An invoice format is like an empty bill book. A bill book with unlimited empty bills which can be filled in with details of the sale and issued to your customers. Once you have setup your invoice format within Swipez you can use it to create and send an unlimited number of bills. Automating regular billing tasks is made possible using the invoice plugin facility in invoice formats.

Create an Invoice Format

Navigate to Settings -> Billing & Invoicing -> Create invoice format from your dashboard.

 

Preview the different customizable invoice templates to choose the one closest to your requirements. Click on the Customize button to start creating an invoice format with the template.

Customize your Invoice Format for your business

Enter a Template name that will help you distinguish the new invoice format from other formats.

Add your company details

The Header section represents your company information in the invoice format. You can upload company logo and add your company details in this section. A calling card for your business, you can choose to add as little and as much company information as you want.

To customize the company information presented in an invoice, click on the Manage field button in the Header details section. You can check the box for the details you want to capture in your invoices and uncheck the columns you want removed from the invoice format. The values for the different fields will be auto-detected and added to reflect your profile information.

To know more about creating a profile and filling a KYC form to start collecting online payments, read...

You can also modify the position that these details appear in on your invoice.

Add fields for Invoice information

Customer details section

You can add fields in the Customer details section of your invoice format to record customer-related information like Customer code, Customer name, and more.

You can use the Manage field button to add custom fields. The values for the different fields will be auto-detected and added to reflect the information in your customer database. 

To know more about creating your customer database structure, read...

The move button at the beginning of the field name can be used to modify the position of each field in the customer details section. The delete button at the end of the field can be used to remove a field from the invoice format.

Billing details section

The Billing details section reflects the billing information on the invoice format. There are three mandatory fields, namely:

Billing cycle name helps record and identify the different invoices. This information is not displayed to your customers when the invoice is sent and is used to effectively organize and group invoices. For example, May 2020 Mumbai Customers.

Bill date is the date the invoice is raised.

Due date is the date the invoice is due to be paid by your customer.

Besides the three mandatory fields, you can add multiple custom fields to record different billing details. Click on the Add custom field button to add new fields, setup their data type, and define their behavior.

To know more about the different Datatypes and their functions for the custom fields, read...

Setup particulars for your invoice 

The particulars are the individual items of sale (goods and/or services) that make up your invoice. In the Add particulars section you can customize the information related to the items that you want to record in your invoices.

You can add new particulars by clicking on the Add new row button. The particulars can also be added later i.e., while creating and sending invoices and need not be setup during invoice format creation.

Click on the Gear-like (settings) icon on the right of the right of the Add new row button to customize the columns for the information you want to record in your invoices. Check the boxes that you want added and uncheck the ones you want removed under the Display list. You can also rename the Column name to suit your requirements.

 

Here is a table of each of the fields you can add and the information they can help you record.

Function Description
# Auto-generated number for each line item on your invoice
Description Alphanumeric value to help identify products/services
Annual recurring charges Numerical value of charges applicable on your products/services. If your service is used as part of an annual contract then you can use this column to add the annual value applicable for your item or service. You can also rename this column and use for another text or number value as well. Please note: This field is not used in any calculations within your particulars row i.e. any money value in this field has no bearing on the Absolute cost calculated for each item
SAC code The unique code for products/services for GST compliance
Time period Alphanumeric to assign a time period for your product or service
Product number Alphanumeric value of the different products/services being billed, for your team's internal identification
Product expiry date An expiration date for your perishable or non-perishable products
Quantity The number of items of sale. This is a number value and will be used to multiply against the unit price field (if added). For ex. If quantity is set as 10 and the rate field is 500 then cost is calculated using this field 10 x 500 = 5,000
Unit type The unit of measurement for your products/services. For example, Kgs, Bags, or Hours
MRP The maximum retail price (MRP) of the different products/services billed within the invoice
Rate The cost for each unit of the billed items of sale. This is a money value and will be used to multiply against the No of units (if added). For ex. If no of units is set as 10 and the unit price field is 500 then cost is calculated using this field 10 x 500 = 5,000
GST The tax rates applicable on the products/services. The taxes entered here show up in the Taxes section of the invoice
Tax amount Auto-calculated value of the taxes applicable on the billed items. In case you want add a tax amount manually in a fixed value. This value will be added onto the final cost of your line item
Discount % The rate of discount for the items of sale
Discount Auto-calculated value of the discounts applicable on the billed items
Absolute cost Auto-calculated cost of the billed items with applicable GST and discounts
Narrative Alphanumeric text field for you to include additional information about the items of sale

Setup tax values in your invoice

Add applicable taxes to your invoice format by clicking on the Add new row button in the Add taxes section. You can choose the applicable tax from the drop down list under the Tax label column. 

