NORWAY: Autonumbering invoices -- how to do it without a tax advisor or private accountant?
Thread poster: Alexander_T
Alexander_T
Alexander_T
Local time: 08:09
English to German
+ ...
Oct 3, 2016

Hi folks,

I am thinking about relocating to Norway as my country of residence. I am a frelance translator, and up to now I was living in Germany, my mother country. In Germany I was able to just create my invoices in Word and number them as I pleased, e.g. a radnom numer for each invoice or a combination of number and invoice date.

Now I read that in Norway you need to issue autonumbered invoices, as the tax authorities require it. How is that supposed to work?
... See more
Hi folks,

I am thinking about relocating to Norway as my country of residence. I am a frelance translator, and up to now I was living in Germany, my mother country. In Germany I was able to just create my invoices in Word and number them as I pleased, e.g. a radnom numer for each invoice or a combination of number and invoice date.

Now I read that in Norway you need to issue autonumbered invoices, as the tax authorities require it. How is that supposed to work?

And will my clients actually get those autonumbered invoices into their hands, or can I continue writing my old-style personal invoices to my clients and only ever use the autonumbered "invoices" for the tax declaration, i.e. the tax office?

Can you give me the name of such an autonumbering program?

I know this is somehow supposed to combat tax fraud, but I really dont see how it would. If I wanted to commit tax fraud I would simply send my clients any invoices made with Word, and then chose which of them to report to the authorities in their autonumbered scheme. Just saying -- i do not intend to commit any tax fraud, but I am bothered by this rule and cannot afford a tax advisor.

Best regards,
Alexander.
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Nadezda Emeliyanova
Nadezda Emeliyanova  Identity Verified
Malaysia
Local time: 14:09
English to Malay
+ ...
Autonumbering Invoices - Software Oct 4, 2016

Hello Alexander,

I have seen your post, and would suggest to install TO3000, which you can get here on Proz:

http://www.proz.com/tgb/1027

I am using it personally and it saves a lot of time and effort of creating the invoices, and the numbers are automated.
I believe it will help to you in your case.


 
Lianne van de Ven
Lianne van de Ven  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 02:09
Member (2008)
English to Dutch
+ ...
Global code Oct 4, 2016

There is an option in TO3000 to enable 'global codes' in addition to your own invoice codes per customer. It warns you that once you turn this on, it cannot be undone. The global code numbers all invoices starting at 1 or another number of your choice and is indeed automatic.

 
Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 07:09
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
On the contrary Oct 4, 2016

Alexander_T wrote:
I am thinking about relocating to Norway as my country of residence. I am a frelance translator, and up to now I was living in Germany, my mother country. In Germany I was able to just create my invoices in Word and number them as I pleased, e.g. a radnom numer for each invoice or a combination of number and invoice date.

Now I read that in Norway you need to issue autonumbered invoices, as the tax authorities require it. How is that supposed to work?

And will my clients actually get those autonumbered invoices into their hands, or can I continue writing my old-style personal invoices to my clients and only ever use the autonumbered "invoices" for the tax declaration, i.e. the tax office?


I am bothered by this rule and cannot afford a tax advisor.

Can you afford NOT to have a tax advisor in a country where you clearly have no idea about the fiscal requirements of running a business? I imagine you can set the advisor's fees off against your taxable income, as you can in most places including here in Spain.


 
Maija Cirule
Maija Cirule  Identity Verified
Latvia
Local time: 09:09
German to English
+ ...
proz invoicing system Oct 5, 2016

Alexander_T wrote:

Hi folks,

I am thinking about relocating to Norway as my country of residence. I am a frelance translator, and up to now I was living in Germany, my mother country. In Germany I was able to just create my invoices in Word and number them as I pleased, e.g. a radnom numer for each invoice or a combination of number and invoice date.

Now I read that in Norway you need to issue autonumbered invoices, as the tax authorities require it. How is that supposed to work?

And will my clients actually get those autonumbered invoices into their hands, or can I continue writing my old-style personal invoices to my clients and only ever use the autonumbered "invoices" for the tax declaration, i.e. the tax office?

Can you give me the name of such an autonumbering program?

I know this is somehow supposed to combat tax fraud, but I really dont see how it would. If I wanted to commit tax fraud I would simply send my clients any invoices made with Word, and then chose which of them to report to the authorities in their autonumbered scheme. Just saying -- i do not intend to commit any tax fraud, but I am bothered by this rule and cannot afford a tax advisor.

Best regards,
Alexander.


can be one of your options. I use the system for nearly two years and up to now have had no problems with it.


 
Michael Wetzel
Michael Wetzel  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 08:09
German to English
invoice numbering sequences Oct 5, 2016

The question is a little confusing, because German invoices have to include an invoice number and these have to follow a logical and progressive sequence. Is the issue that the options are more flexible in Germany and your sequence is based on a system that is allowed in Germany but not in Norway?
Any bookkeeping software (I use Wiso Mein Büro in Germany) will force you to select a system for generating your invoice numbers and will automatically insert them in your invoices. Mine just co
... See more
The question is a little confusing, because German invoices have to include an invoice number and these have to follow a logical and progressive sequence. Is the issue that the options are more flexible in Germany and your sequence is based on a system that is allowed in Germany but not in Norway?
Any bookkeeping software (I use Wiso Mein Büro in Germany) will force you to select a system for generating your invoice numbers and will automatically insert them in your invoices. Mine just count up (starting with 1000), but there are also options that integrate the year or date. Translation management programs like TO3000 will also generate these numbers for you, because they would be a little useless if they couldn't. You could also easily create an Excel formula to generate your invoice numbers and this probably would not be difficult directly in Word either (although I've never tried it).
And you can't have "fake" invoices for the client and "real" ones for the tax office or vice versa: They have to be identical.

Or does Norway have some kind of unusual system where the tax office actually assigns the invoice numbers for your invoices?
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Merab Dekano
Merab Dekano  Identity Verified
Spain
Member (2014)
English to Spanish
+ ...
Accounting system Oct 5, 2016

Not sure about Norway, but for UK you can use several accounting software (I am using ClearBooks).

Bear in mind, though, this is for bookkeeping purposes. You still need a local accountant. However, the system will keep track of all your invoices and will automatically number them (in fact, it will do much more than that).


 
Michael Beijer
Michael Beijer  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:09
Member (2009)
Dutch to English
+ ...
ClearBooks vs FreeAgent vs Xero vs KashFlow vs TO3000 Mar 20, 2017

Merab Dekano wrote:

Not sure about Norway, but for UK you can use several accounting software (I am using ClearBooks).

Bear in mind, though, this is for bookkeeping purposes. You still need a local accountant. However, the system will keep track of all your invoices and will automatically number them (in fact, it will do much more than that).


Hi Merab,

I just stumbled across your post. I'm currently testing ClearBooks (after having tried FreeAgent, Xero, and KashFlow), and am curious if you're still using it, and if you have anything to say about it in relation to using it as a TO3000-replacement?

We're also currently discussing something similar @ http://proz.com/forum/software_applications/312953-looking_for_excel_spreadsheet_for_invoicing_payments_etc_ie_diy_to3000_clone.html


 


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NORWAY: Autonumbering invoices -- how to do it without a tax advisor or private accountant?







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