The accounting department for the company wants a unique identifier, so they have decided to use the first letter of each word in their name to start every invoice number. Let’s use Hollywood Limousine Services again in this example. Here are some best practices: Use an Identifier There are no federal laws or state financial regulations regarding what a company’s invoice numbering system must include. Invoice numbers are entirely up to the business that’s issuing the invoices. This means the vendor has to spend time reissuing the invoice. Often clients will reject invoices that do not provide one, because it makes it impossible or difficult to track payments. Now all they have to do is follow up with the five remaining clients who have not paid their invoices. They can tell this because each client has referenced the invoice number with their payment. By December, HLS can tell 45 of those invoices have been paid. Hollywood Limousine Services issues 50 invoices in the month of September. Invoice numbers are important because it provides a way for a business to track not only whether payments have been made or not, but by who.
It is a list of products or services provided to a client that must be payed. What Is the Difference Between Invoice and Receipt? What Is an Invoice?Īn invoice is a bill. When the client makes payment, they will reference this number to show that the funds are for that particular invoice. This number is included on the invoice and it is used for payment tracking purposes. An invoice number is a unique number generated by a business issuing an invoice to a client.