Invoice vs receipt

The difference in one line

An invoice is a request for payment, issued before the money moves. A receipt is an acknowledgement of payment, issued after it has. Same job, same amount, opposite ends of the transaction.

What each one shows

• Invoice: invoice number, issue date, due date, payment terms, itemised work, amount outstanding, how to pay.
• Receipt: receipt number, the date payment was received, what it was for, the amount paid, and often the payment method. No due date, because nothing is owed.

When you need both

For anything paid on terms you'll issue an invoice first and, if the customer asks, a receipt once it clears. For anything paid on the spot — a market stall, a deposit taken at the door, a card payment at the end of a job — the receipt is usually the only document that ever exists.

Does a paid invoice count as a receipt?

Often, in practice: an invoice stamped paid with the date and method is accepted by most bookkeepers. But it's ambiguous, and customers claiming expenses tend to want something that says receipt on it. Issuing a proper receipt takes a minute and removes the argument.

Make either one

Use the invoice generator to ask for payment, and the receipt generator to confirm it. The receipt version drops the due date and payment terms automatically, so you can't accidentally send a receipt that looks like a bill.