Sales Total on a Quickbooks Invoice does not meet legal requirements

Legacy KB ID: 4137

Question

I have issued an invoice and applied a pre-payment.  Why does my customer complain that my invoice is illegal as it does not show the true Sales Total?

Answer

The total of the Tax Invoice is the Net Sales cost of goods and services sold, GST less any prepayments. 

ATO website defines a valid tax invoice as:   

·         it is issued by the supplier, unless it is an RCTI (in which case it is issued by the recipient)

·         it contains enough information to enable the following to be clearly identified

o    the supplier's identity and ABN

o    a brief description of what is sold, including the quantity (if applicable) and the price of what is sold

o    the extent to which each sale is a taxable sale - this can be shown separately or, if the GST to be paid is exactly one-eleventh of the total price, as a statement such as 'total price includes GST'

o    the date the document is issued

o    the amount of GST (if any) payable for each sale

o    if the document was issued by the recipient and GST is payable for any sale - that the GST is payable by the supplier

o    that the document was intended to be a tax invoice or an RCTI if it was issued by the recipient.

QuickBooks Tax Invoices show the item and its tax by item and so meet the legal definition.