Guide
Invoice vs receipt: what’s the difference?
An invoice asks for payment. A receipt confirms that payment was made. Here is when each one is issued, what goes on it, and where a “bill” fits in.
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The short answer
An invoice comes before payment; a receipt comes after. You send an invoice to tell a customer what they owe, by when and how to pay. You give a receipt once they have paid, as proof of the payment.
Not every sale needs both. A shop that is paid on the spot hands over a receipt. A freelancer who is paid later sends an invoice first, and may send a receipt once the money arrives.
Invoice vs receipt at a glance
| Aspect | Invoice | Receipt |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Asks for payment | Confirms payment |
| When | After the sale or the work, before payment | After payment |
| Main amount | Amount due | Amount paid |
| Key dates | Invoice date and due date | Payment date |
| Payment | How to pay: bank details or a link | How it was paid: cash, card, transfer |
| For the seller | A record of money owed | A record of money received |
| For the customer | What to pay, and by when | Proof that they paid |
When each is issued
Invoice
Send an invoice when you have delivered the goods or finished the work (or a stage of it) and expect to be paid later. Invoices are common when businesses buy from each other, for freelance work, and whenever payment terms such as “Net 30” apply.
Receipt
Give a receipt when money changes hands: at the counter, after a cash or card payment, or when a customer settles an invoice and wants proof. A receipt can cover the full amount or part of it, such as a deposit.
What each one shows
On an invoice
- The word “Invoice”, an invoice number and the invoice date
- Your details and your customer’s
- What you are charging for: items, quantities and prices
- Any tax or discount, and the total due
- The due date and how to pay
On a receipt
- The word “Receipt”, a receipt number and the payment date
- Who was paid and who paid
- What the payment was for, and the invoice number if there was one
- The amount paid, and how it was paid
Tax rules in your country may ask for more on either document, for example a tax number or the tax amount. Check what applies where you work. The guide to writing an invoice covers invoices in more detail.
Invoice vs bill
“Bill” is the everyday word for the same idea: a statement of what you owe. A restaurant brings you the bill; a phone company sends you a bill. In many accounting apps, an invoice is the one you send to a customer and a bill is the one you receive from a supplier: the same document, seen from two sides. In India, people often say “bill” when they mean an invoice.
Either way, a bill asks for payment, like an invoice. It is not a receipt.
Can a paid invoice act as a receipt?
Often it can. Many businesses mark an invoice as paid, with the payment date and the amount received, and send it to the customer as confirmation. Whether that is enough depends on who needs it: some customers, employers and expense systems ask for a receipt, and local rules may say what a receipt has to show. Check what applies where you work, and when in doubt, issue a separate receipt.
In the invoice generator, enter the money you received under Amount paid: the PDF shows the payment and the balance due. Or change the document type to Receipt.
Examples
- A web designer finishes a website and sends an invoice, due in 14 days. When the client pays, the designer sends a receipt or marks the invoice as paid.
- A plumber fixes a leak and the customer pays by card on the spot. The plumber hands over a receipt: the job was charged and paid at once.
- A supplier delivers stock to a shop on 30-day terms. The supplier sends an invoice; the shop records it as a bill to pay. After payment, the supplier may send a receipt.
Make an invoice or a receipt
Both are free, in any currency, as a PDF, without signup. Use the invoice generator to ask for payment, or the receipt maker to confirm one. In India and registered for GST? Use the GST invoice generator.