Guides · Counter billing
What is counter billing?
Counter billing is the act of making a bill at the point of sale — over the counter — as a customer buys. It is the fast, everyday billing a shop or workshop front desk does, as opposed to raising a formal invoice against a purchase order.
Where counter billing fits
Counter billing suits over-the-counter sales, where the customer is present and the transaction completes on the spot. Speed matters: the bill has to be made quickly, printed or shared, and the sale recorded without slowing the queue.
It differs from order-based invoicing, where a purchase order, delivery, and acceptance come before the invoice. Counter billing collapses that into a single moment.
What a good counter bill records
Even a quick counter bill should record the items, quantities, price, and — where the business is GST-registered and the sale is taxable — the tax. Recording each counter sale keeps the day's takings and the stock in step with the ledger.
The value of counter billing is not just handing over a bill; it is that every counter sale lands in the same books as the rest of the business.
How Lekha supports counter billing
Lekha lets a business bill over the counter and record the sale into the same ledger as its order-based invoices, so counter takings and formal invoices sit in one place.
Lekha records what your documents say and tracks the money on both sides — what you owe and what you are owed. It records and tracks; it does not replace your accountant.
Questions
- What does counter billing mean?
- Counter billing is making a bill at the point of sale, over the counter, as the customer buys — the fast everyday billing a shop front desk does.
- How is counter billing different from invoicing?
- Counter billing completes the sale and the bill in one moment at the counter. Order-based invoicing raises the invoice after a purchase order, delivery, and acceptance.
- Should a counter bill record GST?
- If the business is GST-registered and the sale is taxable, the counter bill should record the tax, the same as any other taxable supply.