The applicable taxes according to the tax label you have chosen for the invoice format will be auto-calculated and added when creating and sending invoices with this invoice format.

Add terms and conditions to your invoice

In the Terms & conditions section you can add any contextual information that your customers need to be aware of. The text editor allows you to format, highlight, and specify your terms and conditions as per your requirements.

Add Plugins to your invoice

Plugins allow you to add features and functionality to your invoices.

The different plugins available for you to add to your invoice format are:

Deductibles — Allows your customer to deduct a Tax deducted at source (TDS) amount before making the payment. This plugins is useful if TDS deductions are applicable for your service or product. To know more about setting up the deductibles plugin, read...

Supplier — The suppliers plugin helps to automatically notify your team and suppliers once an invoice has been paid. To know more about notifying your the suppliers, read...

Coupon — You can provide discounts to your customers via a coupon code. By enabling the coupon plugin for an invoice format, your customers receiving the invoice will be able to apply the discount code before making a payment. To know more about creating a coupon, read... 

CC — Send a copy of the invoices created with the invoice format to your team via email. To know more, read...

Round off — The round off plugin helps to round off the final bill amount to the nearest number by getting rid of decimal points. This plugin is useful where after the applicable taxes have been calculated, the final total amount has decimal values. 

Acknowledgement section — You can attach an acknowledgement section at the bottom of your invoice. This plugin in useful if the acknowledgement section needs to be torn off after payment from the printed bills. This section will appear towards the bottom of the PDF copy of your generated invoice. 

Franchise — Attach a franchisee organization against your invoice i.e. the Invoice will be raised in the name of the franchise and the amount paid by the customer split with a franchise. You can also choose to settle the full amount of the invoice to the franchise. You can enable notifications to the franchise via email & SMS and also display the name of the franchise in the invoice if you want. To know more, read... 

Vendor — Attach a vendors organization against your invoice. Split transaction amount with a vendor or settle the full amount. Read more.

Pre-paid invoices — Create invoices for payments which have already been received. Pre-paid invoices will not present a payment option to your customer if the full amount has already been paid. To know more about creating pre-paid invoices, read...

Covering note — Send a customized covering note along with your invoice to your clients. Invoices with covering notes get sent as a PDF attachment with a pay now button in the email body. To know more about adding covering notes to your invoices, read...

Customize notification text — Customize the text that will be sent to your customer once an invoice is created and sent, via email & SMS. To know more, read... 

Customize reminder schedule — Customize the frequency of payment reminders sent to your customers. Read more  to learn about the default payment reminder schedule and how you can customize it to suit your requirements.

Partial payment — Enable the partial payments plugin to allow your customers to pay your invoices in parts. Setup the minimum amount you want your customers to pay. To know more, read... 

Auto collect — Collect recurring payments from your customers with the auto collect plugin. To know more, read...

File upload— You can use the file upload plugin to attach a document or image to your invoices. To know more about adding attachments to invoices, read...

Digital signature— Add a digital signature to your invoice by enabling the plugin in your invoice format. To learn how to create digital signatures for your invoices, read...

Invoice number— Enable the invoice number plugin to add a invoice sequence to your invoices. To know more about creating a invoice number sequence, read...

Expiry date— Add and expiration date to your invoice post which the invoice would expire.

Previous due— Enable the previous due plugin to add the outstanding dues for the customer in the invoice. The amount due will be auto-calculated and added to the invoice amount when generating a new invoice. 

Enable/Disable payments— With this plugin you get the option to enable or disable online payments for invoices and/or estimates created with this invoice format.

Customize payment receipt— Personalize the payment receipt received by your customers once the invoice or estimate amount is paid. This plugin allows you send auto-generated receipts to your customers. You can customize the information that you want to display on the receipt as per your requirements. To know more about creating and customizing payment receipts, read... 

E Invoice— Create GST-compliant e-invoices and upload them to the Invoice Registration Portal (IRP). The invoices will be validated with a unique Invoice Reference Number (IRN), digital signature, and QR code.

Save your invoice format

Click Save in the Final summary section to save your invoice format. You can create and send invoices with this format.

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