Entering and Processing a Handwritten Invoice

It is recommended that sales invoices be printed from the computer rather than handwritten because of accuracy. If an invoice is handwritten and then copied into the computer, a number of discrepancies can occur between the computer data and the hand written invoice detail unless great care is taken. At times it may be necessary to manually write out an invoice and give it to the customer before the data is entered into the computer system.

To number and print preprinted invoice forms or blank plain paper invoices, go to File > Reports > Sales > Forms and select Print Blank Invoices from either the Plain Paper or Preprinted folders. These forms can be useful if you need to handwrite an invoice.

To enter a handwritten invoice into the computer go to Sales > Invoices and S.O.s.

Review the Entering a Sales Invoice section for detailed steps on entering an invoice. Follow the same steps as for a normal sales invoice entry, with the following exceptions:

1. Instead of tabbing through the Invoice number field, enter the invoice number that is printed on the handwritten invoice.

2. Set the invoice Date to equal the date on the handwritten invoice.

3. If the invoice is already paid, select the appropriate Payment option otherwise select the Charge option and match the terms with the handwritten invoice terms. Review the Sales > Invoices > Payment Methods and Terms section for more details.

4. Enter the Sales person who hand wrote the invoice.

5. Enter the all the invoice detail and match the subtotal with the subtotal on the handwritten invoice.

6. Compare the sales Tax amount with the total on the handwritten invoice. If the amounts do not match, double check to make sure all the taxable items are checked in the Taxable column within the invoice window. Complete the following steps if the tax is not rounded the same and the tax does not match exactly:

   1. Open the tax rate table by selecting View > Sales Taxes from the invoice menu.

   2. Disable the Automatic option.

   3. Enter the sales tax amount into the Amount column. Note that changing the amount should be only for rounding purposes. Changing this value can create sales tax reporting problems. Review the Sales > Sales Tax section for more details.

7. Enter all Freight or Discount amounts, if any, on the handwritten invoice.

8. It is important to compare the invoice Total located on the lower right of the invoice window with the total amount of the handwritten invoice. If these amounts do not match, then review all totals and make necessary corrections. Do not process the invoice until both total amounts match. Make sure that if any payments were made on the handwritten invoice, the payments were properly processed. If the entire invoice was paid, process the invoice as a cash invoice.

To process the invoice, go to Process > Process/No Print using invoice menu selection or press Ctrl + `R on the keyboard. To enter another invoice, select File > New or press Ctrl + `N on the keyboard and the system will prompt you to save the invoice.