You don’t need to be a finance expert or work in an accounting department to have heard of the two concepts in this article: invoice and delivery note. These are terms you’ve surely come across, either as recipients or issuers. However, it’s common to find people who confuse them. That’s why we pose the following question: do you know the difference between an invoice and a delivery note?And, furthermore, do you know how they are managed today, in a world where digital transformation has changed everything? All this and much more is what you will find in the following lines.
What is the difference between an invoice and a delivery note?
Let’s start with the basics. That is, by clearly establishing that an invoice and a delivery note are not the same.Not now that they are issued online, nor in the past when both were done with paper and pen. Therefore, before comparing and differentiating them, let’s first define what an invoice is and what a delivery note is.
What is an invoice?
On the one hand, an invoice is a document that details the purchase of a product or service for a price.It also specifies the date of the transaction, as well as the tax details of the parties involved. In turn, this invoice must be issued by the seller and delivered to the buyer for payment as agreed.
What is a delivery note?
For its part, a delivery note is a document given to the buyeror, failing that, to the person receiving a good or service. This recipient, in turn, must sign the delivery note to confirm receipt. For this reason, it is also commonly called a delivery receipt. In fact, it has accounting functions, but not tax functions.
At this point, once an invoice and a delivery note have been defined, one can already intuit the main characteristic that makes these documents different. The main The difference between an invoice and a delivery note is that an invoice must justify the payment of the operation, while a 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
Due to its characteristics, the delivery note will become an invoice once it is collected by the seller.What’s more, the company that issues the delivery note can create several and compile them all into a single invoice. This is a very common practice in commercial operations where the product or service involves multiple different deliveries.
And, what information must it contain exactly? Specifically, the components that a delivery note must obligatorily include are:
- The serial number and date of issue.
- The buyer’s tax details (name or company name, address, and CIF or NIF).
- The seller’s details, which will be the same as those you include for the buyer.
- The products that are shipped.
As we pointed out when giving the definition, a delivery note records the receipt of goods. Therefore, it is also obligatory for the recipient to sign this note.
In turn, a delivery note may contain more information. For example, the place of goods delivery, contact details, or the agreed price. However, these are not mandatory details, although they are useful for both the issuer’s and the recipient’s accounting records.
Are there different components in an invoice than in a delivery note?
The price and tax validity are the main difference between an invoice and a delivery note. For this reason, there is an Invoicing Regulation that establishes which components must be obligatorily included in invoice summaries, which are:
- The number and date of the correlative invoice.
- The issuer’s tax detailsof the same, which are the name, address, and NIF or CIF.
- The recipient’s tax details, in the same way as those of the issuer.
- A description of the nature of the transaction.
- The taxable base for taxes and withholdings that apply.
- The VAT rate and the VAT amount.
- The total price of the transaction.
As with delivery notes, there are other components you can add to your invoices. These will be useful for having more accurate information for your accounting, although they are not legally mandatory. We are talking, for example, about the payment method and terms, 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 that must be included in each of these documents.Invoices must absolutely include aspects related to the price and taxation of the product or service traded.
Is it mandatory to keep delivery notes?
Finally, regarding the differences between delivery notes and invoices, many wonder if it is also legally mandatory to keep these delivery notes. The answer, technically, is no.While invoices must be kept for a period of 4 years, according to the General Tax Law,there is no standard regulation requiring the retention of delivery notes.
However, it is possible that, to prove a specific sale and the particular characteristics of the product or service, the invoice may not include this information, but the delivery note does. In such a scenario, the delivery note can be the best way to prove and validate a transaction.
In any case, the delivery note or notes, if there are several, must be attached to the invoice in question. For all these reasons, we recommend that you keep summaries of your delivery notes and the information they contain.
The role of easyap and technology in preserving delivery notes and invoices
At this point 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:
- Save money on equipment and these types of materials (binders, ink, printer, etcetera).
- Optimize physical space, since you don’t need shelves and actual libraries 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.
An online invoicing software like ours gives you the ability to control and store all your invoicing and accounting on a digital medium. Furthermore, the system we develop adapts to all types of companies and markets, regardless of the invoicing volume. You pay per invoice issued, not a fixed cost which, depending on the case, could be disproportionate.
And not only that, but our software offers you much more than storage and invoice management and delivery notes. With it, you can also issue your electronic invoices, as well as receive them. Your suppliers and clients can even check their status whenever they want, all in one cloud space.
We could continue listing other advantages of using a solution like easyap’s for your electronic invoicing: a portal for tax reporting, a space to include employee expenses… But the article would become too long. So, if you want more, stay up-to-date with what we publish on our blog. Or even better: contact us and we’ll reveal everything to you step by step.
