Sales and Invoicing

Sales reflect an invoice for the goods and/or services you sell to a buyer. Sales remain unpaid until you apply Payment(s) to them.

With Saasu you can:

• Add/Edit/View Sales
• Add/Edit/View Sale payments

Payments are the financial settlements of your Sales. You can apply a Payment to a Sale when you add a Sale or do this later when you receive your funds.

Sales have the following attributes:

• Layout – Item (Time, Inventory) and Service (Labour, Fees, Non-Inventory).
• Type- Specifies the stage the Sale is at and includes Pre-Quote Opportunities, Quote, Order, Sale, Simple Money In, and others depending on your zone.
• Workflow- Email all Sale Types as a PDF Print/View as a PDF, Create Shipping Slip, Apply second level Contact (Agent/Sales/Delivery), Print as plain paper, Apply Discounts, Mark to be followed up, Mark as sent to Contact.
• Workflow Documentation – Documents, Activities, Notes Internal, Notes External, Voice Messages.

Saasu supports different types of Sales and Purchases. Here is a brief explanation of the differences and instances when they would most likely be used:

Workflow Stage	Workflow Usage
Tax Invoice	For and organisation registered for GST/VAT. Transaction has taken place between you and the customer.
Sale Invoice	For an organisation not registered for GST/VAT. Transaction has taken place between you and the customer.
Sales Order	Goods have not been delivered/manufactured for the customer. No money owed by the customer yet.
Money In (Income)	Quick cash transactions (eg POS transactions). Used especially when not much paperwork is involved.
Adjustment/Credit Note	A change is required for a Sales/Tax Invoice that has already been issued.
Pre-Quote Opportunity	Indicative estimates for creating a sale that may occur but is not yet confirmed as an order or invoice. Mainly used for tracking and managing sales pipeline.
Quote	Issued informing prices when a request has been made.

What are Quotes/Estimates?

Saasu quotes are used to advise your customers regarding the approximate costing for your goods or services. The format of the quote displays in two ways:

• Item quotes enable you to select items that represent stock or time (hours/minutes etc) and allocate prices to these. This will then generate a total estimate (including tax) that you can save and email to the customer.
• Service quotes work much the same but give you more flexibility because you can enter whatever you like in the description field for each line item you add. For example you could have lawnmowing at $10 per 15 minutes.

You can change the type of quote by clicking the Service or Item links in the Sales screen (just above the list of items in the sale).

When you convert your Quote/Estimate to an Order or Invoice, Saasu makes a copy of the original quote for your records and still gives you a chance to edit the amounts, etc to reflect what actually occurred for the final Order or Invoice.

Adding a quote or estimate:

1. Click the plus icon beside Sale in the main menu.
2. Select Quote from the first dropdown list.
3. Select your contact.
4. Enter the date if it is not already specified.
5. Enter the summary you would like your customer to see, eg Lawn Mowing.
6. Choose the type of quote (Service or Item). This is more about the layout than whether the quote is for goods or services. In other words, you could select Item style for a billale hours quote –  i.e. 5 x 1 Hour Consulting at $50 per hour.
7. Save and Email/Print as required.

Cash Transactions

Saasu enables you to record cashbook-style transactions in your business via the normal Purchases and Sales screens using a Quick Payment. When entering details of the Purchase or Sale, simply enter the payment details at the same time in the Payments area (in the same screen). The Quick Payment feature can be used when you have already received or paid the money for the specific invoice at the time you are entering it.

Behind the scenes, the Saasu web finance engine treats the transaction as a Purchase with a Payment applied to it. However, you get to enter it all in one screen which simplifies the process.

Partial Payments

To enter partial payments for Invoices:

1. Locate the invoice from the list of invoices.
2. Click the edit icon beside it.
3. When you are in the edit screen for the invoice, click the Pay link in the top bar.
4. In the Make Payment/Receive Payment screen, enter the partial amount in the Amount Paid field.
5. Click Save And Close.
6. You will now see the partial payment amount under Payment(s) in the invoice.

Repeat the above steps when a partial payment is received or paid until the full payment has been applied.

Credit Notes, Adjustment Notes and Refunds

Credit notes, refunds, and adjustment notes can be issued in different ways. The client/customer may elect to receive a refund immediately or a credit might be created on the customer’s account. It depends on your regulatory requirements and your organisation’s policy and procedures regarding returns.

NOTE: The above steps can apply to both sale and purchase invoices. In other words, if you receive a refund or credit from one of your suppliers, you can follow the same approach with a purchase transaction.

