An open invoice is a detailed document that shows the amount owed and the due date of the payment. Generally the invoice is sent by vendors to the accounting department or accounts payable department of the company that owes them. The invoice can also show if there is any past due amount from previous transactions or past amounts the company paid.
In addition, an open invoice is “closed” once it’s been paid by a customer and moved to your revenue section. Afterward, when a payment is transferred to your business’ bank account, that ex-open invoice will be under your payments section.
PROCESSING
Once a company receives an open invoice, its accounting department reviews the statements to make sure the invoice is correct. If the invoice is incorrect or contains errors, the department contacts the vendor to discuss the difference. If the invoice is correct and matches its records, it schedules a payment to the vendor. Some companies work with vendors to pay a set amount each time, especially if the vendor is used consistently. Others may pay each bill in full as it is received. This is generally done when it is a payment for a one-time purchase or service.
AFTER PAYMENT
After receiving payment for an open invoice, the vendor closes the invoice and marks it as paid in its accounting books. If the payment is not received on time, or only a partial payment is made, the vendor may charge a fee to the company for late payment. This fee is usually put onto the next invoice if the vendor does usual business with the company; for a one-time purchase, the vendor may send an invoice for the fee only.
HOW DOES AN OPEN INVOICE WORK ?
Now that you have a solid understanding of what open invoices actually are, it’s time to tie them into your regular business account and bookkeeping processes.
Once an open invoice has been created, both the customer and the merchant (that would be your business) will have a specific account for that open invoice on your balance sheets.
If you’re the business providing a service or product, then you’ll see that open invoice as an asset. It’s funds that can be adequately relied on for paying upcoming business liabilities, like purchasing raw materials and making lease payments.
On the other hand, an open invoice will be seen as a current liability for the customer. It’ll show up on the side of liabilities, opposite the customer’s cash reserves, cash flow, and accounts receivable.
For both the merchant and the customer, the open invoice will stay in their previously selected spots on your accounts until the invoice is closed.
Screenshot of the Open Invoice
OPEN INVOICE – CSV IMPORT
We can import all open invoices using import assistant. For that navigate to Set Up > Import/Export > Import CSV records.
- Select Import type as ‘Transaction’.
- Choose Record type ‘Invoice’.
- Select the csv file that wants to import. Then click next.
- In the import options, select Add and click next.
- Next field mapping page will appear. Here map the appropriate fields in the import file with the NetSuite field. Location and currency is mandatory field for invoice field mapping.
Click the pencil icon near to the Customer internal id and select choose reference type as “Internal id”. Same will do for the Item Internal id.
Click save.
‘Save mapping and Start import’ page will appear, give import name and click save and run.
- Now the import has been saved. View the import job status.
- We can see the import status. In the job status page, if the status is complete the import is completed. Either import is successful or unsuccessful. There is a chance to occur error.
Download the CSV response file and view the status. ‘All records imported successfully’ means there is no error. If any error occurred, correct according to the error and need to import again.