What is the difference between bill and invoice?


As a rule, the bill can be issued as an accountant. It must be a reason – the contract of sale or contract for the provision of any services. In this document indicate a specific amount that the payer is obliged to transfer to the account or pay in cash to the supplier for the service or for a specific product.

If the contract specified a reusable service (once a month during the year or once a quarter, the invoice may be issued once a month, once a quarter or once a year. Typically, the account is not a form of strict accountability and is not registered in the sales book. An account is necessary mainly for prepayment.


What data is entered to the account?


This document is a table that lists specific service or product name, unit of measure, quantity and unit price of the goods. At the end of the specified total amount. Also, the account should contain details of the contractor services where the customer needs to transfer the money.

The invoice subscribes the seller or the contractor at the end of the executed works or the rendered services. The presentation of this document is mandatory in case if the company reimburses the VAT amount must be indicated in the document), i.e. located on the common system of taxation. In other situations, the invoice is usually not required. If this document is required, it needs to be decorated in the same period, was produced when the transaction (service rendered, confirmed by the act of the performed works or acquired the goods evidenced by the invoice).

In fact, both the account and invoice the accountant writes as in the provision of any services and when making the contract of sale. The only difference is the purpose of these documents. The expense need the buyer to pay for the services stipulated in the contract. For this invoice will contain details for the transfer of the required amount of cash and the services or goods for which this amount will be produced.

The invoice is needed to take action was reflected in tax accounting, i.e. should be fixed VAT on the service performed or the product that you plan to perform on the transaction.

As a rule, on account of the seal of the service provider (required), while in the invoice it is not. Another difference between these two documents is that the invoice must be passed to the tax office, as this document is a form of strict accountability, the expense of this function does not.