Sales
Acting Office is a powerful, user-friendly platform designed to streamline financial management. Key features include seamless integration with Companies House for customer data retrieval, and intelligent syncing across multiple modes. The auto allocation feature efficiently distributes receipt amounts across invoices, simplifying reconciliation. Users can easily apply discounts, manage VAT calculations, and create sales and purchase items. With advanced filtering, sorting, and real-time updates, Acting Office provides comprehensive tools for managing estimates, credit notes, and receipts, ensuring efficient and accurate financial operations.
Sales invoice
Navigate to the ‘Sales’ Section under the Inputs tab.
Initiate a new invoice
To begin creating a new invoice, click on the ‘Add’ button. Alternatively, you may use the shortcut 'Alt+N' to generate a new invoice.
Enter customer details
Enter the customer’s name. Acting Office allows the creation of a new customer record instantly when generating a new invoice. Just start by typing the business name. If the customer’s business is registered with Companies House, the software will automatically retrieve the business' details. Simply type the business name and click the search icon or press enter. A list of matching results will be displayed, from which you can select the relevant business. The address and other relevant details will automatically populate. If necessary, you can modify the business' address by clicking the edit icon or by pressing tab after inputting the business name itself. You may also input additional customer information by clicking on ‘More details’ and completing the required fields -
Contact details- You can enter details of the primary contact, phone number, email address, fax, website details, billing and shipping addresses. You can add further contact persons by clicking on ‘Add more’.
Generic payment terms for a particular customer could be instantly entered along with credit limits and number of credit days. These may not be entered if they are uniform with business’ general settings. For example, as a business, you generally lend for 15 days. These 15 days payment terms should be entered in business settings and may not be repeated while creating every customer. This makes the process easier.
Primary bank in which customer would most likely pay could be selected.
Discount - A percentage of discount generally offered to a particular customer could be set. This eliminates the need to apply the same discount percentage while creating each invoice of a particular customer.
VAT number - This helps in storing the VAT number to be displayed in each invoice issued to a particular customer.
EORI number - EORI number is used to track and register customs information in the EU and could be stored for each customer.
Notes - Any relevant notes along with attachments to be kept on any particular customer’s file can be added in this panel itself.
Once done, click the ‘Save’ button to complete the customer creation process.
Invoice number
The invoice number will be auto-generated based on the sequence defined in the settings. However, it can be manually adjusted if needed.
Purchase Order (P.O.) reference
Enter the unique identifier provided by the buyer of the corresponding purchase order. You may also attach relevant documents by clicking the 'Attachment' icon. These attachments could be later viewed from the list view by clicking on the same icon.
Invoice date
Specify the invoice date. You can use the calendar icon to select the desired date or can manually input the date.
Due date
The due date will be automatically populated based on the payment terms set within the customer’s settings, if any or else would be fetched from the generic payment terms defined in the business settings. This can be edited by selecting the appropriate option from the dropdown menu. You can adjust the due date and credit limit accordingly. Click ‘Save’ to confirm any modifications.
Adding items to the invoice
You can select an existing already created item from the dropdown or can create a new item to the invoice by typing the item name in the designated field and selecting ‘Create’. This will generate a new line item, and the details will be saved for future use.
Next, enter a description of the product in the corresponding field, which gets shown on the invoices.
Select the appropriate account from the dropdown list where journals need to be reflected.
Specify the quantity of the item being invoiced and input the unit price.
The net amount for each line item will be automatically calculated. Once an item has been added, a new row will appear, enabling you to enter additional items. To remove a line item, click the 'Delete' icon next to the corresponding row.
Note
The ‘Go up’ and ‘Go down’ arrows, located to the left of the line items, allow you to rearrange the sequence of items within the invoice.
For VAT-registered entities, the VAT rate could be selected from dropdown.
Discounts can be applied to the invoice as either a percentage or a fixed amount. The system will calculate and apply the discount, though it can be modified by clicking the adjacent icon.
Payment terms and notes
Input the payment terms and notes- To edit payment terms or add notes to the sales invoice, click the Settings icon. These are by default fetched from business settings but can be edited for individual invoices.
