How to Use the Invoice Application

This section provides a comprehensive guide on how to use the Invoice Application, taking you through the essential workflows from setting up your business to creating your first invoice. Follow these steps to get started and efficiently manage your business operations.

Overall Workflow

The Invoice Application is designed to guide you through a logical flow, starting with setting up your foundational data and culminating in creating and managing invoices. The typical workflow involves:

1. Setting up your business profile.
2. Organizing your product catalog by creating categories and brands.
3. Adding your products with detailed information, including pricing and tax rates.
4. Managing your inventory by adding stock with batch details.
5. Building your customer database.
6. Creating invoices for your customers, selecting products from your inventory.
7. Managing created invoices (printing, canceling).
8. Monitoring your business performance through the dashboard.

Let’s delve into each of these steps in more detail:

Step 1: Setting Up Your Business Information

Title: Enter Your Business Details

Description: Before you start using the application for invoicing, it’s important to input your business’s foundational information. This includes your shop name, GST/PAN number, and your business address. This information will be displayed on the invoices you generate.

How to do it: Navigate to the settings section (usually found in the top right corner or the left sidebar). Look for an option like “Business Profile” or “Business Settings”. Click on it and fill in all the required fields accurately. Ensure you save the information once you are done.

Step 2: Organizing Your Product Catalog

Title: Create Product Categories and Brands

Description: To effectively manage your products, you should first create categories to group similar items and brands to identify the manufacturers. This step helps in organizing your product catalog and makes it easier to find and manage your inventory later.

How to do it: Use the left sidebar to navigate to the “Categories” section. Click on “Add New Category” and enter the name. Repeat this for all the categories you need. Similarly, navigate to the “Brands” section and add all the brands you stock.

Step 3: Adding Your Products

Title: Input Product Details

Description: Once you have your categories and brands set up, you can start adding your products. This involves entering detailed information for each item you sell, including its name, SKU, pricing, tax rates, and the category and brand it belongs to.

How to do it: Go to the “Products” section in the left sidebar and click “Add New Product”. Fill out the comprehensive form, including the product name, SKU, HSN code, GST rate, barcode, category, brand, section, unit, weight, and a detailed description. Make sure to upload an icon for easy identification. Save the product once all details are entered.

Step 4: Managing Your Inventory

Title: Add Stock to Your Products

Description: With your products added, you now need to manage your inventory. This involves adding stock for each product, specifying details like batch numbers, purchase prices, selling prices, quantities, manufacturing dates, and expiry dates.

How to do it: Navigate to the “Inventories” section and click “Add New Inventory”. Search for and select the product you want to add stock for. Enter the batch number, MRP, buy price, sell price, quantity, manufacturing date, and expiry date. Save the inventory entry. The stock quantity for the corresponding product in the “Products” listing will be updated automatically.

Step 5: Building Your Customer Database

Title: Add Customer Information

Description: Before you can create invoices, you need to have your customer details in the system. This involves adding customer names, email addresses, and phone numbers. You can also add multiple addresses for each customer, which is useful for billing and shipping to different locations.

How to do it: Go to the “Customers” section and click “Add New Customer”. Fill in the customer’s name, email, and phone number. To add additional addresses, edit the customer’s details after saving and look for the “Addresses” section where you can add multiple addresses with specific contact information for each.

Step 6: Creating Invoices

Title: Generate Invoices for Sales

Description: Once you have your products, inventory, and customer information in place, you can start creating invoices. This process involves selecting a customer, choosing the products they are purchasing, and specifying the quantities. The application will automatically calculate taxes and the total amount.

How to do it: Navigate to the “Invoices” section and click “Create New Invoice”. Select the customer and the relevant address. Then, search for and select the products being purchased. For each product, choose the appropriate inventory batch and enter the quantity. The application will automatically calculate the SGST, CGST, and line price. Review the invoice summary, add any notes or discounts, and select the payment mode (currently PAID or UNPAID). Finally, click “Create Invoice”.

Step 7: Managing Created Invoices

Title: Print or Cancel Invoices

Description: After creating invoices, you can manage them from the “Invoices” listing page. This includes the ability to print a PDF version of the invoice for your records or to send to the customer, as well as the option to cancel an invoice if necessary.

How to do it: Go to the “Invoices” section. You will see a list of all your invoices. For the invoice you want to manage, you will find action buttons. Click “Print PDF” to generate a printable version. If you need to cancel an invoice, click “Cancel Invoice” and confirm the action. Canceling an invoice will also update the inventory.

Step 8: Monitoring Your Business Performance

Title: Review Your Dashboard

Description: The Dashboard provides you with an overview of your business’s key metrics and performance. You can see summaries of your invoices, inventory, products, customers, brands, and categories, as well as a graph of your profits and summaries of recent inventory and product activity.

How to do it: After logging in, you will automatically land on the Dashboard. Take some time to review the different sections and understand the insights they provide about your business.

By following these steps, you can effectively use the Invoice Application to manage your business operations, from setting up your initial data to creating and managing your sales invoices. Remember to refer to the specific sections of this documentation for more detailed information on each feature.