extra details about each item. This is known as a ‘tax invoice’.
• Regular (non-tax) invoicing: If your business is not registered for GST (Goods & Services Tax), then your invoice will not include a taxable component. This is known as a ‘regular invoice’ or simply an ‘invoice’.

A tax invoice should include

• Your business name (at the top)
• The Australian Business Number (ABN) or Australian Company Number (CAN) near the business name
• The term ‘Tax invoice’ at the top (not just ‘Invoice’)
• An invoice number alongside the word ‘Tax invoice’
• The date you’re issuing the invoice at the right-hand side
• A description of each good and/or service provided and the quantity sold
• Either the:
  • GST inclusive price with a statement to the effect that ‘all prices inclde GST’: or
  • GST-exclusive price for the goods and services showing the total for the goods and services and the GST total as a separate line item
• Terms of payment details, including how and by what date the invoice should be paid. This may include your business’ bank account or BPAY information.

A regular (non-tax) invoice should include

• Your business name (at the top)
• The Australian Business Number (ABN) or Australian Company Number (CAN) near the business name
• The word ‘Invoice’ stated prominently at the top
• An invoice number alongside the word ‘Invoice’
• The date on which you’re issuing the invoice at the right-hand side
• The statement ‘GST has not been charged’ sitting prominently at the bottom
• Terms of payment details, including how and by what date the invoice should be paid. This may include your business’ bank account or BPAY information.

Which type of invoice should you use?

It is best to provide a tax invoice to your customers if your business is registered for GST and:

• TAX INVOICE: if your business is registered for GST
• REGULAR INVOICE: if your business is NOT registered for GST

Example of Regular Invoice to Submit to Needa Services?

If your business IS NOT registered for GST please provide an itemized regular Invoice for each Job similar to the one shown below

(Click on Image to enlarge)

The statement ‘GST has not been charged’ must also be  included sitting prominently across the bottom of the invoice

Example of Tax Invoice to Submit to Needa Services?

If your business IS registered for GST please provide an itemized regular Invoice for each Job similar to the one shown below.

(IMAGE COMING SOON)

But it is basically the same as the previous regular invoice without the deletions and including gst for each item