Invoicing & Billing
Create compliant invoices and receipts, track outstanding balances, and manage credit notes — all in ZAR with optional VAT.
Document Types
| Type | When to use | Stock deducted? |
|---|---|---|
| Estimate | Quote a price before treatment | No |
| Invoice | Bill a client after service — starts as draft, send when ready | On send |
| Sales Receipt | Immediate payment at the till (OTC products, walk-in consults) | Immediately |
| Credit Note | Reverse or partially refund a previous invoice or receipt | Returned to stock |
Creating an Invoice
- Open Invoicing → + New InvoiceSelect the owner and optionally link a patient from the dropdowns.
- Add line itemsTap + Add Line Item. Choose from your product/service list or type a free-text description. Enter quantity and unit price. VetLoop calculates VAT and totals automatically.
- Save as DraftSaves locally without deducting stock. You can edit freely while the status is Draft.
- Send InvoiceTap Send to finalise. Stock is deducted at this point. The invoice is emailed to the owner if an email address is on file, or can be printed or shared as PDF.
Sent invoices are locked. To correct an error, issue a credit note and create a new invoice. This maintains a proper audit trail as required by SARS.
Sales Receipts
A sales receipt records an immediate cash or card payment at the point of service. Navigate to Invoicing → + New Sales Receipt. The flow is the same as an invoice, but the document is marked Paid immediately and there is no draft stage. Stock is deducted instantly.
VAT Configuration
To enable VAT on invoices, go to Settings → Tax & VAT and toggle VAT-Registered Practice on. Enter your VAT registration number. The standard South African rate of 15% applies by default.
Individual line items can be marked as VAT-exempt (e.g. certain foodstuffs or government-exempt services) using the VAT exempt toggle on the line item.
Once you enable VAT and issue your first VAT invoice you should not switch it off retroactively. Contact your accountant before changing your VAT status in VetLoop.
Recording Payments
For an outstanding (sent) invoice, open the invoice and tap Record Payment. Enter:
- Amount received — can be a partial payment.
- Payment method — cash, card, EFT, or other.
- Reference — EFT reference, POS receipt number, etc.
Once the total paid equals the invoice total, the status changes to Paid. Partial payments show the invoice as Partially Paid with the outstanding balance displayed.
Credit Notes
A credit note reduces an owner's balance and reverses stock. To issue one:
- Open the original invoice or receiptFind it under the owner's billing history or in Invoicing → All Documents.
- Tap Issue Credit NoteVetLoop pre-fills the original line items. Deselect or reduce quantities for a partial credit.
- Choose whether to return stockToggle Return items to stock if the products are being physically returned. Leave off for service refunds.
- ConfirmThe credit note is saved and linked to the original. The original invoice is annotated with the credit note reference.
Voiding Documents
To void an entire issued invoice or receipt, open the document and tap Void. VetLoop automatically creates a matching full credit note (as required by VAT Act s.21 for VAT-registered practices) and marks the original as Cancelled. Stock is returned if toggled.
Estimates
Estimates are non-binding price quotations. Create one via Invoicing → + New Estimate. Once the owner approves, tap Convert to Invoice to copy line items into a draft invoice without re-entering them.