What are the different types of invoices?

Understanding the different types of invoices and which one is right for your business

Businesses and SMEs can create a number of different invoices for clients, and these vary depending on the industry they work in, how often they get paid and how they choose to bill for the services they offer.

Types of Invoice:

  1. Proforma invoice
  2. Interim invoice
  3. Final invoice
  4. Collective invoice
  5. Credit invoice
  6. Debit invoice
  7. Account statement

Are late invoice payments impacting your cash flow?

We compare all invoice financing options for you, so you can rest assured you'll get the right product and the best deal for your business. Get a quote online or call us on 0808 250 0859 to speak to one of our invoice finance experts.

Boost your cash flow now

Different types of invoices explained

1. Proforma invoice

Sent before any work is carried out, these documents list out the goods and services being provided along with the price. They aren’t usually a request for payment but more a notice of when your client will need to pay the invoice.

2. Interim invoice

When working on very large projects, instead of waiting until the end of the work and issuing one big invoice, interim invoices allow you to send them intermittently throughout the project.

3. Recurring invoice

These invoices tend to be scheduled to go out indefinitely or for projects set to last for a set period of time, for example 12 months.

4. Final invoice

This is the last invoice sent to a client outlining all the work that has been carried out as well as any outstanding balance due.

5. Collective invoice

If a business is doing lots of small projects for a client, instead of issuing multiple small invoices, they can instead provide one collective invoice grouping together the smaller invoices. These tend to be beneficial as you don’t need to keep track of multiple invoices and keep transaction fees to a minimum.

6. Credit invoice 

Credit invoices are issued by businesses to clients to provide a refund or discount as a result of a previous invoicing error. They usually include a negative amount that needs to be paid.

7. Debit invoice

Much like a credit invoice, your client may issue a debit memo if you have underbilled them.

8. Account statement

Although not technically an invoice, account statement summarise the goods or service.


Have you thought about Invoice Finance as a cash flow solution for your business?

Invoice finance allows you to release cash quickly from your unpaid invoices.

As your lender, we can release up to 90% of your invoices within 24 hours. On payment of the invoice from your customers, we will then release the final amount minus any fees and charges. There are different types of invoice financing options available to businesses depending on the situation and the level of control they require in collecting unpaid invoices.

We are an invoice financing company who offer a solution whereby payments are collected on your behalf managed by our team of expert credit controllers so you can focus on running your business. Our invoice discounting solution is offered to businesses who want to maintain their own credit control processes, therefore this remains strictly confidential so your customers are unaware of our involvement.


Get in touch

Contact our friendly UK advisors on our freephone

0808 250 0859

8:45 - 17:15 - Monday to Thursday &
8:45 - 16:45 - Friday


The benefits of invoice finance companies such as Novuna Business cash flow

  • Boost your cash flow without having to wait up to 120 days for your customers to pay you

  • Release up to 90% of the invoice straight away, and the final 10% when the invoice is settled

  • Access funds within 24 hours from initial appointment with our revolutionary digital onboarding process

  • Benefit from our in-house credit control processes, allowing you to focus on running your business, instead of chasing clients for payment

  • Six month trial period followed by a rolling contract


Want to understand more cash flow finance terms?

Our Cash Flow Resource Hub has been set up to help SME's with cash flow finance advice, tips and resources to help with their cash flow position.

We explore ways you can begin improving your cash flow situation and start getting your business on track to positive cash flow.

What our customers say

Quickly get the best cash flow finance solution for your business, simply fill out the requirements below:

We'll compare the best cash flow financing products available to get you the best deal.

Back to top