Three papers, three different moments
In small shops these three words are often used in place of one another, and that causes trouble at accounting time.
In fact the three papers belong to three different moments.
| Paper | When you give it | The main point |
| Quotation | Before money is discussed | This will be the price, and this price holds until this date |
| Invoice | After the goods or work are delivered | This money is owed, by this date |
| Cash memo or receipt | After you take the money | I have received this money |
For a cash sale, the invoice and the receipt become one, and in a shop that goes by the name cash memo. If you sell on credit, you need two separate papers, because the day you hand over the goods and the day you get the money are not the same.
The serial number is the foundation
This one thing is neglected most, yet the whole set of accounts stands on it.
Every paper gets a unique number, for example INV-2026-0001. Three rules:
- No gaps. Start from one and go in order. If a number is missing in the middle, the question comes up: where did that sale go?
- The same number never twice. If there is a mistake, cancel it and give a new number. Do not delete the old one.
- Keep the years separate. If you start again from one in a new year, the year needs to be written with the number.
Why so strict? Because six months later, when a buyer says "but I did pay", what you have in your hand is the continuity of these numbers.
What goes at the top
At the very top, write in large letters what this is: invoice, quotation or cash memo. The word should be clear at a glance.
On the left, your shop's details: name, logo, address, phone. If you have a business registration or VAT registration number, put it here too.
On the right, the number and date of the paper. For an invoice, the payment due date. For a quotation, the expiry. For a receipt, the date the money was received.
Below that, the buyer's details: name, address and phone. If you are selling to an organisation, their registration number too.
The product lines
The table in the middle is the real part, and here one rule is broken more than any other: the description is written so generally that six months later you yourself cannot tell what was sold.
Weak description: "goods"
Good description: "Cotton saree, blue, free size"
The columns: serial, description, quantity, unit, unit price, total. Align the numbers to the right, and write the taka sign once in the heading or the total, not in every cell.
The totals at the bottom
If you follow this order, nobody questions the arithmetic:
- Subtotal
- Discount, if any
- VAT, with the rate written beside it
- Total, the largest and boldest figure on the page
- Paid and due, if it is a credit sale
Under the total, write it in words, for example "In words: two thousand three hundred taka only". In Bangladesh this is not only a custom, it also does a job: it is easy to slip in one extra digit in a figure, and writing in words is hard to change.
If you charge VAT, show it on a separate line, and do not hide it inside the price. If the buyer is an organisation, they need that line for their own accounts.
Write down how to pay too
At the bottom of the invoice, keep a small box: the ways the money can be paid. For a bank, the account name, number and branch. For bKash or Nagad, the number, and whether it is personal or merchant.
And add one line: the invoice number should be mentioned when sending the money. This one line halves the work of matching, at month end, which money belongs to which sale.
The mistakes that make accounts not match later
| Mistake | What happens six months later |
| A paper with no number | You cannot say which sale is which |
| The same number twice | One proof for two sales |
| "Goods" in the description | You do not remember what was sold |
| No date written | You cannot prove since when the money is owed |
| VAT inside the price | The buyer's accounts do not match, and questions come |
| Handwritten only, no copy | The buyer has the paper, you have nothing |
| No amount in words | You cannot rely on it if there is an argument about the figure |
A little needs saying about the second to last one. A handwritten memo book has a carbon copy, so keep it. If you make it on a computer, collect the files in one folder, and once a month copy them somewhere else.
How long to keep them
The general rule is to keep accounting papers for several years, because tax or audit questions come later. The exact time limit may differ by the type of your business, so find it out from your accountant.
What is true in every case: keep the papers where they can be found. A folder arranged by year, and if it is digital, a folder for each year.
Making it with AI
Because the layout is fixed, this job is easy, but two points.
Check the arithmetic yourself. There is no need to have AI do the sums for total, discount and VAT, that is a calculator's job. You give the figures, and give the layout job to it.
The number sequence is yours. Which number you are at stays in your own notebook, and you have to say it each time.
In the BanglaCodes chat, in the "More" menu below the writing box, there is a button named Invoice, and with it you can make an invoice, a quotation or a cash memo, and download it as a PDF.
And if you need many every day, instead of making one at a time in chat it is easier to make yourself a small app, where the paper is ready as soon as you put in the names and prices.
To make a memo with your own shop's name and address, see the cash memo page.
Questions and answers
Are a cash memo and an invoice the same thing? Close, but not the same. An invoice is a paper asking for money, and a cash memo is proof of money received. In a cash sale both happen at one moment, so one paper is enough, but if you sell on credit you need two separate ones.
Does a small shop need an invoice? For a cash sale a cash memo is enough. You need an invoice when you are selling on credit or when the buyer is an organisation, because they need the paper for their own accounts.
How do I start the serial number? From anywhere, just keep the sequence going. Adding the year is the easiest, for example INV-2026-0001. Do not change the system halfway, because it becomes hard to match old and new papers.
What do I do with an invoice that has a mistake? Do not delete it or tear it up. Write cancelled on it and keep it, and make a new paper with a new number. The real point is that there is no gap in the number sequence.
What should I write about VAT? Show the rate on a separate line, and do not mix it into the price. Which VAT rate applies to which product is different for each product, and so is registration, so find it out from your accountant.
Should I give it on paper or digitally? Both work. A PDF sent on WhatsApp stays with the buyer and does not get lost, which is better than paper. But if a buyer standing in the shop wants paper, give paper, and keep your own copy.
What if I have to bill the same buyer every month? Make the layout once and keep it. Each month only the number, date and lines change. If you write the name of the month in the description, it is easier to find later.
How long should I keep old papers? Several years, and the exact time depends on the type of business and on registration. The safe way is to find out from your accountant, and until then keep the files so they can be found by year.
In short
- Quotation first, invoice after, receipt after the money is received
- A unique number on every paper, no gaps, none twice
- The name of the paper in large letters at the top, the shop and the buyer on the two sides
- A description specific enough to be recognised six months later
- Order of totals: subtotal, discount, VAT, total, then in words
- Ask them to mention the invoice number when sending money
- Always keep a copy of your own, and once a month store it in a separate place