GST/HST invoices for contractors in Canada

What does a GST/HST invoice from Quotebird show?

Turn on Registered for GST/HST in your business profile and add your number, and every invoice prints it under your name and address, along with each tax and its amount, the customer’s name, a line for every item and the due date. Those are the details the CRA lists for invoices of $500 or more; Quotebird prints them on a $150 service call too.

A small supplier who isn’t registered? Then no GST or HST is charged and no number prints. In British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba you can add a PST or RST number as well.

How do I invoice an estimate, or a call with no estimate?

From a sent estimate, look under Invoices: tap Invoice the deposit, a stage’s Materials delivered or Mark as done, the Final invoice or, without a payment plan, Invoice. The draft arrives with the customer, the items and the province’s tax. Adjust the items to the work done, set Payment due to on receipt or 7, 14, 30 or 60 days, and send it as a link, a PDF or an email.

A no-heat call on a Sunday night doesn’t need an estimate first. Tap New on the Invoices tab, choose Write an invoice, pick the customer and add what you replaced.

Who numbers the invoices, and can I keep my old numbers?

Our server numbers each invoice when you send it, in one gap-free series: INV-0001, INV-0002 and so on, with credit notes counted separately from CN-0001. A voided invoice keeps the one it got. To carry on from your old software, set the prefix and the next number in Settings → Document numbers before the first invoice goes; after that the series shows In use and stays put.

How do I fix an invoice that’s already gone out?

You don’t edit it; you correct it. A duplicate, or an invoice to the wrong homeowner, gets Void invoice: it keeps its number, stays on file marked Void, and its page tells the customer nothing is owed. That works only before any payment or credit note.

For a partial credit, say a part you ended up not installing, issue a Credit note. Lower its items to the amount coming off, give a Reason, which prints, and send it. It shows the invoice it corrects, with that invoice’s date, and lowers what the customer owes, tax included.

Can I record cheques and Interac e-Transfers?

Yes. Tap Record payment on the invoice and choose Cheque, Cash, Transfer or Other; an e-Transfer is a transfer, with its reference noted. Recording works offline, a full payment turns the invoice Paid, and Share receipt gives the homeowner a receipt stamped Paid. Mistakes are reversed and stay on record.

What about jobs in Québec?

A Québec business adds its QST number, and its invoices show the GST and the QST, each with its amount, at any total. They go out in French, as do the customer’s page and the emails. Voir la page en français.