How to create a Tax Invoice

Create a tax invoice to bill for services and goods supplied by your farm business.

Step 1: Build Your Tax Invoice

1. Go to Needs Action or the Tax Invoices tab.
2. Select Create Tax Invoice from the drop-down.
   1. The other option is Create Buyer Created Tax Invoice (NZ) or Recipient Created Invoice (Australia).
3. Complete the header details:
   1. Invoice Date
   2. Due Date
   3. Other Party (mandatory)
   4. Reference (optional, e.g., customer or order number)
   5. Account (the bank account to be displayed for payment)

TIP: Refer to Inland Revenue’s taxable supply information for more details.

Enter the invoice details:

1. Code (for internal use, not visible to the recipient)
2. Description (mandatory, as per Inland Revenue requirements)
3. Quantity (must be greater than 0)
4. Multiplier (optional, adds calculation detail)
5. Unit Price (per head, kg, ha, bale, etc.)
6. Line Amount (calculated automatically)
7. Attach additional files (optional) Learn more.
8. Click Save Draft to review later. Draft invoices appear in Needs Action with an orange tag.

Using the Multiplier:

• Example 1: 300 grazing hoggets, 16kg average weight gain, $2.10/kg charge.
• Example 2: 21 carry-over cows, grazing for 4 weeks, $14 per week per cow.

Step 2: Preview and Generate Your Tax Invoice

• Click Preview & Generate.
• Choose to email the invoice directly from Farm Focus (see below).
• Attach supporting files (optional).
• Print the draft invoice (optional).
• Review the invoice.
• Click Generate & Send. Once generated, the invoice is read-only and assigned an invoice number.
• A PDF copy is saved to your downloads and remains in Needs Action until matched to a payment.

Emailing Your Tax Invoice

• Ensure the customer’s email is saved in Settings > Contacts.
• You can update email details within the invoice by clicking the pencil icon.

• If an email address is available, tick the box to send the invoice directly. You can send a tax invoice to multiple emails.
• If no email address is saved, update Other Party or manually send the invoice.
• Sent invoices include a PDF attachment.
• A BCC copy is sent to your registered Farm Focus email.
• Attach additional files (PDF, JPEG, PNG, CSV) when creating the invoice.
• In the Preview page, tick Email to and select/deselect attachments.
• Click Generate & Send to send the invoice with selected files.

Managing Tax Invoices

• View past invoices: Go to Actuals > Tax Invoices.
• Monitor sent invoices: Sent invoices are marked with a SENT token.
• Track unpaid invoices: Unpaid invoices remain in Needs Action.
• Create new tax invoice: Select Create new (bottom right) on generated tax invoice.

Repeating, Copying, and Resending Invoices

• Create a repeating invoice for regular charges.
• Copy an invoice to create a similar one with modifications.

• Resend outstanding invoices: Open the invoice and click Resend Email.

• Resend a historical invoice: Download a copy and manually email it.

Restoring Deleted Invoices

• Go to Actuals > Deleted > Tax invoices
• Hover over the invoice, click  Restore
• The restored invoice returns to Needs Action.

Editing an Invoice

After generating an invoice, you can only update:

• Description
• Additional Notes
• Due Date

To edit:   

1. Go to the required invoice   
2. Modify the required fields.      

3. Click More Options > Download/Attach PDF.   

4. A new version is saved under the attachment icon, while the original remains unchanged.    

Printing a Tax Invoice

1. Open the invoice.
2. Click the paperclip icon (top right corner).
3. Click the print icon.

Print a DRAFT tax invoice

Why? It allows invoices, before they are finalised,  to be authorised by someone who does not have access to Farm Focus.

• In the preview screen of the tax invoice.
• Click Print Draft (top right) or save as a PDF

Trouble shooting

How does it differ to a buyer created tax invoice: A buyer created tax invoice is issued by the buyer on the seller’s behalf. In this case you create the invoice and pay it.
A tax invoice is issued by the seller and given to the buyer to show what was sold, the price, and the GST charged.

More Information

• • How to create a manual invoice: Learn more
  • How to create a buyer created tax invoice (NZ):  Learn more
  • How to create a recipient created tax invoice (Australia): Learn more
  • How to manage contacts: Add GST numbers and email addresses in Settings > Contacts. Learn more
  • How to match income to invoices: Move invoices out of Needs Action by matching payments. Learn more
  • How to customise your tax invoice: Learn more
  • How to set default invoice and due date for all tax invoices: Learn more