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Invoice date

The date printed on the invoice. Payment terms count from it, so it decides the due date. It also decides which day, week or month an invoice counts in on the invoice list and the sales reports.

Who uses it​

  • Supplier staff usually leave it to the app, and change it when an invoice should bill on a different day.
  • Restaurants see it on the invoice, the PDF, statements and emails.

How it works​

Set automatically​

EventInvoice date
Order marked Ready for Delivery for the first timeThat day, New York time
Order marked Delivered without ever being Ready for DeliveryThe delivery day, New York time
Order already has an invoice dateUnchanged
Supplier set it by handNever touched again by the app
Supplier cleared it on an order that has gone outReset to the day the order went out, and it follows a later re-dispatch
Order moved back from Ready for Delivery to PackingAn automatic date is cleared, and the due date with it. The next dispatch stamps the new day. A date set by hand stays.

"New York time" matters for evening dispatches: an order marked Ready for Delivery at 9 pm in Los Angeles on Sep 30 is already Oct 1 in New York, so its invoice date is 2026-10-01.

Set by hand​

  • When creating an order on the New Order screen. A date entered here is kept when the order later goes out.
  • On the order (Orders → open an order): the Invoice Date picker next to Due Date, with clear, cancel and accept. Save with Save Edits ("Order Details Saved!").
  • Editable until the order is Delivered or Canceled, by users with full order access.
  • Clearing it is allowed until the order goes out. The invoice then has no invoice date and no due date, can't be overdue, and drops out of date-filtered lists and reports. In the invoice list it sorts last, whichever direction the date column is sorted.
  • Once an order is Ready for Delivery or Delivered it always has an invoice date. Clearing it resets it to the day the order went out. If the order has no dispatch day to reset to, the clear is refused.
  • There's no editor on the invoice page.

The Activity Log records the change: "updated Invoice Date from 2026-09-10 to 2026-09-12" or "cleared Invoice Date", including a clear that resets to the dispatch day.

How it's shown​

It's a plain calendar date with no time, shown exactly as stored: 2026-09-16. The same day appears to everyone, in every time zone, on the invoice list, invoice page, PDF, statements, the overdue email and the restaurant app.

Calculations​

EventInvoice dateTermsDue date
Marked Ready for Delivery Oct 3, delivered Oct 42026-10-03Net 3011/02/2026
Delivered Oct 4 with no Ready for Delivery step2026-10-04Net 3011/03/2026
Supplier sets Oct 12026-10-01, and it staysNet 3010/31/2026
Supplier clears it before the order goes out(blank)Net 30(none)
Supplier clears it after dispatch on Oct 32026-10-03Net 3011/02/2026

Where it shows up​

Permissions​

RoleChange it
Admin, ClerkYes
Driver, Warehouse, Sales PersonYes (they have full order access by default)
RestaurantNo; the server ignores a date sent from the buyer side

Decisions​

  • Stored as a plain date, never a timestamp. A timestamp shown in another time zone can show the day before; invoices were printing the wrong day. (#2500, #2499)
  • Reports and filters use the invoice date only. Matching on any of invoice, dispatch or delivery date counted boundary invoices in two months. (#2202, #2204)
  • A date set by hand is never overwritten. A supplier who chose a billing date shouldn't see the app change it. (#2125)
  • Moving an order back clears an automatic date. Re-dispatching on a new day should bill on that day. (#2500)
  • A sold order is never undated. Clearing resets to the dispatch day rather than leaving an invoice with nothing to count from. (#2301)

Specs​

invoice-date.feature
# prefix: IVD
Feature: Invoice date
An order that has gone out always has an invoice date. A supplier can clear it before then.

Rule: Dispatching dates the order

    Scenario: IVD-001 dispatching an undated order sets its invoice date to that day
      Given an order with no invoice date
      When the order is marked Ready for Delivery on 2026-10-03
      Then the invoice date is 2026-10-03

    Scenario: IVD-002 dispatching an order whose date was cleared still dates it
      Given an order whose invoice date was cleared by a supplier
      When the order is marked Ready for Delivery on 2026-10-03
      Then the invoice date is 2026-10-03

    Scenario: IVD-008 an order delivered without a Ready for Delivery stage is dated from its delivered day
      Given a confirmed order with no invoice date
      When the order is marked Delivered without ever being Ready for Delivery
      Then the invoice date is the delivered day

    Scenario: IVD-009 the invoice date is the dispatch day in the business timezone
      Given an order dispatched at an instant that is already the next day in UTC
      But is still the previous day in New York
      When the order is marked Ready for Delivery
      Then the invoice date is the previous day

Rule: A sold order is never left undated

    Scenario: IVD-003 clearing the date on a sold order resets it to the dispatch day
      Given an order Ready for Delivery since 2026-10-03 with invoice date 2026-10-10
      When a supplier clears the invoice date
      Then the invoice date is 2026-10-03

    Scenario: IVD-004 a reset date follows a later re-dispatch
      Given a sold order whose cleared date was reset to its dispatch day
      When the order is moved back and dispatched again on a new day
      Then the invoice date is the new dispatch day

    Scenario: IVD-005 a sold order with no dispatch day refuses the clear
      Given a sold order with no dispatch day
      When a supplier clears the invoice date
      Then the change is refused
      And the invoice date is unchanged

    Scenario: IVD-010 a write that would leave a sold order undated is refused
      Given an order that is Ready for Delivery or Delivered
      When a change would leave it with no invoice date
      Then the change is refused with "A sold sale order must keep an invoice date."
      And the invoice date is unchanged

Rule: An order that has not gone out can be cleared

    Scenario: IVD-006 clearing the date on a placed order leaves it undated with no due date
      Given a placed order with an invoice date
      When a supplier clears the invoice date
      Then the order has no invoice date
      And the order has no due date

Rule: The activity log keeps a clear visible

    Scenario: IVD-007 the activity log shows the invoice date was cleared
      Given an order whose invoice date a supplier cleared
      Then the activity log shows "cleared Invoice Date"

It covers dispatch and delivery dating (including the New York day), the reset on a sold order, the refusal to undate one, clearing before dispatch and the activity log.

Known limitations​

  • An order that went out without an invoice date (from before dates were stamped automatically) counts its due date from the dispatch day.
  • The date isn't validated against the order date; a future or very old date is accepted.

FAQ​

Why does the invoice show 2026-09-16 and not 09/16/2026? The invoice date is shown exactly as stored, so it can never shift by a day between time zones. Other dates, like the due date, use MM/DD/YYYY.

I changed the invoice date. Why did the due date move? The due date is the invoice date plus the payment terms. See Due date & payment terms.

Why isn't this invoice in my October report? It's counted on its invoice date, which may be in September.