Making an Invoice: What Are the Different Options for a VSE, SME?

For most companies, making an invoice is a mandatory, tedious and sometimes time-consuming act. In addition, the new tax administration regulations are becoming stricter in order to combat VAT fraud in particular. The nomenclature in this area is more and more framed and the old documents published on Word or Excel are destined to disappear in the near future.

What might be bad news for small businesses that cannot afford the services of an accountant is actually a real opportunity to change their practices. Thanks to free invoicing software, the editing, securing and archiving of invoices is simplified and makes it possible to optimize the working time of employees by freeing them from a thankless and tedious task. Explanations.

The invoice, legal proof

Invoicing is the process that establishes a note of the goods or services sold by an entrepreneur to his customer. Between professionals, it must always be written in two copies, in French and must include a certain number of mandatory information. Professionals who invoice individuals are legally required to do so only if it concerns the sale of goods and the customer requests it, in the event of distance selling or, when providing services, if the amount including tax exceeds 25 euros or that the customer requests it.

The company is required to issue an invoice and make it available to its client as soon as the sale is made or the service performed, although there are special cases of deferred or periodic invoices. The transmission of the invoice can be done by post, hand delivery or electronically. This last vector is increasingly used, notably through the free invoicing software which facilitates the editing, saving and monitoring of the company's accounts.

How to edit a regulatory invoice?

In the majority of situations, it is therefore mandatory to make an invoice in good and due form. Each of them must include several mandatory information including the identity of the company, that of the customer, the detailed list of the goods or services invoiced, their price, the VAT or the deadline and method of payment. In addition, each invoice must have a specific and unique number. This can, for example, include the year, the month and an additional number to facilitate the filing of documents. Since the law of November 2014, electronic invoicing to public companies has gradually been made compulsory. By 2020, all companies will be required to use this method to invoice their customers in the public domain. It's a safe bet that this electronic invoicing obligation will then be extended to all inter-professional transactions. To prepare for this, free software on the web is a great help.

Make an invoice simply with free software from the web

Free invoicing software is becoming essential as electronic invoicing becomes increasingly popular. While some still use Word and Excel, this habit is tending to disappear due to new directives from the tax authorities. In addition, certified anti-fraud invoicing software has many practical advantages that continue to convince users. They meet four criteria: inalterability, security, storage and archiving of sales data.

In particular, they facilitate the invoicing process by automating it. Thanks to them, you can edit invoices anywhere from a connected device. Plus, you can track the status of your pending invoices, search quickly, and edit, duplicate, or send a document in seconds! With online invoicing software, you no longer need an accountant, you optimize your time, bring together all of your customer resources on a single platform and control your resources in real time!

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