In this article, you will find all the information on how to set up the billing of your store and what is needed to issue a credit note. We recommend that you pay special attention when you enter your company details.

Invoice information

Log into your admin panel, from the menu choose Settings > Invoicing. You need to fill in the following fields:

1.  You can choose whether to enable Activate Invoicing from the On /Off button.

2.  Automatic or manual invoice generation - You can choose whether you want the invoices to be created automatically or for each order to create the invoice manually.

Go to the "Generate invoice" field and from the drop-down menu choose whether you prefer invoices to be generated automatically or manually.

If you select "Manual" as an invoice generation option as shown in the below image.

You will find in the settings a new option - Invoice number.

For the Invoice Number field, you can choose from 3 options for generating the invoices:

  • Automated by the system - the system itself will create an invoice number (the next in line).
  • Manual by the administrator - the customer needs to enter the invoice number manually, and the number must be unique.
  • External system - an invoice number will be taken from an external system (ERP, which you can choose) if the ERP system supports invoice generation.


Pay attention to the fact that if you don't generate invoice numbers, it may affect other functionality in your store. For example, invoices without a number are not sent with the initial order confirmation email. Also, in the store admin panel you will not be able to see an invoice without a number, the view invoice button appears when there is an actual invoice with a number.

Select Generate Invoice > Manual > External System to access the new drop-down menu from which you can select which ERP system you want to use.


Important: when you select Generate invoice > Manual > External system you will see a new field where you can select which ERP system you want to use from the ones installed in your store. ERP systems must support invoice receipt, and the invoice number in the ERP system will be recorded as the invoice number in your CloudCart store.


When you choose to manually create the invoices and their numbers, under each new order you will be able to find a new field named "Invoicing" and a "Create Invoice" button.

3.  Invoicing Address - Select from the drop-down menu for which address (Billing Address or Shipping Address) the fees and taxes will be charged.


4. Issue an invoice only if a billing address is selected - A self-explanatory option, which you can choose to enable/disable in accordance with your needs.

5. Invoice number padding - This option determines how many digits would be filled with the number 0. The default is 10.
Example:

  • If the invoice is number 1, 9 zeros will be automatically added.
  • If the invoice number is 123 and you have filled in 10, then the number will look like this: 0000000123.
  • If you set fill 5 and the number is 123456, then the number will look like this: 123456, even if the invoice number is larger than the preset fill number, it will be displayed in full.


6.  Invoice number prefix - This is the invoice number respectively.

Example:

  • If the invoice number is 123 and created in 2019, and you set the [OY] prefix, then the number will look like this: 2019-123.


7.  Invoice number suffix - This is the opposite of the Prefix, the number with which the invoice ends.

Example:

  • If the invoice number is 123 and was created in 2019 and you set a suffix - [OY], then the number will look like this: 123-2019.

8. Hide the shipping field if the shipping amount is zero.

  •    If the shipping amount on an invoice is zero, then the corresponding shipping cost fields will be hidden on the invoice.

Company information

In the following fields, enter all your business information:

Credit Note Information

If you have activated invoicing in your store, you will be able to issue credit notes if necessary. In cases where you have a canceled or returned order, which has already been paid, you need to issue a credit note.


Without invoicing you will not be able to create credit notes. If the second option 'Issue an invoice only if a billing address is selected' in the Store address section is turned off, this means that every order will be generated with an invoice and you will be able to create a credit note for each order in case there is an order which has been canceled or refunded.

  • Invoice number padding - this setting tells the system how many digits a credit note should have. Each credit note has unique credit numbers that differ from those on the invoice, although the two are related. Ex. if the credit memo number is 123 and you have set a fill of 10 digits, then the credit note number would look like this 0000000123
  • Method of payment by CN - it specifies what payment method you will use to return the money. If you choose ‘Do not change the payment method’, the payment method that was originally used for the purchase will be used for returning the money. If you select a different payment method, for example, Bank Wire Transfer, each credit note by default will be generated with a Bank Wire Transfer payment method. Тhe drop-down menu will display all the payment methods you have activated in your store. This setting cannot be changed on each credit note individually.


You will find more information about credit notes here.

Template for printing order's invoice

In the following fields, you can create your own templates for invoices, packing slips, and credit notes by using the variables or using the existing ones. Keep in mind that the "{$invoice_date}" variable doesn't include the hour of the sale, only the date.

Note that when the code field is empty, our standard template is used. It cannot be changed. You can only change the template with the code provided as an example. 

Template for printing а packing slip

Template for printing a credit notice

In the section, you don’t need to create a template yourself because the software comes with a default one for the PDF. But if you want to make some changes to the PDF file, its structure, or add some other things, the variables in the legend are available to you and CSS classes that you can use to customize your credit note. There is also a template that you can download, edit, and add below the CSS classes.

Once you have successfully activated invoicing, you can read more about Managing orders' invoices here.