The creation of invoices and estimates is almost identical; hence what is true for Invoices is also true for Estimates.  To create a new Invoice you simply go to the ‘Create Invoice’ link on the ‘Invoices/Estimates/Payments’ task page (see Navigation around Onyx) or alternatively press the ‘New Invoice’ button on the Invoice List screen, which will display the ‘Invoice’ screen:

The date will be filled in for you thought you can change it if you wish (it will still be stored in the order it was created though).

By default the ‘Registration Number Search’ box is selected, this is where we will enter the registration number of the vehicle.  Upon pressing ‘enter’ on the keyboard, Onyx will take the following actions:

You can also press the search button to the right of the registration number box and you will be taken to the search screen where you can search for the vehicle by registration, company name, surname and account name.

Vehicle Search Screen

Once the vehicle has been selected you can tab through the controls where you will be taken to CC, Mileage, MOT Cert No, Mot Due Date and Service Due date.  These controls are editable and you should update them with the correct information.  If you do not wish to send MOT and Service reminder letters to this account for this vehicle, do not enter any details in the MOT Due and Service Due boxes.

Once you have selected the vehicle, you will be able to tab down to the ‘Account Name Search’ drop down list which will have been pre-filled with all accounts that are linked to the vehicle.  You can pick from this list or enter the account name and press enter.  As with registration number, if Onyx recognises the account name it will display the details, otherwise it will ask whether this is a new account and either display the new account screen or the search screen.  Again, you can press the search button to the right of the control to go straight to the search screen. If you are entering a new customer, press ‘F3’ and Onyx will open the customer account screen for you.

Please note, you can also start by entering the account name and Onyx will locate all linked vehicles and add them to the Registration Number Search drop down list.

Tabbing along will take you to the turn page button, press enter and you will come to the ‘Invoice Details’ tab of the ‘Invoice screen’:

This is where all items that are to be billed to the selected client account are listed, to add a new item press either ‘F1’ or click on the ‘Add New Item’ button (the picture of a blank page).  You can add labour separately to parts, this is done by using the second button with the picture of a hammer and spanner or by pressing F2.

You will now see the ‘New Item’ screen where you can enter the invoice item:

Here we have several options:

If you don’t want to use part numbers (and you will lose a valuable time saving mechanism if you don’t) then simply update the controls as per the directions shown at the bottom of the screen.  The Vat% box lists all Vat types (default are MOT (0%), Parts (17.5%) and Service (17.5%) but you can add more).  Item total is the cost per item (the system will calculate the row total for you) and the description is what the item is (i.e Oil Filter or Carry out full service etc).

If you are going to use the part number lookup system then enter a part number.  This can actually be anything (i.e Service, MOT, GFE123, 1234) but please remember the default invoice will display the part number.  Press enter and the system will try to locate the item and fill in the boxes.  If it is found, pressing F3 or clicking Add will add the item to the invoice.

If the system cannot find the item (or you cannot remember the part number) press F1 or click the search button to the left of the control where the parts lookup screen will be displayed.  Scroll through the alphabetically sorted list until you find what you are looking for and then press enter (or double click the item).

The Parts Search Button

If you press F2 you can search for parts based on a partial parts description

Partial Parts Description Search

Parts List Screen

When you add an item to an invoice, Onyx can also (optionally) record the sale against a particular accounting code (nominal code) and a department.  The nominal code is mainly for compatibility with Sage Accounts™ but future updates to Onyx will start to use these accounts to create cash books.  The default account for sales of parts is 4000 and for labour it is 4001 but these can be altered in the ‘Options’ screen as shown below.

The departments drop down list allows you to record which department of your business is responsible for the sale, for example was an oil filter sold by the parts department or the service department, if you don’t want to use departments just leave this set to 1 – All.

Once an item is added to the invoice, if you find you have made a mistake you can edit the item by selecting it and pressing F3 or clicking the View Item button (page with magnifying glass in front) or you can delete it by pressing delete (keyboard) or clicking on the button with the blue cross on it.

New Part, New Labour, Edit, Delete, Print and Save, Save without Printing Buttons

We are nearly done now and all that remains is to add any comments that we want to appear on the invoice, such as rear tyre at 2mm, brake pads low etc.  Click the “Invoice Comments” tab (or press Alt + O) and you will be at the comments page.  Enter any comments you have (and any spelling mistakes will have a little red squiggle under them (right click and a suggested correction will appear).  Once done return to the “Invoice Details” tab (or press Alt + i) and you can now save and print the invoice.  Click the button with a picture of a printer on it and you will be asked if you want to complete the invoice, this is the only chance that you will be given as if you answer “Yes” the invoice becomes a historical record and cannot be edited.  Answering no will return you to the invoice where you can continue to enter items etc.  As an aside, if you do not wish to continue, just close the screen with the small cross in the top right corner.

After completing the document you will be asked if you want to make a payment against the invoice.  If you do you will be taken to the payment screen:

Here you can enter full or part payment and record the type of payment (see the drop down list under payment type) and enter comments such as cheque or authorisation number etc.  Press Ok and you will be taken to the invoice print screen:

Click the Printer button in the top left corner (or press Ctrl + P) and you will be shown a dialog where you can select which printer to send the invoice to.

And that’s it; you have now created an invoice.