You don't need to be a financial expert or work in an accounting department to have heard of the two concepts in this article. Invoice and delivery note. Concepts that you have surely heard them; either as receivers or as issuers of them. However, it is common to find people who confuse them. For that reason, we launch the following question: do you know the difference between invoice and delivery note? difference between invoice and delivery note? And, moreover, do you know how they are managed today, where digital transformation has changed everything? All this and much more is what you will see in these next lines.
What is the difference between an invoice and a packing slip?
Let's start with the basics. That is, by clearly stating that invoice and delivery note are not the same thing. Neither now that they are issued in online format, nor in the past, when both were made with paper and pen. Therefore, before comparing and differentiating between them, let's first define what an invoice is y what is a delivery note.
What is an invoice?
On the one hand, an invoice is a account detailing the purchase of a product or service for a price. It also determines the date of the transaction, as well as the tax data of the parties involved in the transaction. In turn, this invoice must be issued by the seller and delivered to the buyer so that the latter can pay it as agreed.
What is a packing slip?
On the other hand, a delivery note is a document that is document that is given to the buyer or, failing that, to the person who receives a good or service. That recipient, in turn, must sign the delivery note to attest that he or she has received it. to attest that he has received it. For this reason, it is also commonly referred to as a delivery note. In fact, it has accounting functions, but not tax functions.
At this point, once you have defined what is an invoice and what is a delivery note, you can already intuit the main characteristic that makes these documents different. The main difference between invoice and delivery note is that the invoice has to justify the payment of the operation, while the delivery note does not. The delivery note only justifies the receipt of the product or service, not that it has been paid for.
The components of a delivery note or delivery note
Due to its characteristics, the delivery note when collected by the seller will become an invoice. Moreover, the company issuing the delivery note can make several and compile them all in a single invoice. This is a widely used resource when it comes to commercial operations in which the product or service consists of several different deliveries.
And what information does it have to contain exactly? Specifically, the components that a delivery note must compulsorily include are are:
- The serial number and the date date of issue.
- The fiscal data of the buyer (name or company name, address and CIF or NIF).
- The seller's datawhich will be the same that you include for the buyer.
- The products being shipped.
As we have pointed out when giving the definition, what is recorded on a delivery note is the receipt of goods. Therefore, it is also therefore, it is also obligatory that this note is signed by the receiver.
In turn, a delivery note may contain further information. For example, the place of delivery of the goods, contact details or the agreed price. However, these are not mandatory data, but are useful for the accounting records of both the sender and the receiver.
Are there different components on an invoice than on a packing slip?
The price and tax validity is the main difference between invoice and delivery note. For this reason, there is an Invoicing Regulation that establishes which components are to be components must be compulsorily included in the invoice summaries.which are:
- The number and date of the correlative invoice.
- The fiscal data of the issuer of the same, which are the name, address and NIF or CIF.
- The fiscal data of the receiverThe fiscal data of the receiver, in the same way as those of the sender.
- A description of the concept of the operation.
- The tax base and withholding taxes applied. applied.
- The VAT rate and the quota.
- On total price of the operation.
As with delivery notes, there are other components that you can add to your invoices. They will be useful in order to have more accurate information for your accounting, although they are not mandatory by law. We are talking, for example, about the form and terms of payment as well as any discounts or other remarks.
The fact is that the difference between delivery notes and invoices is also reflected in the components to be included in each of these documents. the difference between delivery notes and invoices is also reflected in the components to be included in each of these documents. In the invoices, the aspects related to the price and taxation of the product or service marketed must appear.
Is it mandatory to keep delivery notes?
Finally, regarding the differences between differences between delivery notes and invoices, many people wonder whether it is also mandatory by law to keep these delivery notes. The answer, technically, is that it is not. Just as invoices must be retained for a period of 4 years, according to the General Tax Law the General Tax Law, there is no standard regulation requiring the retention of delivery notes.
However, it is possible that, in order to demonstrate a specific purchase and sale and the specific characteristics of the product or service, the invoice does not include this information and the delivery note does. In that case the delivery note may be the best way to demonstrate and validate a transaction.
In any case, in this case the delivery note or the delivery notes, if there are several of them, must be attached to the invoice in question. For all these reasons, we recommend that you save the summaries of your delivery notes and the information they contain.
The role of easyap and technology in preserving delivery notes and invoices
This is where easyap can be your great ally. Why? For the simple reason that you no longer need physical shelves and filing cabinets to store your invoices and delivery notes. Technology allows you to:
- Saving money on equipment and these types of materials (sorters, ink, printer, etc.). (sorters, ink, printer, etc.).
- Optimize physical space, since you don't need shelves and real bookcases in which to store delivery notes and invoices.
- Be more sustainable and respectful of the planet, since, by not using so much paper, the environmental impact is reduced.
A online invoicing software like ours gives you the possibility to control and store all your invoicing and accounting in a digital support. In addition, the system we develop adapts to all types of companies and marketsregardless of the invoicing volume. You pay per invoice issued and not a fixed cost that, depending on the case, could be disproportionate.
Not only that, but our software offers you much more than storage and much more than storage and management of invoices and and delivery notes. With it you can also issue your electronic invoices, as well as receive them. Your suppliers and customers can even check the status of their invoices whenever they want and in the same space in the cloud.
We could go on and on listing other advantages of using a solution like easyap's for your e-invoicing: tax reporting portal, the space to include employee expenses... for your electronic invoicing: tax reporting portal, the space to include employee expenses... But the article would take too long. So if you want more, stay up to date on what we're posting on our blog. Or better yet: contact us and we will reveal everything step by step.
