What is the Difference Between an Invoice and a Bill? Does it Matter?

The word bill comes from the Medieval Latin word bulla, meaning sealed document. That became the Anglo-Norman French word bille , which morphed into the English word bill. 

Your vendor sends you a bill that you will then pay. If you print the bill and mail it, your customer will receive a sealed document. Even if you email it, there is a sense of the bill being a sealed document as long as that mail account is protected.

An invoice is sent, while a bill is received. When you send an invoice to a customer, the customer then receives it as a bill- it’s all about the perspective. 

Creating an invoice on Quickbooks is simple and intuitive. Follow the steps below to get your invoice sent out:

1. On the left-hand menu, go to Invoicing
2. Click on “Send your first invoice”.
3. Be sure to fill in each field of the invoice carefully. Select your customer from the dropdown list
4. Select the terms of payment
5. Enter the information about the product/service provided
6. Enter the email you want to send the invoice to
7. Preview your invoice and customize the style.
8. Allow online payments if you want your customer to have the easy option of paying.
9. Customize the email message and send your invoice

Paying bills through Quickbooks is another basic function that allows you to pay your suppliers. Just follow the steps below to quickly and easily pay your bill:

1. In the main menu, click on Suppliers
2. Go to “Pay Bills”
3. Select the right Accounts Payable option if you have more than one
4. Select a bill by using the checkbox, or select all bills
5. Enter any discount or credits you may want to use
6. Select the date of payment and the method you will use to pay the bill
7. Once you’ve entered all your information, click “Pay Selected Bills”
8. Review your Payment Summary and click “Done”
9. The bill is paid

It’s that easy!