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How to show a discount on an invoice

SystemSystem Posts: 412 admin

imageHow to show a discount on an invoice

Creating a discount on your Wave invoice is as simple as adding another product line item with a negative price.  Just remember, if you charge tax, to apply tax to the Discount item too!
Here's how...

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edited November 28, 2018 in Help Center Discussion
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    LingoCoLingoCo Member Posts: 2

    Will it be possible to add a discount as a percentage rather than calculating the dollar amount?

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    SophiaSophia Member Posts: 147 ✭✭

    Hi @LingoCo! I'd recommend calculating your discount as the percentage of the total and then entering the dollar amount that that's equivalent to. You can enter the % discount on the item description line. For example, if you were selling a $100 product and wanted to offer a 20% discount, you could describe the discount line as "20% discount" and then enter the amount of the discount as $20, leaving your customer with a balance of $80 to pay.

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    LingoCoLingoCo Member Posts: 2

    I see. Thanks for getting back to me.
    What I'm really after is a discount calculated automatically, but this should work for now!

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    KNilesKNiles Member Posts: 1

    I think it should be noted that this solution only works on the desktop version of Wave Invoice. I tried this solution on my iPhone and it did not work. I believe this is because you can't enter negative values using the number keypad. Anyone else tried doing this on an iPhone?

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    thetimetamerthetimetamer Member Posts: 2

    Sorry but where is the $3.59 shown as a debit in your last image example??

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    thetimetamerthetimetamer Member Posts: 2

    This method of reporting on discounts actually doesn't work. Is there another way?

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    JamieDJamieD Administrator Posts: 1,156 admin

    Hey @thetimetamer. Could you please elaborate in terms of what you mean for the $3.59 transaction showing in the example? Also, in terms of the reporting on discounts -- I would need more of an explanation as to what you are experiencing so I can further assist you here.

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    Neilr2Neilr2 Member Posts: 1

    This is not a very good solution. This means that you will have a product item for every conceivable discount amount. That is a lot of clutter in your product list, not to mention having to search thru all of the discounts to find the right one so you don't make a duplicate. It also clutters it up when trying to add the regular line items because of all of the"discount" products.

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    JamieDJamieD Administrator Posts: 1,156 admin

    Hi @Neilr2. Appreciate your feedback here in terms of adding a discount on the fly. This could be something that we implement in the future (as well as a tip option for clients) but it's not on any immediate roadmap for the time being. If you could please give me an example of your workflow of how this would benefit you, that would be greatly appreciated here.

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    WappererWapperer Member Posts: 7

    I originally stopped using Wave for this strange inability to not simply discount an invoice or line item without creating a product first. No other invoice system does it this way and it's incredibly frustrating that we wend up with hundreds of "products" because we want to give discount. Why isn't this a priority on the road map?

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    Wedding_PhotographyWedding_Photography Member Posts: 1

    I want to offer my clients different % Discounts on products and services based on when the place the orders.
    With your current system I would need to create a separate price $ discount for every product and every potable % discount combination.

    Example with current system
    300 Products and Services
    x 4 Possible discounts used
    1,200 New products required just to cover all discount combinations

    this is an inefficient system.

    For a 30% Discount Its much easier to do
    $2,000
    x 0.70 = $ 1,400 Sale Price

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    Gladiator911Gladiator911 Member Posts: 2

    How does a service company technician go about entering a down payment / deposit (In The Field) after creating a new invoice with only balance due on their iPhone? Negative numerics is not an option on iPhone's/iPad's numeric keyboard. I know I can insert "Refund" or 'Deposit' into the Add Item drop down with a $0.00 amount but when on the iPhone/ iPad I have Zero capability of doing this in the Only way described without borrowing the clients computer and logging onto my account. This really needs to be addressed. Really is quite a simple code fix on the iOS app. Otherwise, this oversight is an epic failure

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    Gladiator911Gladiator911 Member Posts: 2

    Same problem for a service technician in the field. Absolutely no way to enter a journaled refund or down payment / deposit while creating a new invoice for customers on iOS (iPhone, iPad) device. Adding a down payment in the notes section is quite unprofessional looking and asking to borrow the customers computer in order to gain the ONLY way to enter a negative number is just plain well....

    Having ability to generate an invoice in the field is Waveapps draw however, not addressing for allowing the iOS app abilities to either enter negative numerics or ability to accept a down payment in another fashion outside of what is offered here is an epic failure. Perhaps the app itself should build a dropdown option for Deposits, refunds, etc which could simply allow numerics entered via iOS devices as negatives.

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    JamieDJamieD Administrator Posts: 1,156 admin

    @Wedding_Photography Thanks for giving us detailed feedback on your workflow here and how this would be beneficial to you -- I could totally understand not wanting to bloat your products & services with specific discounts on each invoice that you send out, this really gives us a real world example of how this feature improvement would benefit our users.

    @Gladiator911 I truly understand your pain points here, not being able to enter in the minus symbol from the numeric keyboard on Apple devices make it more difficult to add a discount as a line item from that particular invoice. Thank you for the suggestions as well, I like the idea of a drop down option for specific deposits, refunds, or discounts -- this is great feedback and something that I will make sure our product/development team hears about.

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    chaimsschaimss Member Posts: 1

    I won't beat the dead horse that others have commented below, however I did want to point out that there's no way to include a free upgrade or service on the invoice- the system won't let the price be 0. There are many times you want to point out a complementary service or an accessory you "threw in" that isn't necessarily a purchase with a discount- it's just free. Please allow us to have a price amount of 0. Thanks!

