Thanks for the additional information, @justinmulligan. It prompts several thoughts:
The first is that, since Manager now automatically numbers cash transactions (at the behest of many users), it would be a constant headache trying to make the reference numbers match an external receipt bookâs prenumbering. And, as you pointed out already, that scheme could easily break down when you next buy a receipt book.
Second, is your business literally run entirely on cash? And likewise, do you always take your drawings in physical cash? Or do customers sometimes pay by cheque or credit card? And do you write cheques to yourself? If so, these should entered as bank transactions, not cash transactions, which would introduce an entirely different sequence of reference numbers that are not assigned automatically by Manager, but are meant to mirror the bankâs assigned number. Obviously, that would completely sink your scheme.
Third, why are you issuing sales invoices at all? Sales invoices are for sales on credit. But it sounds like you are always being paid immediately. This qualifies as a âcash sale,â even if paid by cheque or credit card. If you can prepare a sales invoice before arrival, you can also prepare a cash or bank receipt before arrival. Or, you could write a paper receipt as you do now and enter the cash or bank receipt upon return to the office. You just wonât have the built-in parallelism of numbers you used to have. But that can be handled by sending the customer a copy of the computer-generated receipt. You could add a custom field where you record the number of the paper receipt. For more about cash sales, see this Guide: Manager Cloud. The only reason to use sales invoices in your situation is to preserve records of your customersâ buying history. (That, of course, can be sufficient justification, but it imposes the need for two transactions: invoice and receipt.)
Fourth, you say you create the invoice before arriving at the customerâs premises. But you then say you âfinalizeâ the invoice and receive payment. How do you finalize the invoice? If you have the ability to connect remotely to Manager (using the server or cloud editions), you also have the ability to enter a receipt directly into the program while on site. So you could either keep your sales-invoice-based approach or switch to a cash-sale approach. Either way, you could dispense with the paper receipt book by emailing the transactions to the customer. (You could also carry a portable printer.)
Fifth, it is very common these days to email receipts to customers after the fact. A number of possibilities present themselves. For example, you could take your pre-generated sales invoice to the job, annotate it by hand for the customer noting receipt of payment, and email a final version that helpfully lists the payment and shows zero balance due. That avoids the paper receipt book. Without even needing a custom theme, you could fields at the bottom of the invoice for amounts received and signature. Or, if you are remotely connected, you can email the final invoice noting payments received on the spot.
The program gives you enormous flexibility. In my opinion, you can actually improve your options, though, by committing to using it fully and not trying to mix computer and paper systems. There are too many opportunities for errors. And you may well face another, similar situation when further improvements are made to Manager.
