The credit terms you've set on the customer's record populate the due date. They can be overwritten if required.

The due date controls where the invoice appears on your aged debtors report. Make sure you enter it correctly.

Read changing the payment due date or terms on invoices for more information.

The delivery address on your invoice populates from the customer record you select. You can change the delivery address on an individual invoice if you need to.

If you don't have a separate delivery address, the delivery and invoice address can be the same.

If you don't have a customer address, enter 'No address' or ‘TBC’ in the address fields to save your invoice.

Read how to edit the address on the customer’s record.

Ledger accounts categorise and group your sales and other transactions. For example, if the invoice is for stationery, you can use a ledger account for Office Supplies.

When you save the invoice, Sage Accounting records the net value (without VAT) against this ledger account. You can then report on your total office supply sales.

The customer record default populates when you first create an invoice. This ensures you use the correct ledger account on your sales invoices automatically.

If you add a product or service to the invoice, the product or service record provides the ledger account.

You can change the ledger account shown on any of your invoice lines.

For more information on the chart of accounts, read the chart of accounts introduction.

You can add a discount to individual items on your invoices, either as an amount or a percentage.

Do I apply my discount before or after VAT?

A discount inclusive of VAT reduces the amount the customer needs to pay for the invoice and the amount of VAT due. The VAT Return reduces the net and VAT values.

A discount exclusive of VAT reduces the amount the customer needs to pay but doesn't affect the amount of VAT due. Enter the discount when recording the payment if you want to apply it after calculating VAT.

Consult your accountant if you're unsure whether the discounts are before or after VAT.

For a step by step guide on adding a discount, read add a discount to a sales invoice.

Analysis types are tags that make it easier for you to analyse your accounts in more detail. There are three types: departments, cost centres and projects.

Once you’ve set the analysis types up, you can assign them when you create your invoices. You can then produce reports using these tags, helping you to review your sales in more detail.

For example, if you set up departments for each of your sales regions, you can apply those departments when you create invoices. Later, you can produce reports that show invoices for each region.

See the example screenshot below.

For more information about creating analysis types, read create analysis types.

When you first create an invoice a customers default VAT rate is used. The product or services default VAT rate is used when you add products and services.

You can change the VAT rate on individual item lines by selecting the rate you want to use from the dropdown list.

Read more about VAT rates.

You have space to add terms and conditions and extra notes on each invoice you create. Use these to add information such as terms of sales for your customers, and bank details for payment.

You can enter this information on each invoice as you create it. If you prefer, you can set up default terms and notes, which will print on every invoice you create.

For more information on adding default messages, read customising sales documents.

Enter the net amount in the Carriage box if you want to charge your customer for delivery or postage costs. You can apply a VAT rate to your shipping charges if they’re subject to VAT.

You can apply CIS deductions and reverse charge VAT to sales invoices for your CIS contacts.

To add the correct CIS ledgers to your account, you need to set up CIS for your business.

Set up your CIS contacts so you can use them on your invoice. This makes sure you handle VAT correctly.

The carriage, discount, net, VAT and total amounts appear at the bottom of the invoice. You can see a separate line for each VAT rate used on the invoice.

To see a further breakdown of the VAT included on your invoice, select the View VAT Analysis link. A table displays a full breakdown of VAT for the invoice.

Attachments provide a way to track any files you have that relate to an invoice. For example, you could attach sales literature such as a PDF brochure, or a product image. Your customer can see the files you've attached if you email the invoice to them.

You can add up to 10 attachments to each invoice, using files of the following types: PDF, GIF, JPG, JPEG or PNG. Each file has a maximum size of 2.5MB.

Read how to add attachments for more information.

You can see the customisation settings using the Customise dropdown at the bottom of the page. This saves you time when you want to customise invoices for your business.

Creating a sales invoice reduces the amount in stock