When invoice and when receipt is needed?

[laurieeee]

Another question which may seem simple to others but really is not simple for me..

When do I need an inovice and when do I need a receipt? (I am a sole trader, NOT Vat registered)

- If I buy a printer from Argos, I only get a normal receipt - is that sufficient?
- If I buy stationery in a shop, I also get a normal receipt..
- when freelancers provide work for me, they invoice me..
- when i bought a laptop, i also got a normal receipt with no personal detials on it (such as trading name or address)

Is that ok?

 

[StevensOnln1]

As long as the receipt clearly shows what you bought and who you bought it from it will be fine. Retailers wouldn't normally issue an invoice for something bought in store, to do so they would have to take personal details of every customer, would you want to give you name and address every time you bought something? It would certainly add a lot of time queueing at the tills.

 

[DontAsk]

Think of which direction the money is flowing and you will have your answer.

 

[laurieeee]

StevensOnln1, thank you for your response.

DontAsk, sorry I dont understand. Do you mean I produce invoices and I get receipts? Still it doesnt answer my question..

 

[StevensOnln1]

To put it more simply, as you are not reclaiming VAT (due to not being registered) all you need is proof of purchase for your business costs. It doesn't matter whether you have an invoice or receipt, so long as you have something that shows what you bought and who from. I'm a bit lost with DontAsk's response too.

 

[Chart Accountancy]

If you plan to register for VAT in the future, you can reclaim VAT on pre-vat registration expenses so you could collect vat invoices for bigger items, such as laptops, or other goods that you will keep for use in the business.

 

[DontAsk]

I'm a bit lost with DontAsk's response too.

So am I now, not sure what I was thinking of there.

 

[Gecko001]

An invoice can look almost exactly the same as a receipt but these documents have quite different purposes. The receipt is issued when payment is received and an invoice is sent when payment required. The "when" is quite important here, especially in the case of an invoice. The date on an invoice will establish when payment is required under the terms and conditions. If, for example the terms and conditions on the invoice state 30 days for payment, if the invoice is not paid by 30days after the date of the invoice the supplier could take legal action to recover the money owed. Of course the date has to be factual. So you cannot decide to back-date or forward date a ate on a receipt or invoice.

.

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

@laurieeee you may find it helpful to take a look at this