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An invoice is one of the essential documents in daily life and business, and the invoicer needs to provide accurate information. The billing party is also obliged to confirm the deadline, payment method, and what the bill is for.
Invoices range from billing for services between companies to billing for gas, telephone, and travel in daily life.
Even in Japan, there are surprisingly many opportunities to see and create English invoices, such as interacting with overseas companies and ordering overseas products at the individual level. In order to make sure that you can create and confirm your English invoice, we will introduce the basic English expressions used in the invoice and the template for invoicing by email.
Basic expressions used in English invoices
The necessary items for the invoice are the same in both Japanese and English, but if you are not familiar with it, you will be confused just because it is written in English. Learn the basic terms used in English invoices so you can understand them at a glance when you need them.
English expression of "invoice"
In Japanese, billing for corporate services and products, as well as billing for restaurants, hotels, utilities, etc., are all combined into one word, "invoice." However, in English, different words are used depending on the type of billing.
| invoice | Invoices for company products and services |
|---|---|
| check | Account at a restaurant |
| bill | Invoices for everyday items such as telephone bills and utility bills |
The word statement is also used. The statement is a "calculation" in Japanese, but it is called a "billing statement" in the case of an invoice. The "monthly statement" is a monthly credit card rent table or a combination of monthly payments and billing for products and services. Instead of issuing invoices and receipts separately, they are often combined into one statement. Another statement that you often see in your daily life is a bank statement.
English invoice items
Some of the items on your English invoice include: There are some differences depending on the publisher, but it is basically the same even if the format and order of description are different.
| Invoice number | Invoice number |
|---|---|
| Date / Invoice Date / Date of Issue | billing date |
| Bill to | Billing address |
| Ship to | Product shipping address |
| QTY / Quantity | quantity |
| Description | detail |
| Unit Price | Individual charge |
| Amount | Amount excluding tax |
| Including Tax / Inc. Tax | Tax included (listed when the amount is tax included) |
| Subtotal | subtotal |
| Sales Tax / Consumption Tax / VAT | Tax amount |
| Total / Invoice Total | Total amount including tax |
| Balance Due | Accounts payable |
| Terms & Conditions | Clause (statement of payment deadline, transaction conditions, etc.) |
| Payment due due | Payment deadline |
| Payment Options | Payment method (credit card type, etc.) |
| Bank Details | Bank transfer details |
| Bank Account Number | Bank account number |
| Bank Account Name | Bank account name |
| Notes | Note (message to billing address, etc.) |
Let's take a look at one of the invoice templates. There are various invoice templates posted on the Internet, and when creating an invoice, there are many free software that will create an invoice if you fill in the necessary items instead of creating it from scratch. I have.
How to send an English invoice by email
Invoices are sent in invoices, or if paid by postpay or credit card, they are sent with the product, but recently, paperless offices are becoming more common overseas, and emails are becoming more common.
Learn how to invoice by email.
Invoice will be sent as an attachment
The invoice will be sent as a PDF file as an attachment without writing or pasting it in the body of the email. This is convenient because it allows the client to download, save, or print out the attached invoice.
Files such as Word and Excel may be incorrect when opened by the other party, may not be opened or the character string may be corrupted depending on the PC environment used, so send it as a PDF file. Is certain.
Describe important matters in the title
When sending an invoice by e-mail, enter the payment deadline, invoice number, contents, etc. so that you can see at a glance without opening the e-mail in the title column. Overseas, all the details that are verbally communicated and confirmed / evidence are often sent by e-mail, so the amount of e-mail exchanged in a day is enormous. Depending on the person, hundreds of emails may be in the inbox when they come to work.
I don't have time to open all the huge emails. Overseas, it is recommended to use a title that allows you to understand the contents to some extent without opening the email when you look at the email list as much as possible. Care must be taken not to spend as much time as possible on any email. In order for the invoice to be recognized at a glance and opened, all necessary items should be briefly described in the title.
Example email to accompany the invoice
Write the email that accompanies the invoice in the following format.
Title: Invoice (invoice number) for (product/service name) due (payment deadline)
If you have already been billed and have not paid and will be billed again after the payment deadline, change the Invoice part to Overdue Invoice.
Text example
Keep the text simple. It would be nice to write it in the following form.
I don't write stiff words such as "Thank you for your help" and "Dear Sir" in Japanese, so you can simply use Hi, Hello, Good afternoon, etc.
Hi (name of billing party),
I hope you're well. Please see attached invoice number for (product or service name), due on (payment deadline). Don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.
Kind regards, (your name)
(Translation of text example)
How are you? Please check the attached invoice number ◯◯, product / service ◯◯, and payment date ◯◯. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
Thank you.
In addition, let's write the email in case of unpaid bill as follows.
Hi (name of billing party),
I hope you're well. We have yet to receive payment for invoice number for (product or service name), which was due on (payment deadline). Please let us know when we can expect to receive payment, and don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns.
Kind regards, (your name)
(Translation of text example)
How are you? Payment for invoice number ◯◯, product / service ◯◯, and due date ◯◯ has not been completed. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us. Thank you.
Conclusion
The important parts of an English invoice are the amount, payment deadline and payment method. Make sure you don't make a mistake when sending or receiving an invoice. Even if you don't plan to create an English invoice right now, practice it in case you need to learn English as well.
