Meaning
A commercial invoice is the seller’s document describing the goods sold, the parties, price, currency, and other commercial details. It supports payment and may provide data used by carriers, banks, customs authorities, and other participants.
Common information
Typical fields include seller and buyer details, invoice number and date, purchase or contract reference, goods description, quantity, unit price, total amount, currency, delivery and payment terms, and relevant transport or package references.
Consistency matters
Names, descriptions, quantities, values, currency, and references should align with the contract and other transaction records. The invoice should describe the actual transaction rather than being copied from an unrelated template.
Related documents
The invoice describes the commercial transaction; a packing list focuses on physical packing; and a transport document records carriage information. They serve different purposes even when some data appears in more than one document.