Invoice Date vs. Paid Date

Invoices in Showroom Exchange represent the shipment of the merchandise by your mfrs/brands to your customers.

Entering invoices into Showroom Exchange allows you to keep track of the following:
1) Open Orders (which orders have or have not shipped)
2) Paid and Unpaid Commissions (some mfrs/brands report their shipments to the showroom 1st and pay later)
3) Mfr/brand’s % ship through rate (how WELL your mfrs/brands are performing). More on this in Measure Brand Performance with Ship-Through Percentages.

When entering an invoice, first reference its corresponding PO, give it an invoice number, then provide an invoice date (invdate: the date it shipped). You then have the option of giving it a paid date (pdate). Consider pdate as the date the showroom got paid.

The difference:

  • The invoice date (invdate) is the date the order was shipped. It is required to save an invoice in SE. This aspect of the invoice (along with the amount) tracks how completely an order has shipped.
  • The paid date (pdate) is the date the brand paid you commission on the shipped order. We recommend the date on the check or wire-transfer. If the mfr/brand will pay you later, then leave the pdate blank. An entry in the pdate suggests the invoice is paid, and the invoice is marked as “paid.” An invoice without a pdate will be marked as “unpaid.” See Commissions Report to see how to run reports on paid and unpaid commissions.

 

invdate v pdate

Commissions Report

Use the commissions report to determine what is owed to you (the showroom) and what has to be paid out to your reps. The commissions report depends on consistent entry of commission statements (as invoices in Showroom Exchange). The commission entry process is VERY important as the information is used to determine the mfr’s ship-thru %, help determine what is still left open (more on open orders report), and ultimately showroom’s total earnings.

If your brands send commission statements without a payment, just to report their shipments, you would have entered the commission statements with the invoices ‘pdate’ left blank. The same report can be used to filter “Unpaid” invoices.

 

commissions report1

 

 

On the criteria page, you can enter filters to create very specific reports, such as those analyzing just one rep, just the showroom, or just one manufacturer. Note that you can also filter by paid/unpaid status.

commissions report2

 

 

Click “generate report” to see the result of the commission report, like the one below. The report shows commissions broken down by rep (including the showroom rep, i.e. the showroom as a whole) and manufacturer. A summary report only shows reps and the totals of how much they made from each line, while the detailed version lists invoices with their relevant information.

commissions report3