Creating a Credit or Adjustment Note

1. Duplicate the original sale transaction you are refunding (or providing a credit for).
2. Under the Type drop-down list, Select Adjustment Note, Credit Note (or another choice appropriate for your zone).
3. Set the transaction date as the day you had the goods returned.
4. Remove any line items in this duplicated transaction that aren’t being returned.
5. Change the sign to negative for all line items in the invoice – Do this for the Amount field if this is a Service invoice, or for the Quantity field if it is an Item invoice.
6. Take EITHER of these actions, depending on whether or not you are providing a cash refund:
   • Apply a payment if refunding the customer immediately.
   • Leave as unpaid if you want to leave the customer’s account in credit – See Applying a Credit or Adjustment Note to a Sale below.
7. After saving the transaction you can print or email it as required.

Applying a Credit or Adjustment Note to a Sale

1. Enter your new sale as usual but save it without applying a payment.
2. Select Add > Sales Payment and filter the unpaid sales list according to the contact you are dealing with.
3. Enter a payment amount against the Sales Adjustment/Credit Note created previously as well as this new unpaid sale.

NOTE: If the new invoice is for a smaller amount than the original one, there will still be an unpaid portion on the Sales Adjustment/Credit Note – You have a zero dollar payment so you can only apply equal and opposite amounts. If the new sale is greater in amount than the old Sales Adjustment/Credit Note, you will get a net payment amount which the customer needs to give you. This will appear in your bank account as a result.

Apply a Discount

Giving a General Discount
Saasu has an option for Sales and Purchases when in Itemlayout to apply a discount. This is done using the discount column to apply a percentage discount in price. To apply a discount to a Sales transaction:

1. Select Add > Sale from the main menu – Above the list of items for the sale you will see that the default layout for the Sale is already set to Item.
2. Use the discount column to apply a percentage discount – Entering 10 will generate a 10% discount on the item unit price.

Giving a Discount for Early Payment
Early Bird deals are becoming popular so Saasu has plans to support these in future. At the moment you can handle them by following the simple process outlined below.

In this example, you issue a sale for $1,000 and issue a Sale Adjustment/Credit for -$100. You apply a Sale Payment to both at once for $900 which you received as early payment from your customer.

1. Create a sale as normal with information regarding the:
   • Discount or early bird rate.
   • Amount in your standard PDF Invoice Template.
   • Sales screen using the Display Notes on Invoice field.
2. If the offer is taken up, create a new Sale Adjustment/Credit transaction for the savings amount. Ensure this is a negative amount.
3. Apply the payment to both the original Sale and the new Sale Adjustment/Credit Sale in order to close them both as paid.

Original Invoice $1000
Adjustment/Credit -$100
Total Payment applied to both $900

Gift Certificates

You sell Gift Certificates to customers and want to account for these in a way that doesn’t recognise the revenue now but treats it as a deposit until the certificate is used or expires. Solution:

Set up the Gift Certificate as an Item

1. Select Add > Item.
2. Give the item a name such as CERT50. This might be for a $50 Gift Certificate (the description for the item).
3. Choose the I Sell this Item option.
4. Change the Income account in the I Sell this Item section to be Liability: Gift Certificates or similar.
5. Don’t choose a tax code if, under the law for your tax zone, you aren’t liable to pay tax until the Certificate is used. Otherwise choose an appropriate tax code. Speak to your accountant if you need specific advice on this.
6. Set the selling price to $50.
7. Ensure the toggle for Inc Tax is set correctly for this price.
8. Save the item.
9. Duplicate for other Gift Certificates values that you need to set up.

The Customer buys a Gift Certificate and you enter a Sale

1. Enter the sale as normal but select the CERT50 item you set up as above.
2. Accept and apply payment to the transaction to close it.
3. If you have created a Template Theme for Gift Certificates in Saasu, you can use this to print your Invoice/Receipt along with its Certificate to give to your customer.

NOTE: Sometimes it may be easier to print gift certificates on separate templates. i.e. Print the Invoice using your standard template and build another template specifically for printing a certificate. An example of this would be if you print them on a different printer in colour as opposed to your normal docket/A4/Letter printer.

In this transaction, Saasu has accounted for the Sale in the Liability Account called Liability: Gift Certificates pending its use by the recipient of the Gift Certificate.

