Reading a Simple Invoice

An invoice lands in your inbox as a PDF. You open it and see a wall of numbers. Do not read it from top to bottom. Start with one thing: the invoice number. It sits near the top, usually next to the date. Every question you ask later will start with that number.

Next, look at the middle of the page. That block is a list of line items. Each line item is one thing the company sold you. A line shows what it was, the quantity, and the unit price. Multiply those two and you get the amount for that line. That is all a line item does.

Below the lines are three numbers, and they always come in the same order. The subtotal adds up every line. Then tax is added. The last number is the total, often labelled amount due. That is the only number anyone will actually pay. The rest just explains how it got there.

Now find the due date. It may be written as a date. It may also say Net 30. Net 30 means you pay within thirty days of the invoice date. Net 15 means fifteen days. That is the whole code. Put that date in your calendar before you close the file.

Before you approve anything, do one check. Make the line items match up with what you ordered. If they match, forward the invoice for approval. If one line looks wrong, reply with the invoice number and that single line. You do not need to understand accounting to do this well.