Skip to content
Docs/Accounting

Sales invoices

Demo School needs to bill the Maina family KES 2,500 for an October activity programme. The activity has been agreed, but the office still needs a formal record of the charge and the amount the family owes.

A sales invoice records that charge. Saving a draft lets you prepare the document; submitting it posts the receivable, income and any applicable tax. A later receipt records the collection against the invoice.

This guide follows a direct invoice in the Schoolbooks editor. The screenshots show real data entry in the fictional Demo School workspace.

On this pageBefore you beginCreate a sales invoiceChoose the customer and datesAdd and review the chargesReview, save and submitWhat submission changesAfter submissionTroubleshootingCommon questions

Before you begin

  • Create or identify the customer and confirm their currency and billing details.
  • Have the description, quantity, rate and income account for each charge. A catalogue item is optional for a one-off charge.
  • Confirm the applicable tax treatment, payment terms and any required accounting dimensions.
  • Check that the invoice date is allowed and that you have permission to submit if you intend to post the charge.
Review accounting setup

Create a sales invoice

  1. Go to Accounting → Invoicing and select the Invoices tab.
  2. Choose New invoice.
Open New invoice from the Invoices tab.1 New invoice

Choose the customer and dates

  1. Give the invoice a useful title, such as October activity fee.
  2. In Bill to, choose the customer. Our example uses Maina Family 36.
  3. Review Issued date and Due date. Selecting a customer can update defaults, so recheck the dates afterward.
  4. Use Student attribution only when this invoice should reference a particular learner. The learner link does not create a scheduled fee obligation.
An actual draft for the Maina family: dates, activity charge and calculated total.1 Item, quantity and rate2 Grand total

Add and review the charges

  1. Choose a catalogue item, or leave the item blank and enter a one-off description and income account.
  2. Check the income account, unit, quantity and rate. For this example, one activity charge at KES 2,500 produces a KES 2,500 subtotal.
  3. Enter the description the customer should see. Review the cost centre and any required dimensions.
  4. Select the appropriate item tax treatment and check Subtotal, Tax and Grand total. Use Add item for another charge.

Review, save and submit

The invoice number is assigned on submission. Check the returned status: if a later step fails after saving, the invoice can remain a draft. Open that draft and resolve the error before retrying; do not assume the charge posted.

  1. Open Setup to review payment terms and the customer-copy currency options available for this invoice.
  2. Add terms, notes or supporting attachments where needed.
  3. Review the customer, dates, accounts, taxes and grand total.
  4. To keep working later, open Choose another save action and save a draft. To post an approved charge, choose Save and submit and review the confirmation.

What submission changes

For a KES 2,500 charge with no applicable tax, the receivable debit and income credit are both KES 2,500. Where tax applies, the receivable includes the tax and the credit is split between income and the tax liability.

Stock movement is handled through the delivery workflow. Creating a finance invoice does not silently deliver stock or post cost of goods sold.

For a simple chargeAccounting effect
Customer receivableDebit the amount owed by the customer.
IncomeCredit the charge before applicable tax.
Tax, when applicableCredit the configured tax liability.

After submission

Open the submitted invoice and confirm the customer, total and balance. When payment arrives, create and allocate a receipt. A partial payment leaves a remaining balance; a full allocated settlement produces Paid status.

The issued invoice remains the record of the original charge. Payment allocations and collection details belong on the receipt.

Record and allocate a receipt

Troubleshooting

What you seeWhat to check
Cannot submitRead the validation message. Check permissions, dates, required accounts and dimensions, tax setup and customer credit limits.
Unexpected due dateCheck the customer defaults and payment terms, then review the resulting schedule.
Wrong amountCheck quantity, rate, unit, currency and selected tax treatment.
Payment received but balance remainsCheck whether a receipt was submitted and allocated to this invoice. A saved draft does not settle it.

Common questions

Do I need an item code? No. The editor supports a one-off charge with a description and income account. Use catalogue items when they make repeated entry more consistent.

Can I edit a submitted invoice to correct the charge? Preserve the issued document and use the appropriate credit or reversal workflow. Do not overwrite the original commercial record.

Does selecting a student generate fees? No. Student attribution is a link on this invoice, separate from scheduled fee obligations.