[GNC] invoicing

arthur brogard abrogard at yahoo.com
Wed Oct 26 18:13:35 EDT 2022


Thankyou for that.  Just about cleared everything up for me.  I can proceed with some confidence now.

I said last time it was reminding him of outstanding was the problem. I got that a bit wrong - a bigger problem is when he's overpaid.
Did I mention he sometimes overpays?  $20 or $30.  His girlfriend, too.  And without specifying 'for rent' so it could be for water or repairs or whatever.
Now if he has a credit for rent it seems wrong to me for me to invoice him the weekly rent amount.  Adding to my uncertainty.
I currently write out the whole thing on invoice:  weekly rent,  amount in hand or owing,  final invoice amount.  whether rent or water or what.
I might strip that down to a bare standard invoice for weekly rent.
Following by an 'adjustment' line showing adjustment for current balance and resulting amount required.
Or leave things as they are.
Considering what I've learned from you my method is fairly okay considering the peculiar circumstances, this particular tenant and his foibles.
I just need to make things easier for myself and sequentially number invoices.
And receipts.  I don't sequentially number them, either.  I date them only. And they, of course, don't conveniently match up, that's what this is all about.
I just got to get used to the idea that invoices and receipts simply don't conveniently match up in any way.
The tenant only sees invoices and receipts.
I also see a spreadsheet I have and that's what I really keep track of things with.  At any time I can see every penny paid in and by whom and at what date and what the total paid in since the start of the lease was at that date as against what was due.
My first port of call is my spreadsheet. I make up my invoices from it. And of course I receipt from the bank statement of what came in.
It's checking things is always at the back of my mind.
I would like to have something that relies on the invoices and receipts alone to provide its own independent check of the figures on the spreadsheet.  I'm a belt and braces man when I can be.
Currently, as I said, adding invoices gets me nowhere.

I have to get good control and understanding of this because I'll be running a small business next year.  Hence my interest which may seem a bit unnecessary for such a trivial matter.
Thanks for your help.
:)





   On Wednesday, 26 October 2022 at 10:02:54 pm ACDT, Derek Atkins <derek at ihtfp.com> wrote:  
 
 Hi,

On Tue, October 25, 2022 4:08 pm, arthur brogard wrote:
> Thanks for that.
> I am after finding proper business practice.  So I guess I should not be
> invoicing for the total amount I see as outstanding?
> I should invoice for each week  and when there is an outstanding unpaid
> amount I could note that on the invoice perhaps?
> Or perhaps send a 'statement of account' ?

Correct.  If you buy a sofa for $300, but only pay off $250, and then buy
another sofa the next week for $300 -- the invoice for the 2nd sofa should
be $300 -- because that is how much the 2nd sofa costs.  But then the
statement of account (GnuCash calls it a "Customer Report") will say that
you were invoiced $300 for sofa-1, paid $250, invoiced $300 for sofa-2,
and owe $350.

> What would you do on rent day if an amount was owing?

See above.

> And from the tone of your answer I guess it's not considered imperative
> that invoices be numbered sequentially but it's probably preferable.
> I have been dating them rather than numbering them.  Giving each one a
> number that is the date and adding a '1' to it for the first one for that
> date. 

Correct.  Local laws may put a requirement on invoice identifiers, but
GnuCash certainly doesn't care, and AFAIK (IANAA), in the US there is no
specific requirement.

> Wanting to check things one day I realised it would be easier for me if
> they were all numbered sequentially for then I could be sure I'd taken
> them all into account when looking back.
> And that's when I realised that looking back and adding them up isn't
> going to do much when I invoice the way I do.  So I came asking.
> So number them and make them for the week's rent only.
> If there's a water or repair bill it goes in sequence.
> then I can total them all at any time and compare with receipts and see
> where we are at.

If there are other charges on top of the rent, I think it is safe to
either include it on the invoice where it is applied, or to create another
invoice for the additional charges.

> It's notifying him, reminding him, of the outstanding that's the problem. 
> Just note it on the invoice I guess.

Yes, you could put it in the Invoice Notes.  Where it says "Thank you for
your patronage" you could change it to read "Reminder: You still have an
outstanding balance of...."

Or send a Customer Report along with the invoice.  Or maybe even instead
of the invoice.

> :)

-derek

>
>    On Tuesday, 25 October 2022 at 09:46:00 pm ACDT, Derek Atkins
> <derek at ihtfp.com> wrote:
>
>  IF you were to use GnuCash's invoicing system, then each (weekly) invoice
> needs to be $300, because that's the additional amount he owes each
> invoice period.  To show to TOTAL owed you would need to supply a Customer
> Report, which takes invoices and payments into account.
>
> In your case you probably do not need GnuCash to produce the invoices for
> you.  But you COULD use them to account for it all.
>
> And yes, I would recommend you number them sequentially.
>
> -derek
>
> On Tue, October 25, 2022 5:06 am, arthur brogard via gnucash-user wrote:
>> I only have to invoice one tenant is all so it's no big deal.  But I
>> would
>> like to know what I'm doing.
>> Currently gnucash is not doing it for me though I keep an account for
>> him
>> on it.
>>
>> I know it is a bit unreal and unusual but I invoice him every week -
>> we've
>> found that's the only way to remind him to pay.
>>
>> I'm in doubt about two things:
>> 1.  Should my invoices be serially numbered and each one accounted for
>> or
>> is that totally unimportant?
>>
>> 2.   I am in the habit of invoicing for the outstanding amount each
>> week.     Is that okay?        I begin to think it is wrong if accounts
>> are kept of invoices.       Because if his rent were say $300 and he was
>> behind at the beginning by $50 we could get a series over weeks like
>> this:
>>   Behind: $50.   Invoice:  $350     Pays:   $330                        
>> Invoice   $320     Pays:   $300                         Invoice  
>> $320    
>> Pays:   $300                         Invoice   $320     Pays:   $320.
>>  Now he's square.     But I've invoiced $1310 and he's paid $1230.  Not
>> at
>> all the same.
>>  Doesn't matter?  That's just the way to do it?
>>
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>
>
> --
>       Derek Atkins                617-623-3745
>       derek at ihtfp.com            www.ihtfp.com
>       Computer and Internet Security Consultant
>
>


-- 
      Derek Atkins                617-623-3745
      derek at ihtfp.com            www.ihtfp.com
      Computer and Internet Security Consultant

  


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