Gift Certificate Recipient Returns to Redeem Gift Certificate for Goods and/or Services

1. Select Add > Sale.
2. Choose the gift certificate Item Code but set the quantity to minus one (-1). This will generate a -$50 amount in your sale. It has the effect of reversing the amount out from the Liability: Gift Certificates account.
3. Add more line items to the sale and for the products and services they are buying from you with the appropriate tax code.
4. Apply a payment to the sale for $0 if the Purchased Item matches the Gift Certificate value. Otherwise take payment for the difference and apply it in order to close the Sale.

Progress Payments

A progress payment is generally the payment attributed to partial supply of goods or services. For example, when homes are built, there are several progress payments made along the way that make up the entire contract for the build. Each one is usually invoiced separately or via a contracted payment schedule.

Sometimes you may need to handle progress payments and invoicing. In Saasu, if you have a project or job that has several milestones, you can handle this in a few different ways. We haven’t considered your specific tax, legal, and accounting needs and procedures so these may or may not be appropriate. There are several Contract-related issues to consider with your advisors. In this example, we look at some ways to capture multiple billing milestones:

Create a Sales Order Detailing the Milestones

In Saasu you can create a Sales Order which represents each milestone as a separate line item. In effect, when you do this you are building up a Payment Schedule for services, etc. When each milestone is met, create a new Sales Order for the Balance of work to be completed. To do this you duplicate the original and remove the line item you are going to invoice. Lastly, convert the original, keeping just the relevant milestone.

Create a Sales Order for each Milestone

In Saasu you can create a Sales Order for each milestone. When the progress payment is billed for completing the milestone, you convert the appropriate one to an Invoice dated the day you can legally issue it (basis contracted agreement or completion, etc) and issue it to the customer.

Create Single Quote or Estimate and use it to Generate Invoices at each Milestone

Another way to deal with this is to create a Quote or Estimate with a line item for each milestone. You would then duplicate the Quote or Estimate when each milestone is completed and remove the line items not being billed before saving it as an Invoice each time.

Create Single Invoice with Separate Line Item and Due Date for each Milestone

This method probably only works where there is a high level of legal and completion certainty for each milestone. Additionally, it may not be appropriate if your accounting procedures and customers don’t allow for the project being invoiced upfront but have it payable over time dependent on milestones being completed. The due dates could also be included as a schedule in the Notes area if you didn’t want this among the line items.

Invoice Number already in use

If you are using the Autonumbering setting for Sales or Purchases and you have previously used an invoice number, you will get the following error message which prevents the invoice being created:

The invoice number you entered or autogenerated (x) has already been used. Please choose a different invoice number.

You shouldn’t get any error messages if:

(a) the number is available and

(b) there isn’t an equal or higher invoice number being used in the system.

If you do get this error message you need to find the latest/highest invoice number and then go to Settings > Sales and set the “Next invoice number” field to be the latest/highest invoice number you have used plus one. I.e: If you have issued sale number 345 then the number to enter in the “Next invoice number” field is 346.

Contra Transactions

A Contra transaction is where two organisations agree to provide goods or services to each other for pre-agreed values. Your tax authority may require these organisations to issue invoices so that income and expense is declared in tax returns and remittances properly, even though a payment may not occur. Consult with your taxation advisor regarding your particular circumstances.
Here is a general example:

1. Enter a sale for goods or services you have provided for $750.
2. Enter a purchase for goods or services you have received for $1000.
3. Create a clearing account called Asset:Contra Clearing.
4. Apply a $750 payment to the Sale using the Asset: Contra Clearing account.
5. Apply a $750 payment to the Purchase using the Asset: Contra Clearing account. The payment date would usually be in the same tax period to ensure the receipt and payment go in and out of the Asset: Contra Clearing Account at the same time. Money wouldn’t usually change hands between the two organisations on the $750 portion.
6. Apply a $250 payment to the Purchase using your normal Bank Account where you make payments from (for example).

What if the Contra amounts are exactly the same?

When the amounts are the same, just apply the full payment amount to the “Asset: Contra Clearing” account for both the Sale and the Purchase and they will net out. If they are not in the same reporting period, you may not be able to enter into a contra transaction.

What payment dates do I use?

The payment dates usually relate to the dates of supply of goods or services. The ATO has strict rules regarding Contra transactions. These may be similar or overlap with Transfer Pricing areas of taxation laws and regulations. See your Tax Accountant for your specific circumstances.

Drop Shipping

Drop shipping is a supply chain management technique in which the retailer does not keep goods in stock, but instead transfers customer orders and shipment details to either the manufacturer or a wholesaler, who then ships the goods directly to the customer. As in all retail businesses, the retailers make their profit on the difference between the wholesale and retail price.

