Sending an Invoice Using QuickBooks Online
QuickBooks Online is Intuit’s cloud-based version of their payroll software. Based on a monthly subscription, it’s the most popular version of the software available today.
Fortunately, Intuit has spent plenty of time making sure it’s easy to send an invoice through QuickBooks Online.
Before you send the actual invoice, you’ll want to make sure your local tax rate is setup correctly. Go to your online QuickBooks account and setup the tax rate for your region or city. Later, when you’re filling out your invoice, you’ll see a tax option automatically added to your invoices. You can then check that box to charge tax or label the item as tax-exempt.
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Step 1) Login to QuickBooks Online and click the “+” sign at the center top of your homepage.
Step 2) A pop-up window will appear with a range of different options. Under the Customers header, click Invoice. QuickBooks will instantly create an invoice number for you. But if you want to create your own invoice number, then you can click the “More” tab at the bottom of the page and choose whichever number you like.
Step 3) Type your customer’s name into the invoice. If your customer is already in your database, then you can click the up/down arrow beside Choose a customer. This will cycle through your list of customers, starting with any recent invoice recipients first. If you’ve never invoiced this customer before, then you’ll want to click the Add New button.
Step 4) Add your customer’s name and other details, like your address, business name, and billing/shipping address. All of that customer information will be saved. Next time you send an invoice to that customer, you’ll just need to enter their name and all other information will pop up.
Step 5) Customize your invoice terms. Specific terms of the invoice include whether it’s due on receipt or due in 15, 30, or 60 days (net 15, net 30, or net 60). You can also choose the invoice date (usually today’s date) and the due date for payment.
Step 6) List the product or service being sold, including the quantity, rate, and number/amount. At this point, you can also add any applicable discounts. Just click “discount” in the product/service drop-down menu and add the discount total in the amount section with a “-“ in front of it. That discount will automatically be applied to the total. Tax will automatically be added at this point in the invoice, although you can uncheck it if you don’t wish to add tax.
Step 7) Add more payment lines if necessary. If you sold the customer multiple products or services, just click the Add Line button to add a new line for products and services.
Step 8) Add a message to your invoice if you like. The bottom of the QuickBooks invoice features two message boxes. The first box is the message displayed on the invoice (which is where you would add a custom PO number, for example). The second box is any memo you want to send to your customer with the invoice. And the third box is for any attachments you wish to attach to the invoice.
Step 9) Customize your invoice however you like. QuickBooks Online makes it easy to customize your invoice according to your unique preferences. You can edit your template, font, or color, for example, simply by clicking on the Customize option at the bottom of the invoice screen. Play around with these customization settings until you get an invoice type that fits with the aesthetics of your business.
Step 10) Print or preview your invoice. You can print your own copy of the invoice or print it out to send to your customer. You can also preview the invoice to get a sneak peek at the finished product.
Step 11) Save and send. Once you’ve previewed your invoice and verified all of the information, it’s ready to be sent. Click the Save and Send button on the bottom right corner of your invoice. You’re done!
Sending an Invoice with QuickBooks Desktop
The desktop version of QuickBooks remains exceptionally popular to this day. Sending an invoice with the desktop version is a little bit different. Below, you’ll find a walkthrough you can follow. For this walkthrough, we used the default QuickBooks desktop invoice: Intuit Product Invoice.
Prior to creating this invoice, the items your company sells should have already been created (although you can also easily add them as you go along). Here’s the step by step guide:
Step 1) Fill out the header of your invoice. Choose the customer to whom you’re sending the invoice by clicking the arrow next to the Customer: Job field. Or, just type that customer’s name into the field.
Step 2) Type in today’s date into the Date field (or the date of the transaction).
Step 3) Type in the customer’s address, or the address where the invoice will be mailed. This category may have already been filled if there was address info attached to the customer’s account info.
Step 4) Enter the shipping address in the Ship To field (but only if you’re going to ship the items). Once again, this field may have already been pre-filled if there was shipping info attached to the customer. You can also choose from multiple Ship To addresses by clicking the drop-down arrow next to the Ship To field.
Step 5) Put the Purchase Order number in the PO number field if you received a PO number from your customer.
Step 6) Choose the terms that dictate when you company expects payment (like due on arrival, Net 15, Net 30, or Net 60).
Step 7) Enter the date when the items were shipped into the Ship field, if applicable.
Step 8) Use the Via field to select the method in which the products were shipped, or type in the specific carrier.
Step 9) The FOB field (Free on Board) is used to identify the terms of ownership of the product being sold: ownership is granted from either the Shipping Point or the Destination. FOB Shipping Point means the buyer accepts ownership from the point of shipment, making them responsible for any losses or damages along the way, as well as shipping charges. FOB Destination means transfers of ownership only occurs once the buyer receives the goods at the destination, making the sender responsible for any damages and shipping costs.
Step 10) Create your line items, which are the products being sold to the customer on this invoice.
Step 11) Use the Quantity column to enter the number of items that you have sold to your customer.
Step 12) Using the Item Code column, select the name of the item that you sold. If you need to create a new item, you can do so by clicking Add New. At this point, you can either type in a description of the product (for new items) or have a description appear automatically.
Step 13) Make sure the Price Each field is displaying the correct price for each item.
Step 14) QuickBooks will automatically display the “Amount” field, which adds up all the items listed on the invoice thus far. Check to make sure that amount is also correct.
Step 15) Decide whether or not you want to add tax to the item or not (you should have already setup tax codes for your specific region/city).
Step 16) Click Save and Close to save the invoice and prepare it for delivery.
What to Do After Your QuickBooks Invoice is Sent
After you click the Save and Send button, your customer will receive the QuickBooks invoice in their email.
If you’ve setup online payments with QuickBooks, then the customer will be directed to a way for them to pay online. All they have to do is click on the invoice and enter their payment details. Once they’ve done that, you’ll receive a notification requiring you to confirm receipt of the payment. After you confirm the receipt, you’ll receive the money in your account.
After you’ve received payment, you can send a sales receipt to your customer by clicking a button in your customer section. This will automatically send the receipt to their inbox.
If you haven’t setup online payment with QuickBooks, then your customer will pay using another method (like mailing you a check or using a third-party payment service). In this case, you’re free to update your account whenever you receive payment. Once you’ve updated the account, you can send off the same sales receipt.
The desktop version of QuickBooks as well as the Essentials and Plus plans feature automated invoicing options. If you have recurring invoice needs (like a customer who orders the same thing every month), then you can setup recurrent invoicing to save yourself a lot of time and hassle.
Editor’s Note: Looking for information on payroll services? Use the questionnaire below and our vendor partners will contact you to provide you with the information you need:
