Writing Your First Invoice¶
In dikas Faktura, every invoice belongs to the customer area. This page shows the complete path: create a customer, enter the invoice, generate a PDF, send it by email and book the payment receipt.
Customers → Invoices
Not tax advice
The notes on mandatory details and taxes on this page are meant as guidance and do not replace tax advice. Clarify legal details with your tax advisor or the tax authority.
Do this beforehand
Bank details and tax data should be stored before the first invoice goes out — see Registration and first start.
1 · Create a customer¶
- Click Customers in the sidebar. The customer list is also the start page.
- Click "New customer" at the top right.
- Fill in the master data — at least Company or First name/Last name.
- The sub-tabs of the master data contain Address, Notes, Bank, Credit and Terms.
- In the Address sub-tab enter the postal address — and the email.
- Save.
| Field | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Customer number | appears as the buyer reference in the e-invoice |
| Company / First name / Last name | Invoice recipient |
| Address | Postal address on the invoice — street and No. may be in separate fields, the house number appears on every document |
| Delivery addresses | in the Address sub-tab under "Add delivery address": different addresses for delivery, each with Country; one of them as Default — see Delivery address |
| Recipient address when sending the invoice | |
| Invoice email | only fill in if the invoice should go to a different address (e.g. accounting) |
| VAT ID | controls reverse charge for EU business customers |
No email, no sending
If the customer has neither Email nor Invoice email, sending fails and the invoice remains a draft. In this case download the PDF and send it yourself.
2 · Create an invoice¶
Two routes lead to the same editor:
- Customers → "Invoices" tab → "New" — the customer is searched in the editor.
- Customers → open customer → "Invoices" tab → "New" — the customer is already set.
The editor is called "New invoice" and has three tabs. The note in the header row applies throughout: Ctrl+S saves, Esc cancels. The digits 1, 2, 3 jump between the tabs.
"Address" tab¶
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Customer (optional) | Search field "Search customer…" — not shown if you started from within a customer |
| Billing address: Company | different company name (otherwise from the customer master data) |
| Billing address: Name | different contact person |
| Street / ZIP / City / Country | different postal address |
| Different delivery address | Switch: on if the goods do not go to the billing address — see Delivery address |
| Notes | free text for the invoice |
Delivery address¶
In the "Address" tab, the "Delivery address" section appears below the billing address.
- Switch off: Below the switch it says "Delivered to the billing address." — the invoice carries no separate delivery address.
- Switch on: Under "Stored delivery address" choose one of the customer's delivery addresses (the default address is marked "(Default)") or "Enter another address". Below that are Recipient, c/o / additional line, street, No., ZIP, city and Country.
If the customer has a default delivery address (tick "Default" or the only one stored), the switch is already on when the customer is selected and the address is pre-filled. A stored delivery address brings its own country; for another address the country of the billing address is pre-filled. If the Recipient stays empty, the invoice recipient is used. Without street, ZIP and city, the billing address applies.
The delivery address appears:
- in the invoice detail view as a separate row,
- on the invoice PDF — depending on the template as a separate "Delivery address" block below the recipient or as a line "Delivery address: …" in the note text; the country is only shown if delivery is to a different country,
- on the delivery note for the invoice,
- in the e-invoice as the delivery location,
- in your customer's customer portal in the invoice detail,
- in the invoice email via the placeholder
{Lieferanschrift}.
Like the billing address, it can only be changed in the draft. When copying an invoice and when converting a quote, it is carried over.
"Payment" tab¶
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Payment term (days) | Period from invoice date — the due date is calculated from it |
| Total discount (%) | Discount on the whole invoice, 0–100 |
| SEPA direct debit | Invoice is marked for direct debit collection (module Finance, i.e. from plan Invoice; the direct debit run itself belongs to Pro) |
| Net mode | Flag that marks the invoice as a net billing |
The tax rate always comes from the item
Neither the net mode nor a foreign VAT ID automatically removes the VAT. If an invoice should go out without VAT — for example for reverse charge — set the tax rate per item to 0 % and add the required note text in the description or the long text.
"Items" tab¶
This is where the content of the invoice is created.
Take over an item from an article: Type into the quick article search ("Article name, no. or barcode…") and click a match — description, price, unit and tax rate are taken over.
Enter an item freely: Click the row "＋ Add item" (or Shift+Enter) and fill in the fields.
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Description | Service or goods |
| Long text | second field below the description: "Long text (optional, appears on the PDF)…" — up to 2000 characters, multi-line, e.g. for serial numbers or a detailed explanation |
| Quantity | Number in the selected unit |
| Unit | e.g. piece, hrs, flat rate, kg, m — free text with suggestions. For an article its unit is already filled in; for a free item without a value, "Piece" applies |
| Unit price | Price per unit |
| MwSt | Auswahlliste der eingerichteten Steuersätze (Standard 19 %, 7 %, 0 %) |
| Discount% | Discount on this item only |
| Gross | is calculated continuously |
Remove an item via the ✕ at the end of the row (tooltip "Remove"); the last remaining item cannot be deleted.
Below the table are the totals: Total discount, Net, VAT, Gross.
Maintaining tax rates
The selection list comes from Settings → Finance → Tax rates. There you also enter deviating or time-limited rates.
Save¶
Click "Create" at the bottom right (for an existing invoice the button is called "Save"). The invoice is then in Draft status and freely editable.
Wann die Rechnungsnummer vergeben wird
Ein Entwurf trägt noch keine Nummer — Liste, Karte, Detailkopf und das PDF zeigen an dieser Stelle das Wort „Entwurf". Die fortlaufende Rechnungsnummer wird erst beim Ausstellen vergeben — also mit der Aktion „Abrechnen & Senden".
Der Grund ist die Nummernfolge: Ein gelöschter Entwurf würde sonst eine Lücke hinterlassen — und eine Lücke im Nummernkreis ist bei einer Prüfung erklärungsbedürftig. So bleibt die Folge auch dann lückenlos, wenn Sie einen Entwurf verwerfen.
Zwei Dinge folgen daraus für den Alltag:
- Ein Entwurf lässt sich nicht überweisen: Das PDF eines Entwurfs enthält keinen Zahlungs-QR-Code, weil der Verwendungszweck ohne Nummer leer bliebe. Stellen Sie die Rechnung aus, bevor Sie sie herausgeben.
- Entwürfe stehen in der nach Nummer sortierten Liste ganz oben, nicht am Ende.
Wird eine Rechnung direkt als ausgestellt angelegt (etwa aus einem automatischen Lauf), bekommt sie ihre Nummer wie bisher sofort.
3 · Finalize, PDF and sending¶
Open the invoice in the list. The actions are in the header row — as icons without labels. Hover the mouse over them and the name appears:
| Icon | Action | When available |
|---|---|---|
| PDF sheet | always | |
| Truck | Delivery note | except for credit notes |
| Pencil | Edit | draft only |
| Paper plane | Finalize & Send | draft only |
| Trash can | Delete draft | draft only |
| Banknote | Payment | when Open / Partially paid / Overdue |
| Check mark in circle | Mark as paid | when Open / Partially paid / Overdue |
| Prohibition sign | Cancel | when Open / Partially paid / Overdue |
| Two sheets | Copy | always |
View the PDF¶
PDF opens the invoice as a PDF file — also in draft, then as a preview.
Delivery note¶
Delivery note (truck icon) generates a delivery note for the invoice. The address shown on it is exactly one of these three, in this order:
- the delivery address of the invoice, if one is entered,
- otherwise the customer's default delivery address (tick "Default" or the only one stored),
- otherwise the billing address.
The address is always taken completely from one source, never mixed. If the customer has several delivery addresses and none of them is marked as default, the billing address appears on the delivery note when the invoice has no delivery address.
Finalize & Send¶
Finalize & Send is the actual completion. One click does three things:
- The invoice is finalized: status Draft → Open, the invoice number is fixed.
- PDF und — bei deutschen Rechnungen — die E-Rechnungs-XML werden unveränderbar abgelegt (GoBD).
- The invoice goes by email to the customer's billing address — with the PDF and the XML file attached.
On success, dikas Faktura reports "Invoice sent".
After finalizing, no more changes
A finalized invoice carries an assigned number. It can no longer be edited and no longer be deleted — only cancelled. So check the draft beforehand.
Adjust cover text and sender
Subject, text and footer of the invoice email are set under Settings → Print & templates → Email.
4 · Set the payment status¶
An invoice passes through these states:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Draft | created, still editable, not yet a valid invoice |
| Open | finalized and sent, payment outstanding |
| Partially paid | a partial amount is booked |
| Paid | fully settled |
| Overdue | payment term exceeded |
| Cancelled | cancelled, credit note created |
Book a partial amount¶
- Open the invoice → Payment (banknote icon).
- The dialog "Book payment" shows the invoice number and the open amount.
- Enter the payment amount, optionally a note (e.g. "Bank transfer of 12.03.").
- Click "Book".
The status changes to Partially paid or Paid. All bookings appear in the detail view in the Payment receipt tab.
Fully paid¶
Mark as paid (check mark in circle) books the entire open amount in one step.
Cancel¶
Cancel (prohibition sign) first asks for confirmation. If an amount is still open, the prompt points out that a credit note is created automatically for this amount. After confirmation, dikas Faktura reports "Invoice cancelled (credit note created)".
5 · The invoice list¶
Use Filter in the list to narrow by status, dunning level, From/To (date) and Search (number or customer name).
Next Step¶
→ Understanding the e-invoice (ZUGFeRD/XRechnung) — what arrives at the recipient and why it is becoming mandatory