{"id":12338,"date":"2019-03-11T05:22:47","date_gmt":"2019-03-11T04:22:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.invoiceberry.com\/blog\/?p=12338"},"modified":"2022-09-22T18:10:12","modified_gmt":"2022-09-22T16:10:12","slug":"common-invoices-you-should-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.invoiceberry.com\/blog\/common-invoices-you-should-know\/","title":{"rendered":"The 5 Most Common Types Of Invoices You Should Know As A Freelancer."},"content":{"rendered":"

What is an invoice?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The <\/span>answer<\/span><\/a> is pretty simple, right?<\/span><\/p>\n

An invoice is a payment request from the supplier that lists the goods and\/or services provided to the buyer. An <\/span>invoice<\/span><\/a> is a legally-binding document agreed upon by both parties that a supplier sends to the buyer after the goods and\/or services have been provided.<\/span><\/p>\n

Essentially, it\u2019s a \u201cbill\u201d that lists how much should be paid, what for, until when, and any other relevant information.<\/span><\/p>\n

And whether you build websites for a living or do online <\/span>consulting<\/span><\/a>, sending the right type of invoices can make the payment process a whole lot easier for you and your client. It also gets you in the habit of following good invoicing practices, which is something all freelancers and business owners should do to ensure they\u2019re paid on time (or even <\/span>earlier<\/span><\/a>). <\/span><\/p>\n

All this to say, knowing the type of invoices you\u2019ll be dealing with as a freelancer can make the whole process more convenient and easier for everyone involved. But when the VAT, the past due invoices and the shipping get involved – things get a bit complicated.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, to save you time and headache, in this guide, we\u2019ll be looking at some of the types of invoices you should be aware of as a freelancer or a small business if you want to make it far. <\/span><\/p>\n

1. Electronic invoice<\/strong><\/h2>\n

An electronic invoice, or an e-invoice<\/a>, is the most common type of invoice that you\u2019re probably used to seeing and sending within your business. It is sent electronically through the internet, as opposed to being paper-based, and can easily be integrated into a customer\u2019s accounting system.<\/span><\/p>\n

The standards for electronic invoices come from the <\/span>Electronic Data Interchange Standards<\/span><\/a>, which lists all the details and rules for how electronic invoices work; how they should be created, and transferred. <\/span><\/p>\n

In Europe, the annual invoice volume in 2016 was estimated to be about 36 billion invoices<\/a>.<\/div> <\/span><\/p>\n

This means different countries and regions use different formats for electronic invoices. But the most common formats usually just include CSV, XML, and the PDF. These formats make it easier for customers to create invoices and for clients to read them – depending on their web applications and systems.<\/span><\/p>\n

The best thing about electronic invoices is the simple fact that they can improve your whole accounting system <\/span>productivity<\/span><\/a>. In addition to how convenient they are for everyone involved, you can also automate them (see: <\/span>recurring invoices<\/span><\/a>) and track them accordingly.<\/span><\/p>\n

But of course, this is only the beginning of the list.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Proforma invoice<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Don\u2019t let the name scare you away. This is actually another common form of a non-standard invoice. Proforma just means \u201cas a matter of form\u201d and is most often used to describe documents that satisfy minimum requirements.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Paying-Proforma-Invoice\"
Proforma invoices are used to provide documentation for customs to show the value of goods that you still need to deliver.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A <\/span>proforma invoice<\/span><\/a> just means it\u2019s a document that\u2019s normally used in international trade for goods that won\u2019t be bought or sold (e.g. gifts). It\u2019s a way to determine their value and is sent as a commitment by the supplier to deliver goods to the customer<\/a>. And it also lists the details of the item (weight, transport charges, etc.).<\/span><\/p>\n

Another way to look at the proforma invoice is to see it as a <\/span>pre-invoice<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Basically, it\u2019s a commitment from the vendor or the seller to provide the specific goods or services to the buyer at the agreed-upon terms. This is then used to declare the value of the trade. <\/span><\/p>\n

Generally speaking, there are two types of proforma invoices:<\/span><\/p>\n