Definition
In the Accounting API, a sales entry is a customer invoice and a purchase entry is a supplier invoice recorded in the accounting system. These endpoints abstract the underlying accounting complexity while ensuring that every transaction is properly reflected in the ledger.“Invoice” also exists in the Invoicing API (a standalone billing document) and the PMS API (a guest bill). The Accounting API version abstracts the underlying journal entries.
Purpose
- Simplify invoice creation for users by providing a business-friendly interface.
- Automatically generate balanced journal entries behind the scenes, ensuring accounting integrity.
- Standardize behavior across accounting systems, whether or not the target system natively supports invoices.
- Ensure proper linkage to ledger accounts for revenue, expenses, taxes, and receivables/payables.
- Integrate with payment reconciliation processes and matching workflows.
Relationships
- Belongs to a folder (company/entity).
- Invoice lines reference ledger accounts for revenue, expense, tax, and receivable/payable posting.
- Linked to a partner (customer for sales, supplier for purchases).
- Generates one or more journal entries in the general ledger.
- Tax lines reference tax codes defined in the accounting system.
Data abstraction logic
- Target system supports invoices: creates native invoice objects in the accounting software.
- Target system lacks invoice support: automatically generates equivalent journal entries to produce the same accounting result.