Invoice

An invoice or bill is a commercial document issued by a seller to the buyer, indicating the products, quantities, and agreed prices for products or services the seller has provided the buyer. An invoice indicates the sale transaction only. Payment terms are independent of the invoice and are negotiated by the buyer and the seller. Payment terms are usually included on the invoice. The buyer could have already paid for the products or services listed on the invoice. Buyer can also have a maximum number of days in which to pay for these goods and is sometimes offered a discount if paid before the due date.

In the rental industry, an invoice must include a specific reference to the duration of the time being billed, so in addition to quantity, price and discount the invoicing amount is also based on duration. Generally each line of a rental invoice will refer to the actual hours, days, weeks, months, etc., being billed.

From the point of view of a seller, an invoice is a sales invoice. From the point of view of a buyer, an invoice is a purchase invoice. The document indicates the buyer and seller, but the term invoice indicates money is owed or owing. In English, the context of the term invoice is usually used to clarify its meaning, such as "We sent them an invoice" (they owe us money) or "We received an invoice from them" (we owe them money).