Business Central lets you post sales directly in the sales journal without creating sales documents like invoices. This is useful when you simply receive a payment, for example cash, that you need to post to an account. You select the customer, enter a description and the document amount, and choose a balance account so the total balance ends at zero before you post.
You choose the balance account based on the customer’s currency. For an EU customer in Euro, you post to your EU sales account. For a domestic customer in Danish kroner with no currency code, you post to your domestic sales account, which is set up for normal Danish VAT handling.
Posting sales without creating an invoice in Business Central
In Business Central, you don’t always have to create a sales document such as an invoice to register a sale. If you just receive money that you want to post to an account, you can do it directly in the sales journal.
A typical example is a shop that services and repairs bikes. Existing customers drop off their bikes for repair and pay in cash. Instead of generating an invoice for each transaction, you register the payment straight in the sales journal.
How to register a cash payment in the sales journal
Open the sales journal and set the document type to invoice when the line is a payment from a customer with an account number. Then select the customer number for the customer paying in your shop.
In the description field, enter what the customer is paying for, for example “repair on bikes”. Then enter the document amount. If you leave the balance account for a moment and enter the amount, you can see how the balance behaves before you finish the line.
Handling EU and domestic customers with different currencies
The balance account you choose depends on the customer’s currency.
If the customer is set up in Euro, the system shows the total balance in Danish currency. For example, a document amount of 100 Euro translates to a total balance of 745 DKK. Because this is an EU customer, you select your EU sales account as the balance account. Once both accounts are filled in, the total balance goes to zero, which means the entry is ready to post.
If you post on a customer in Danish currency with no currency code, you use a different balance account. Here you select the domestic sales account, which is set up for normal VAT handling in Denmark. Enter the amount, for example 500 DKK, and the line balances out.
Posting the journal
When the total balance is zero and you have selected the correct sales account for each customer, you can post the journal. The sales are then registered without any invoice or other sales document being created.
Q&A
Can you post a sale in Business Central without creating an invoice?
Yes. You can post sales directly in the sales journal without creating sales documents like invoices. This works well when you just receive a payment, such as cash, that you want to post to an account.
How do you register a cash payment from a customer in the sales journal?
Open the sales journal, set the document type to invoice, and select the customer number. Enter a description of what the customer is paying for, type the document amount, and choose the correct balance account so the total balance reaches zero. Then post the journal.
Which balance account should you use for an EU customer versus a domestic customer?
For an EU customer in Euro, use your EU sales account. For a domestic customer in Danish kroner with no currency code, use the domestic sales account, which is set up for normal Danish VAT handling.
How does currency conversion appear in the sales journal?
If the customer is set up in Euro, Business Central shows the total balance in Danish currency. For example, a document amount of 100 Euro shows a total balance of 745 DKK.
When can you post the sales journal?
You can post once the total balance is zero, which happens when you have entered both the document amount and the correct balance account for the customer.