Document types

Every document in Bookmaker has a type. The type decides which blocks the editor shows, whether the document carries amounts, how it is numbered and which statuses it can move through.

Every type below can be created from that menu, or from the command palette (⌘ K) by typing its name — Create Proforma Invoice, Create Credit Note and so on. The palette also understands common alternatives such as "pro forma", "PO" and "statement of account". On the Documents page, the less common types sit behind the More tab.

All document types#

What the columns mean#

Code is the short form Bookmaker shows in filters and in search. Default prefix is the start of the document number a new organization receives for that type; change it under Settings › Numbering. Carries amounts separates the commercial documents from delivery notes, waybills and packing lists, which list goods without prices or totals. Addressed to is the caption over the customer block: a purchase order is addressed to its vendor, a receipt names who the money was received from. Second date is the date a new document shows after its issue date — a due date on an invoice, a validity date on a quotation — or none. You can switch it on or off for any individual document, and rename either date.

How each type looks#

Each type opens in its own standard layout until you choose a default template for it: its own accent color, typeface and header, and the wording, columns and blocks that type is expected to carry. A few examples:

• A quotation is addressed "Prepared For", dated "Quote Date" and "Valid Until", and ends with a "Quotation Accepted By" block for the customer's acceptance.
• A receipt says "Received From" and "Amount Received", and leaves out payment instructions — it has already been paid.
• A purchase order is addressed to its "Vendor", prices lines at "Unit Cost" and leaves out your own payment instructions.
• A credit note states the "Reason for Credit" and its "Total Credit", and asks for no payment.
• A waybill names the "Consignee", counts packages and weight, and ends with "Received in Good Condition By".

Converting a quotation or estimate into an invoice re-dresses it as an invoice: the dates, the sign-off block and the type's own wording change; your lines, notes and styling choices carry over.

Choosing a type#

• Use a quotation or estimate to propose prices. An accepted quotation converts into an invoice that records where it came from.
• Use a proforma invoice when the customer needs an invoice-shaped document before goods ship or a contract is final.
• Use an invoice to bill. Payments are recorded against invoices.
• Use a receipt to acknowledge money received.
• Use a purchase order or sales order to record an order before it is fulfilled.
• Use a credit note to reduce what a customer owes and a debit note to increase it. A credit note's credit is applied to the customer's invoices or refunded.
• Use a statement to summarize a customer's position.
• Use a delivery note, waybill or packing list to accompany goods.