The invoice is a legally binding document. When an invoice is received, the posting is made to the related customer accounts in the accounting system. If a delivery did not precede the invoice and you sell the warehouse items, inventory quantities are also updated accordingly when you issue the invoice.
If you create an invoice without reference to the delivery, the system automatically posts changes to the inventory. In other words, if a delivery already exists for the transaction and you create an invoice without reference to this delivery, errors can occur in inventory management because the delivery quantity is posted twice in the system.
SAP Business One enables you to create an A/R invoice with a zero amount. You can do this when delivering items without a charge, for example, items that are part of a promotion or covered by a service contract.
Note
When you create the delivery and the invoice for a sales process simultaneously, first enter the delivery and then proceed with the invoice. However, it may be sufficient to create the invoice, since that is what affects the inventory and the accounting systems.
To access this function, choose
.When you create an invoice with a zero amount, note that you must charge VAT on free goods and that the customer has to pay the VAT.
Due to legislative requirements, you can create an A/R invoice based on a delivery only. Do not create invoices without this reference.
If you create an A/R invoice based on a delivery, where the Use Shipped Goods Account checkbox is not selected, the A/R invoice must have the same posting date as the referenced delivery.