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    webcastlenzwebcastlenz Member Posts: 5

    I wanted to start using wave for the second part of a project payment, but when I do the negative amount it shows in the right column as a positive number, when I wanted it to be red or negative or something to depict that amount was removed NOT ADDED to the current owing total. Even though it isn't added to the total (so the negative number is working), to the client viewing it, it looks as though that amount is added not removed from the total.

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    Ryan_WRyan_W Member Posts: 452 ✭✭✭

    Hey @chaimss you should be able to do this; I just did it on my own account, and I was able to save an item with a $0 value. Do you see any error messages when you do this?

    @webcastlenz I'm not quite following what you're describing; the negative amount should display in parentheses, while also changing the amount owing. I've attached a screenshot that addresses both cases if this helps!

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    webcastlenzwebcastlenz Member Posts: 5

    @Ryan_W said:
    Hey @chaimss you should be able to do this; I just did it on my own account, and I was able to save an item with a $0 value. Do you see any error messages when you do this?

    @webcastlenz I'm not quite following what you're describing; the negative amount should display in parentheses, while also changing the amount owing. I've attached a screenshot that addresses both cases if this helps!

    Yes - but in the far right column it says amount $100 which is a positive number, meaning it looks like that is not being discounted to the client viewing the invoice.

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    teumacteumac Member Posts: 1

    How soon do you think this discount issue can be resolved? Adding a negative figure can be daunting for all products and all discount levels.

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    Ryan_WRyan_W Member Posts: 452 ✭✭✭

    @webcastlenz when the amount is in parentheses it means negative, and it's also reducing the amount owing in the subtotal from $800 to $700. Are you worried that your customers aren't able to make this distinction? Have you had customers come back asking about the way it's calculating? If this is an optics issue, please share your feedback here!

    @teumac since various parts of the workflow for adding discounts has been discussed here, do you mind clarifying what kind of issue you're referring to? What about creating negatively-priced items is daunting for you?

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    webcastlenzwebcastlenz Member Posts: 5

    @Ryan_W
    To me, not having a minus, and just having parentheses does not make it clear in a list of multiple items that this has been deducted and not added to the total amount, unless they go through and add it up themselves to check.

    edited March 19, 2019
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    Ryan_WRyan_W Member Posts: 452 ✭✭✭

    @webcastlenz thanks for the feedback; I can't say if this'll change or not, purely because it's baked into the accounting and invoicing nomenclature for representing negative amounts, although all feedback is welcome!

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    webcastlenzwebcastlenz Member Posts: 5

    @Ryan_W said:
    @webcastlenz thanks for the feedback; I can't say if this'll change or not, purely because it's baked into the accounting and invoicing nomenclature for representing negative amounts, although all feedback is welcome!

    No worries - I came across this platform by chance as I currently do everything manually. And doing it manually means being able to add little things like a minus and changing the color of the value etc which makes for a clearer invoice imo.

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    highlevelwealthhighlevelwealth Member Posts: 13 ✭✭

    +1 for adding the ability to provide a % based discount

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    rhawkrhawk Member Posts: 2

    +1 for a % discount - agreed, agreed, hear, hear
    Has me thinking I'll go back to Square for my invoicing, I was going to move everything here so that it can be in one place, but something as basic as a % discount (staff discount, friends and family discount, seniors discount....etc) is really lacking with Wave invoicing and has me questioning my decision. Really do need the ability to have calculated discounting.

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    SamdSamd Member Posts: 552 ✭✭✭

    Thanks @mhawk and @highlevelwealth - I can't make any firm promises on ETAs, but this sort of functionality is something you should be seeing in Wave invoicing sometime soon. When we have a firmer estimate of timelines, as well as a more fleshed out version of how this will look we will post updates!

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    abhialiabhiali Member Posts: 1

    Please add a % (Percent) Discount Option. Please

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    Jay_UAVJay_UAV Member Posts: 1
    Yes - for us a % per product, or a % over the total sum of the invoice would be the perfect addition.

    Besides, we have another requirement, which isn't possible yet.

    For us, even after giving discount on the invoice towards certain institutions or based on contract agreements, we would like the following feature. For instance, we would work with a 30 days payment term, but want to include a discount on the total invoice amount for people that pay within 1-10 after receiving the invoice (like 3%), day 11-20 after receiving the invoice (1.5% on the invoice amount). We would create 3 payment reminders within the 30 days payment term, and for late payments, 72 hours before every month finishes (starting in month 2) a reminder. So let's say, first send the initial invoice. 48 hours before expiration of the 1st discount on the total amount a reminder stating, there's a 3% discount equalling to X amount in dollars if paid before X date (that's 48 hours from receiving). If not paid, then at day 18 (if still not paid), another reminder; 'Hey, pay before X date gives you still a discount of X percentage of the total sum, equalling to X amount USD. Then if still not paid, at day 28 (48 hours before expiration of the 30 days payment term) - a reminder - hey, you still haven't paid. You have 48 hours to pay the invoice or the late payment terms will step in place.

    At day 57 (second month and 72 hours before 2nd month expires), pay before X date. Late payment terms are in place. Please pay, or 2% will be added (or an exact amount) will be added monthly to the invoice.

    Thanks! These features should be automated and would make the platform, awesome!
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    ZoeCZoeC Member Posts: 388 admin

    Hey @Jay_UAV thank you for reaching out and thank you for providing so much context, it's super beneficial to our Product Team. As Sam mentioned above there are some really great updates coming for invoices, so please stay tuned. We will update this thread as soon as we have more information! :smile:

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    TrentleckTrentleck Member Posts: 1
    I agree having a negative value with a minus symbol is much clearer for our end customers - most of them do not have experience of "accounting and invoicing nomenclature for representing negative amounts". and honestly most small businesses don't either.
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