Saasu allows you to easily create a Purchase for a Supplier from a Sale in one click.

1. From the Add menu choose Sale
2. Set the transaction type to be Sales Order
3. Select the customer Contact from the drop down but if this is a new customer click the icon and setup the customer Contact details. You will be returned to this new Sale when you click Save and Close in this new customer Contact record.
4. Complete the line items for your sale and other information as required.
5. Before saving the Sales Order choose the Do More…option adjacent to the Save and Close buttons. Select Save and Create Purchase
6. Saasu will save the transaction and automatically load and complete a Purchase transaction.
7. Set the Contact record on the Purchase to be your Supplier.
8. Set the Ship To Contact on the Purchase to be your Customer created earlier.

Prerequisites include the default supplier for stock in the Purchase order otherwise you will need to select the supplier.

NOTE: Saasu doesn’t yet support drop shipping for multiple suppliers in a single customer Sale.

My supplier needs documents to attach to the goods?
Usually the Tax Invoice for your customer would be emailed directly but many drop ships take a second measure of attaching the Sales Order or Sales Tax Invoice to the goods before shipping. To do this you need to email the supplier a copy of the customer document so they can print it and attach it to the goods. To do this you can create a Template specific to each supplier where the default BCC email is the supplier’s email. This is how the supplier gets a copy of the Invoice that you email the customer.

Automated Sales

Automate repetitive identical tasks at regular frequencies

Do you find yourself keep entering the same transactions manually on a regular basis? You can have Saasu automate this function for you. Creating an Automatic Sale (Recurring Sale) is easy because it is the same screen as a normal Sale, only it has an extra section called the Recurring Schedule. Your Automated Sale will be created at night on the scheduled date. Examples:

• You make monthly lease payments on a PC, vehicle, or other fixed asset.
• You make regular loan repayments on an investment property.
• A business needs to order a certain amount of stock every month from a supplier.
• You pay a fixed hosting fee for your website each month from you personal Visa card.
• You sell a daily research publication. You want to create an invoice and send a PDF copy to the customer quarterly.
• You depreciate assets or accrue costs each month.

Example: Create a Sale for a regular service you provide:

1. From the main menu choose View > Sales Automation.
2. Start filling in the Sale transaction just as you would normally.
   

   Note: Specifying the Due In field will set the due date relative to the invoice date.

3. Go to Next Automated Creation Date and begin entering the first date you would like the transaction to occur called the Next Creation Date.
4. Choose No End Date if you wish Sales to be created automatically on an ongoing basis otherwise change this drop down list to End By and enter the end date in the field that becomes available.
5. Enter the frequency and also on what basis it occurs:
   • Days – Enter the Day immediately to the left of the drop down list
   • Weeks – Select the day of the week this is to occur from the drop down list immediately below.
   • Months – Select either:
     1. The 1st radio button and the day/date of the month from the drop down list or;
     2. The 2nd radio button and the position of the weekday each month
6. Set the Payment method – Checking the check box will mean that a payment is applied to the Sale using your Default Bank Account with the Payment date being the same as the recurring Sale issue date. Otherwise leave unchecked if you wish to manually apply payments as they come in or are cleared through your bank.
7. Set the Email method – Checking the check box will result in Saasu generating a PDF email that is sent when the Sale is created to the email address as specified in the Contact Details screen for the recipient.
8. Save the automated transaction.

Automated Sales List

WHERE: View > Sales Automation

Automatic Sales are used to automatically create Sale transactions on a regular basis. They are ideal for periodical Sales that you make. There are many uses for Automated Sales and the more transactions you can automate then the less accounting work you need to do manually.

This screen displays a list of Automatic Sales that have been setup and applied to a specific Contact or a Contact Group. When you setup an Automatic Sale Saasu will automatically generate predefined Sale transactions at regular intervals until you delete or change it.

1. Use the Show recurring drop down to choose whether you want to review (a) Orders & Sales, (b) Orders or (c) Sales for a specific Contact or Contact Group. You can also narrow down the list by specifying a Tag.
2. Click the Show button to run the list report now that you have set your filters.

Add a new Automated Sale

Go to View > Sales Automation and click the Add link to add a new Automated Sale.

Delete a new Automated Sale

Tick the check box adjacent to the Automatic Sales(s) and then click delete link above the list to delete any Automated Sales you no longer require.

Related

• Consignment Stock
• Credits and Over-payments
• Write off a Sale