Your bills to your customers
Invoices, notes and GST
Plain-English answers on which bill or note to use, and when. Every one of these is about the bill you give a renter, not the bill Vaadify gives you.
Before the bill is final
- Draft bill (pro forma)
When to use it
You want to show the customer what they'll pay, but the rental isn't over yet and the numbers may still change.
What happens
It's only an estimate — not a tax invoice. It updates by itself as you edit the order, and nothing is locked.
Who can do it: Anyone
- Finalise the tax invoice
When to use it
The rental is done and the amount is final — usually when the customer returns the goods.
What happens
Locks the bill into an official tax invoice with a permanent number. After this the order's money can't be quietly changed — corrections need a credit or debit note.
Who can do it: Anyone
Fixing a mistake
- Void an invoice — "I made a mistake"
When to use it
The invoice itself is wrong (wrong customer, wrong item) and you want to cancel it and start over.
What happens
Marks the invoice cancelled — it stays on record as voided, as the law requires — so you can finalise a fresh, correct one. Use this for mistakes, not for changes the customer agreed to.
Who can do it: Anyone
- Credit note — money going back to the customer
When to use it
After you invoiced, the order shrank or the customer is owed money — an early return, an agreed discount, a returned item.
What happens
Issues an official credit note that lowers what the customer owes. The original invoice stays as it is; the credit note records the reduction.
Who can do it: Admin only
- Debit note — the customer owes more
When to use it
After you invoiced, the amount went up — a late fee, damage, or the customer extended the rental.
What happens
Issues an official debit note that adds to what the customer owes, on top of the original invoice.
Who can do it: Admin only
Making it match
- Make the paperwork match (reconcile)
When to use it
The order total changed after its invoice was issued, so the bill on file no longer matches the order. You'll see an amber prompt on the order.
What happens
We work out the exact credit or debit note needed to bring the invoice in line with the order — one click issues it. This is an admin housekeeping task.
Who can do it: Admin only
- Should GST change too?
When to use it
You're issuing a credit or debit note and deciding whether the tax (GST) should move with the amount.
What happens
Tick it when the goods or service amount changed, so GST is recalculated on the difference. Leave it off for a pure money adjustment that isn't taxed — a goodwill discount or a flat penalty.
Who can do it: Admin only
Who is allowed
- Who can do what
When to use it
You're not sure whether you're allowed to issue a note.
What happens
Any staff member can make a draft bill and finalise an invoice. Only an admin can issue credit notes, debit notes, or run the reconcile prompt — because those change official tax records.
Who can do it: Anyone bills; only admins issue notes
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