Your business customers expect a proper invoice. Here are the details to include and what software should automate.
A till receipt is enough for an individual. For a company, an agency or an NGO you need a full invoice: your identifiers, the customer's, the line items and the VAT. If your software only produces a receipt, you redo the document by hand and lose time every time.
Details to find on your documents
- Your company name, address and contact details
- Your NUI (unique taxpayer number) and your RCCM
- An invoice number and a date
- Items, quantities and unit prices
- Amount before tax, VAT, and total including tax
The exact list of mandatory details depends on your tax regime. Check it with your tax office or accountant, then configure it once in the software.
VAT, without a calculator
In Cameroon the standard VAT rate is 19.25%. Good software lets you switch it on or off and set the rate, then calculates the total including tax on each sale and carries it to the invoice. No more rounding errors or totals recalculated over the phone.
One format per use
The counter wants a short, fast thermal receipt. The business customer wants an A5 or A4 invoice with your logo. The same software should print both from the same sale, with no retyping.
Don't depend on the network to invoice
An invoice requested by a customer in a hurry shouldn't wait for the connection to return. Invoicing must work offline, and history should let you reprint an invoice or export it to PDF later.
Common mistakes
- Invoicing without NUI or RCCM on the document
- Applying VAT by hand, with gaps at closing
- Numbering invoices manually and creating duplicates
- Being unable to find an old invoice
A correct invoice the first time beats a credit note and a second invoice.
In practice
In Logesco you enter your logo, contact details, NUI, RCCM and VAT rate once. They then appear on every receipt and invoice, in thermal, A5 or A4 format.