Invoice vs receipt: which one should you send?
They look similar and get used interchangeably, which causes late payments and messy books. Here is the difference and when to send each.
28 July 2026 · 4 min read
Getting these two mixed up is the quiet cause of a lot of late payments.
The one-line difference
- An invoice says: you owe me this, please pay by this date.
- A receipt says: you paid this, on this date. We are square.
What only belongs on an invoice
- A due date and payment terms (Net 14, Net 30, due on receipt)
- Bank details or a payment link
- Late-payment terms, if you use them
- An invoice number in its own sequence (INV-0001)
What only belongs on a receipt
- The date the money actually arrived
- The payment method and reference
- Confirmation that the balance is now zero
- Its own number sequence (REC-0001)
The normal order of events
- Agree the work — send an estimate or quote.
- Do the work — send an invoice.
- Get paid — send a receipt.
Deposits deserve their own note: invoice for the deposit, receipt the deposit when it lands, then invoice the balance. Keep the receipt numbers running in one sequence so nothing looks skipped.
Keeping the two sequences straight
Never reuse a number between the two. If a customer queries a payment, you want to point at INV-0042 and REC-0088 and have both tell the same story.
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