In order to display bank details on the copy of the invoice, enable the checkbox and select the bank that needs to be displayed on the invoice.
To display terms, enable the checkbox and enter the terms to be displayed on the copy of invoice.
For adding notes, you can select notes from settings and can save it.
Saving the invoice
Click ‘Save’ to complete the invoice creation. If you wish to save the current invoice and create a new one simultaneously, click ‘Save & New’.
Tip:
Acting Office provides several keyboard shortcuts for user convenience. A list of available shortcuts will appear by pressing the Alt key on the keyboard. These can help streamline the invoice creation process.
Sales dashboard
Total invoice amount
The sum of all invoices raised will be displayed net of credit notes amount. Additionally, a graph will illustrate both the outstanding and paid amounts. Hovering over the graph will provide a detailed view of the figures.
Outstanding amount
The outstanding balance will be shown here, along with details about the amounts that are due and overdue.
List of invoices: A comprehensive list of all invoices, including reference numbers, dates, due dates, invoice amounts, outstanding amounts, and invoice status, will be displayed. Several quick actions are available, including:
Clone: Duplicate an existing invoice, with all details being copied to a new invoice.
Bad debts: If an invoice is deemed a bad debt, it can be marked as such by clicking the three-dot menu, selecting ‘Bad debts’, and confirming the journal details including date and description. A corresponding journal entry will be created and can be accessed in the Journal section of the module.
Delete: Remove an invoice from the system by selecting the 'Delete' icon. In order to revive a deleted invoice, you can change the filter from active to deleted and use the icon to bring it back.
Email: Send the invoice via an email. The email can be sent immediately or scheduled for a specific date and timing.
Download: A copy of invoice can be downloaded using the designated icon in PDF format.
Edit: Invoices can be updated by using the edit icon. This helps in making the needed changes. The editing is locked in a lot of circumstances including presence of associated transactions, filing of VAT return, etc.
Additional functions
Search Use the search bar to quickly find an invoice by its reference number or to filter invoices for a specific customer.
Date filters Apply date filters to view invoices within a specific date range.
Filters Filter invoices based on status, such as Active, Due, Overdue, Paid, or Deleted. Select the appropriate filter to display the relevant invoices.
Sorting The sorting functionality allows you to organise the list of invoices by various criteria, such as date or amount.
Hide graphics If you wish to hide the graphical reports, click 'Hide graphics', and only the list of invoices will be displayed.
Refresh Click the refresh icon to update the dashboard with the latest information.
Credit notes
To begin creating a credit note, click on the 'Add' button.
You can search for the customer by entering the customer's name and a list of existing customers will appear for you to select the appropriate one. The system will automatically generate the credit note number based on the sequence configured in the business settings, although this can be modified as needed.
By default, today's date will be set for the credit note. If you wish to select a different date, use the Calendar icon to choose the desired date.
The software will then display a list of all outstanding invoices for the selected customer. Hovering over the invoice reference field will provide additional guidance on how to use it.
You also have the option to attach relevant documents by clicking the 'Attachment' icon.
Select items for credit note
A list of items associated with the selected invoice will be displayed. You can select the items for which the credit note is being raised and adjust the quantity or unit price of any concerned item as needed. Discounts can be applied either as a fixed amount or a percentage.
Allocation of receipt amount
Once the credit note is saved, a pop-up will appear, allowing you to review and allocate the amount from the associated invoice. You can either apply the credit note to the invoice amount or mark it as a refund. To save the credit note, click on ‘Save’, select 'Save & New' to save the current credit note and create a new one simultaneously.
Credit note tab
All credit notes raised within the selected date range will be displayed in the credit note tab, along with details such as the credit note reference number, the associated invoice reference in the invoice column, date, amount, and refund amount.
Use the 'Download' icon to export a specific credit note.
To delete an existing credit note, click the three-dot icon and select the 'Delete' option.
Filters can be applied to display only active or deleted credit notes.
The search bar and refresh icons allow you to search for a specific credit note or refresh the page to update information.
