Any trader who sells products or services has the duty to provide a sales receipt of all sales transactions, which document the details of the transaction. A sales receipt must be made every time a sale occurs; even if payment will be made later (in this case the sales receipt is a bill). A trader must make a sales receipt from every sale so that they can be recorded into bookkeeping; without a sales receipt, the sale of a product or service cannot be recorded into bookkeeping. A sales receipt can be a receipt, invoice, bill of sale and/or another sales receipt. In the case that various documents are made for a sales transaction, the trader must ensure that at least one of the documents has all the information required by law. It is advisable, however, to send a copy of all the relevant documents to your bookkeeper. The trader and the buyer are both left with at least one document of the sales transaction.
Remember your duty to provide your customer with a receipt from every sales transaction even if the customer doesn’t want it and leaves it behind.
In the case that the products or services are sold in a retail environment or in other sales environments where customers are private users, streamlined invoice requirements can be applied to sales receipts. Also, they can be applied if the sales transaction in question is a domestic sale to a company of a value of no more than 400 euros. If streamlined invoice requirements apply, the following information must be present in the sales receipts:
- Name of vendor or the official name of the trader marked in the trade register and the trader’s Y-identification number.
- The information of the buyer such as name and address, if possible (not compulsory)
- Information of the nature and quantity/extent of the product or service
- Retail price and VAT-breakdown
- Date of the documentation
- Sequential numbering of the document
- Payment information such as whether the buyer has paid for the sale now or later
Note! Usually the term invoice indicates that the buyer will pay later whereas a receipt indicates that the transaction has been paid for immediately. You can help your bookkeeper’s job by indicating whether the buyer paid in cash or by card on the receipt.
If streamlined invoice requirements don’t apply, the sales receipt must include more information. Here are the general invoice requirements:
- Vendor information: Name, Y-identification number and address
- Buyer information: Name and address
- Information of the nature and quantity/extent of the product or service
- Retail price and VAT-breakdown
- Date of documentation as well as the delivery dates for products and the settlement dates for services if they occur on a different day from the date of documentation
- Sequential numbering of the document
- Payment details: An invoice must have the bank account number of the buyer, a potential reference number as well as terms of payment. A receipt indicates that the product or service was paid for at the same time that the sale happened.
If you have any further questions on this topic, please don’t hesitate to contact us, we’re more than happy to answer any questions you may have!
