GST invoices for Kiwi tradies
Tap Invoice on a sent quote and the customer, the items and the GST come across with it. Quotebird puts IRD’s taxable supply information on the invoice and gives it a number as it’s sent.
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What does Quotebird put on a GST invoice?
IRD calls it taxable supply information, and what it asks for grows with the price. Over $200: your GST number and the GST, or a total marked as including it. Over $1,000: the buyer’s name and one way to reach them as well. Registered for GST, every Quotebird invoice carries your GST number, each item, the total and the GST it includes, whatever the amount.
Over $1,000, Quotebird checks the customer has an address, phone or email before the invoice goes, and asks you to add one if not. The heading is simply “Invoice”, as IRD no longer asks for the words “tax invoice”. Not registered for GST? No GST is charged and no number prints.
How do I invoice from a quote, or without one?
Open the sent quote and, under Invoices, tap the row for what you’re billing: Invoice the deposit, a stage, the Final invoice, or Invoice where there was no payment plan. The draft brings the customer, the items and the GST across; match the items to the work, set Payment due and send it as a link, a PDF or an email.
A blocked drain at 7 am doesn’t come with a quote. Tap New on the Invoices tab, then Write an invoice. Payment due can be on receipt, or 7, 14, 30 or 60 days later.
A $2,100 cylinder invoice, as printed
Ben Walker is the Wellington plumber in this site’s screenshots, a demo business we set up for them. Replacing a hot water cylinder came to more than $1,000, so the invoice beside this shows what IRD asks at that amount:
On invoice INV-0100
- GST number49-091-850, under Ben’s address
- ForOscar Reid, 61 Brougham Street, Mount Victoria, with his email
- Hot water cylinder installation$650.00
- Hot water cylinder$1,450.00
- Total$2,100.00, then “Includes GST 15%” of $273.91
- Due date14 days after the invoice date
Fourteen days on, nothing had come in, so it shows Overdue on Ben’s list, in red. His six other invoices are all under $200, and they carry his GST number just the same.
Who numbers the invoices?
Quotebird’s server, as each invoice is sent: INV-0001 onwards with nothing skipped, and credit notes in their own series from CN-0001. Drafts stay unnumbered, so a binned draft leaves no gap, and a voided invoice keeps its number. If you’re moving from another app, set the prefix and next number under Settings → Document numbers before the first invoice.
How do I fix an invoice I’ve sent?
Void invoice if it shouldn’t exist at all, say a duplicate or the wrong customer. It keeps its number, stays in your records marked Void, and the customer’s link stops taking payments. That’s only possible before any payment or credit note.
Otherwise issue a Credit note. It copies the invoice’s items for you to lower to what comes off; your Reason prints on it, along with the invoice it corrects and that invoice’s date.
How do I record a bank transfer?
Open the invoice, tap Record payment and choose Transfer, Cash, Cheque or Other; the payer’s reference goes in Reference. The amount starts at what’s owing and can’t be more, and it saves without coverage. Fully paid, the invoice turns Paid and Share receipt sends a receipt stamped Paid. A payment recorded by mistake is reversed, not deleted.
Questions
How long do I keep invoices?
The export screen gives Inland Revenue’s rule: at least 7 years after the end of the tax year the records relate to. An export holds every invoice and receipt you sent, as PDFs exactly as your customers got them.
I’m not GST registered yet. Can I still invoice?
Yes. Invoices go out without GST or a GST number. When you register, turn on Registered for GST in your business profile and add the number; invoices from then on show both.
What do the badges mean?
Viewed: the customer opened the page. Due soon: due in 3 days or less. Overdue: past the due date, the only red badge. Paid, Credited, Refunded and Void mean nothing more is owed.
Can customers pay by card?
They can once you set up card payments with Stripe, from the invoice’s page or by tapping their card on your phone. It goes into your own Stripe account, less the plan’s platform fee (see pricing).
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Questions? Write to us at support@quotebird.app.