Estimates
An Estimate is a formal document provided to a customer that outlines the specific products or services being offered along with their respective prices. Once the customer reviews and accepts the estimate, it can be converted into a formal invoice. Raising an estimate is similar to raising a sales invoice. Input all necessary details and click 'Save' to proceed with the creation of the new estimate.
Estimate dashboard
The interactive dashboard displays important information such as the total number of estimates raised, the total amount, and the breakdown of pending and accepted estimates, along with their respective percentages.
A list of all estimates will be presented along with important details. The status column will indicate whether the estimate is 'Pending' or 'Accepted'.
Quick action buttons are available to:
Download the estimate
Create an Invoice
Delete the estimate
Filters can be applied to narrow down the list of estimates. You can also set a date range to view only estimates created within a specific period. The 'Hide graphics' icon hides the graphical report, and the refresh icon allows you to refresh the page for new information.
Receipts
Acting Office allows users to easily record receipts from customers. To create a new receipt, click on the add receipt and proceed with the following steps:
Input required details Enter all necessary details including selection of customer, date of receipt, the relevant account and payment method from the dropdown for reconciliation purposes. Customers can also be created by typing the name and clicking on create customer. The rest of the process is similar to creation of customers while adding invoices. The way to record advances is also similar.
Auto allocation toggle If a customer has multiple outstanding invoices, the Auto allocation feature will intelligently allocate the total receipt amount across those invoices based on their respective due dates following the FIFO method. If you prefer to manually allocate the receipt against specific invoices, simply toggle off this feature and input the amounts manually against the desired invoice. In cases where you want to record discounts allowed on a particular invoice, you can use settings icon and enter the amount. For the amount in excess of the allocated amount to invoices, the system stores it in the form of advance, available for exhaustion further.
Notes and attachments You can add additional remarks using the 'Notes' option and attach relevant documents using the 'Attachment' icon. Once the details are entered, click 'Save' to record the receipt, or choose 'Save & New' to save the current receipt and create a new one simultaneously.
Receipt Dashboard
The receipt dashboard displays a list of all receipts, including relevant details such as invoice reference(s), date, account, and receipt amount.
Quick action buttons allow you to 'Download' the receipt.
The three-dot menu offers options to either delete the receipt or download the invoice(s) against which the receipt has been marked.
Customers
With Acting Office’s intelligent syncing feature, a list of all customers created across various modes will be compiled and presented in the customer section. All relevant customer information will be displayed here.
Create new customer To add a new customer, click the 'Add' button and input the required details. The process is similar to creation of customers from all the other sections including invoices, receipts, etc.
Additional features
a. The Search icon enables you to locate a specific customer from the list of all customers. This report can also be downloaded as an excel document using the 'Download' icon.
b. Filters can be applied to refine the data. You may also use the 'Choose columns' icon to select the specific columns you wish to display in the report to track customer details.
c. The Edit icon allows you to modify customer information. Additionally, the three-dot icon provides options to delete a customer from the system. In order to revive a deleted customer, change the filter from active to deleted, and then use the 'Revive' icon to do the needful.
Items
All items created during the invoicing process will be listed here along with essential details such as item code, description, item type, and other relevant information. You can also create a new item, from here.
Create new item
To add a new item, click the 'Add' button and input the required details-
Item name - This would be visible in the dropdowns and hence would be used to refer to a particular item.
Item code - A unique code assigned to each item. The same could even be displayed on invoices, if needed, using options in settings.
If you are adding a service instead of a product, you can enable the ‘as service’ checkbox.
The system allows you to differentiate the details of description, unit price, account to be journalised and applicable VAT rates for the same item in context of both sales and purchase purposes. So just in case you are creating a particular item only for purchases and not for sales, you can disable the checkbox ‘for purchases’. Another example, in case of trading entities where an item is bought at 400 and sold at 1000, the unit prices can be changed accordingly for both the sections.
Additional features
a. The 'Edit' and 'Delete' icons provide options to modify or remove an existing item. b. Use the search bar and filters options to quickly locate specific items and refine the list as needed.
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