Invoice and Receipt combined in one?

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Batman

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#222698 24-Aug-2017 09:49

Hi just wondering if anyone knows the legalities/technicalities -

I recently got sent an invoice that says something like "this becomes a receipt when payment has been made".

Is that allowed? That would make one not need to send invoice and receipts separately, but thought I'd hear comments from people ...

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#1851747 24-Aug-2017 10:06

Businesses do this all the time so I'm pretty sure its normal. Both a receipt and invoice can be used as proof of purchase, they are essentially the same thing it just relates to the payment of the goods.

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MikeB4

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#1851748 24-Aug-2017 10:08

My Medical centre has been doing that for long time now. My Med Insurance has never had an issue with it .

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#1851753 24-Aug-2017 10:17

You learn something new everyday!

marej

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#1852581 25-Aug-2017 14:09

I dont think thats correct, unless somehow it shows the balance owing is zero or any remaining amount. Tax invoice/statements show payments received which is accounted for the final balance.

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#1852678 25-Aug-2017 15:25

So these receipt - invoice hybrids are technically legal or not legal? Or legal but not adviced?

MikeB4

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#1852681 25-Aug-2017 15:28

My Medical Centre is a large centre, I am sure they would not be using them if they were not OK to use

Pumpedd

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#1852696 25-Aug-2017 15:54

Off the subject...but I remember when we DIDN'T pay on invoices and had to wait for statements to arrive the following month.

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#1852774 25-Aug-2017 18:29

Pumpedd:

Off the subject...but I remember when we DIDN'T pay on invoices and had to wait for statements to arrive the following month.

That depends on your credit arrangements with the supplier. 20th of the month following has long gone from most industries now that paying people is so much easier.

Richard rich.ms

mclean

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#1852919 26-Aug-2017 11:37

In a situation where you have to produce proof of payment then an invoice which may or may not have become a receipt will obviously fail as proof. It should still suffice as proof of purchase (eg to prove the purchase was from a particular shop/supplier).

k1w1k1d

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#1852962 26-Aug-2017 13:29

I prefer to actually get proof of payment from the supplier, rather than an invoice that claims to be a receipt once paid.

When paying online I write the date paid and bank reference number on the invoice.

Wasn't there a case awhile ago where a company lost their records in a fire and customers had to prove that they had paid?

smalltrader

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#1852969 26-Aug-2017 14:00

MikeB4:

My Medical Centre is a large centre, I am sure they would not be using them if they were not OK to use

Marej is correct.

The medical centre that I use has been issuing combined invoice/receipt for years. However, only if the balance oweing is zero then it becomes a receipt. I believe insurance companies do check balance oweing before payout.

mattwnz

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#1853035 26-Aug-2017 17:18

k1w1k1d:

I prefer to actually get proof of payment from the supplier, rather than an invoice that claims to be a receipt once paid.

When paying online I write the date paid and bank reference number on the invoice.

Wasn't there a case awhile ago where a company lost their records in a fire and customers had to prove that they had paid?

Prove to who though that they paid? If they lost their records in a fire, then that is bad luck for the company, but I would have thought they would have to prove someone didn't pay, rather than the other way around, if they claimed they hadn't paid. Normally a company paying a bill will issue a remittance advice, to show they have paid. They should also still have bank statements, as would the payer itself. Normally with these types of receipts, the company used to stamp PAID across the invoice. I guess the people to ask to be sure are the IRD, but they tend to have minimum requirements for what an invoice must include, for certain amounts in bands. The bands however haven't updated these bands for at least a decade , as the amount of $50 not requiring an invoice has been in place for many years..

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#1853605 28-Aug-2017 08:33

The Law Society's FAQ page has the question "My firm wants a receipt for my practising fees, how can I get one" and the answer "Your invoice becomes a paid receipt upon payment. A separate receipt will not be issued."

I imagine that if anyone should know the law it would be them!

jonathan18

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#1853658 28-Aug-2017 09:15

On a kind-of-related matter: a shoe shop in my city doesn't provide receipts - rather, it provides the credit card receipt (of negligible value!) and then, if a pair of shoes is over a particular value, it'll write the model, purchase amount and date on a loyalty card - this provides a discount after purchasing so many pairs.

I've always found this a bit weird, especially given there's no proof of purchase provided if a pair costs under the threshold (which can often be the case with say kids' shoes), or if someone doesn't elect to hold a loyalty card.

And now it's come back to bite me as I've taken a pair of faulty shoes in to get sorted - they've asked for proof of purchase. I've not got that specific loyalty card, as I've since redeemed my discount; they may or may not have returned the card to me, but I certainly can't recall being given it back. So now I'm trying to dig through my credit card statements for some evidence of the transaction...

Anyway, how appropriate (or legal) is it for a company to not provide a formal receipt for such purchases? This is the largest shoe shop in town, so not some fly-by-nighter.

Worst-case scenario I can think of is someone paying cash for a pair of shoes under the limit to qualify on the loyalty card - for that purchase they'd have nil evidence of having made the purchase!

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#1853854 28-Aug-2017 10:35

MurrayM:
The Law Society's FAQ page has the question "My firm wants a receipt for my practising fees, how can I get one" and the answer "Your invoice becomes a paid receipt upon payment. A separate receipt will not be issued."

I imagine that if anyone should know the law it would be them!

I guess that does it!

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